Towards the end of 2021, research showed that 82% of American residents had social media profiles either for their personal use or businesses. Some with profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and others on LinkedIn engage their audience.
Unlike youths who see social media as a networking tool, marketing enthusiasts have found a haven for generating leads. Seventy-two percent of chief marketing officers regard social media as an essential part of their marketing efforts.
For businesses of all sizes, social media presents a unique teach play learn opportunity for establishing rapport with audiences and generating brand awareness. However, it often appears that the most successful social media users only reap publicity benefits.
However, businesses can establish strong relationships with potential buyers with the right strategies and a plan of action.
While there are countless practices that you should be abiding by to ensure your social media marketing is on point, here are a few helpful tips you can maximize as well.
Hold Contests
Whether you’re trying to gain followers or increase engagement with your current audience, contests can be a great way to get new people to Like and follow your accounts. The idea behind running a contest is simple.
To offer something valuable in exchange for interaction. Although some businesses may use this tactic to drive traffic, their main goal should be to engage those interacting with the brand on social media.
Contests can be as easy as asking fans to post pictures with your product or any other action relevant to the brand.
These contests help build an audience by encouraging direct fan engagement and extending the reach of promotional posts.
Before running a contest on any platform, know your objectives. For instance, they may attract new followers, capture leads, or build trust with your audience. Base your contests in alignment with these objectives.
When choosing prizes for your contest, consider what will appeal to your target market.
Use Video More
Sharing more video content on social media is a great way to engage your audience. The key here is to ensure you’re creating truly shareable content.
Video length matters, too — shorter videos are typically more engaging, so keep them between two and five minutes in length.
Tailor each video to fit your audience. For instance, if you’re talking about what only affects foodies or people who like motorcycles, use that as inspiration for the theme of your video. Also, if you’re running a business that has an international clientele, include subtitles so that everyone can understand the content.
Finally, try to create multiple versions of your video — a teaser and a longer cut will help people find the right length for them.
Including Visual elements in every post
Today’s social media landscape is crowded, with millions of brands vying for attention. You need to stand out from the crowd to make sure your posts are seen.
Visuals are high-performers on social media, so be sure to include an eye-catching, colorful image or graphic with each post.
You can even add images to your Facebook updates without using a photo-sharing tool like Instagram. Just visit your page and click on the ‘Photo’ link beneath the status box in the update box.
A few other suggestions: Include a call to action in every post. Use tools like Crowdfire and Hootsuite to schedule posts in advance. Personalize your posts by including users’ names and photos.
Be Active- Change your profile and cover photos
One of the surest ways to grow your overall audience is to keep it up-to-date. Ensure that you’re updating your Facebook profile photo, Twitter background image, and LinkedIn profile photo regularly.
This will make your brand recognizable, keep you at the forefront of people’s minds and make it easy for them to connect with you. If a user is looking for something specific in your industry on any given day, they’ll be more likely to remember your account if it’s visually distinctive.
Change your cover photo every few months if possible. People are much less likely to notice an image change if there’s only a subtle shift from one major change every six months or so.
You’ll be able to update your cover photo more frequently with new content and current images of people using your product or service, which will help keep users engaged in your page and give them a reason to interact with you.
Encourage Tagging
To challenge your audience for engagement with your brand on social media, you need to make them feel comfortable.
Let your audience know that you’re listening by responding to their comments and tagging them where appropriate.
If you have a Facebook page, be sure to offer fans the opportunity to tag themselves in your photos and videos.
This will encourage engagement, as they’ll want to participate in what you’re doing and share it with their friends.
Also, be sure to ask for feedback on your products or services using social media surveys. While it may seem daunting, surveys are an excellent way to get valuable information from your audience without having to put pressure on them.
They can tell you whether they liked an article you posted or disliked it and how you should improve it.
Use Hashtags
In the beginning, use popular hashtags sparingly. You will not only avoid looking like a spammer but also help your content from being lost in the pool of other posts that may use similar hashtags.
Remember, the more you post on social media, the more likely your content will be shared. You’ll also want to be strategic when choosing what hashtags to use and when.
A general rule of thumb is that if you post something timely, then use hashtags related to what is happening at that particular time.
Bottom Line
While a strategy may seem difficult to develop initially, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
There are plenty of resources to help you with your goals and make it easier than ever to accomplish them. And don’t forget to take advantage of existing networks and connect with others who share similar interests and learn from each other.
Before you know it, you’ll have a strategy that will help you grow your audience on social media!
