It's not enough to provide informational pieces to your readers in hopes of gaining attention for your brand. Nowadays, brands like yours find success by connecting directly with current and potential customers through popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn. But engagement is the key when it comes to getting the results that you want – here are four effective ways to improve engagement for your business through your social media content:
Create Effective Calls-to-Action
An effective call-to-action is important when communicating with followers through social media. If you don't ask people to do what you want them to do, there is no reason to expect them to do it on their own. So don't be afraid to ask people to click "like" or to share your content. You can increase your newsletter roster simply by asking folks to sign up once in awhile.
And when it comes to promoting a new program, eBook, service, or product, it is just a matter of telling your readers to click a link and learn more. You don't have to include a call-to-action in every piece of content you publish through your social media accounts, but it's important to make it a regular effort to maximize your results.
Ask Thought Provoking Questions
People love to take part in coming up with solutions, and gaining feedback from your readers provides you with free insight that can be used to grow your business with customer satisfaction in mind. There is no need to divulge personal company information to create high engagement levels. Instead, come up with interesting topics that are derived around your products and services that can be used to connect with readers.
For instance if you sell above ground swimming pools, you can ask people how they might handle problems with birds taking baths. Or if you run a sign printing company, you may want to ask readers which of a set number of slogans they like best for your new company banner. The idea is to get people involved with the decision making process when it comes to things like product development and ongoing maintenance.
Related: 5 Simple Ideas For Blog Writing That Engages Customers
Put Together Fun Social Media Contests
Social media contests can generate a lot of attention for your business and help to increase your social stats as long as they're done correctly and in good timing. Here's how to ensure that your contests are effective for your business:
- Target a specific audience to ensure that you aren't only snagging the interest of people who want nothing more than the free prize you are offering.
- Make sure that the prize you offer is specific to the contest and the products or services you are promoting throughout the contest.
- Ensure genuine interest in participants by asking for shares instead of offering entries for them.
Perhaps the most important aspect of putting together an effective social media contest strategy is knowing exactly what your end goal is, which needs to be more than simply getting a specific number of "likes" or "follows" through your various social media accounts.
An effective option is to create your contests to conduct research that will provide you with the information you need to convert your leads into actual sales. This can be done by having people fill out a questionnaire as part of the contest entry requirements.
Related: Return on Engagement: The New ROI for Small Business
Provide a Unique Spin on the Given Topic
While it's always important to make sure any information or statistics you post can be by a reliable source, it is just as important to make sure that the content you create offers a unique spin that's not found through other commentary that's published on the topic.
Whether it is a personalized perspective, a story crafted of fiction, or a comedic take on a not-so funny topic, choose your topics and angles based on what your current and potential customers are specifically interested in.
These four tips and tricks will help you break through any communication barriers you are experiencing with your social media followers, and they should ultimately help you to improve your bottom line and ensure success in terms of organic business growth.
