The Rules of Social Media Engagement
Social media channels are constantly changing to keep individuals focused on their phones or computers. It’s an interesting cycle if you can step back for a few minutes and consider the constant evolution process that developers employ just to keep people reaching for their phones. We use our phones for business, for pleasure, for connection, for distraction, for entertainment and more. Businesses recognize that we make so many decisions using just our phones and social media. As a result, they have to keep us engaged on the phone in order to continue to make money on their end. It’s fascinating and terrifying when you really begin to think about it.
How do we use social media to engage with customers, then? What are the best practices of social media engagement in order to connect with your audience?
As a social media marketing company, we work with clients to build their presence online. The specific needs of each company vary, so that often changes the strategy we work with to achieve their goals. Here are some things we observe as we use and consume social media:
· People either use social media or social media consumes them.
· Users of social media achieve better engagement than consumers do.
· Users typically don’t begin with a strategy, but with the idea of being relational.
· As engagement grows for users, they continue to intentionally post in the same natural and organic way that has been so beneficial. (They may even develop a strategy behind their posting, but they continue to seek the relational aspect of social media…because it’s both lucrative and rewarding.
As we observe people who are naturally successful on social media, it’s important to look at what they’re doing that makes them so. There’s not a specific formula to it; however, there are some key points to remember if growing social media engagement is your goal.
1. Post, share, reply and comment.
2. Content planning is key.
3. Specific content is necessary for various channels.
Post, share, reply and comment.
This is the most important rule of engagement. The most successful people are posting regularly, even multiple times per day. They’re posting new, organic content unique to their brand or lifestyle. Share your own posts daily across channels. If you have a new timeline post, be sure to share it to stories. Always reply to comments on your posts when possible. As your engagement grows, this may become overwhelming. Do the best you can, and be a user of social media not a consumer. Comment on other posts with people you follow. If you want people to engage with your content, it’s necessary to engage with theirs.
Content planning is key.
Content planning is the second most important point. Planning your content is beneficial in the same way that planning your week and your month is beneficial. Planning enables you to be the master of the content and not the other way around. Sit down with a calendar and look at when you plan to post specific types of content. Work in batches of time to create that content. Not planning content usually results in the entire task becoming too consuming and it drops in priority as a result. Planning your content doesn't mean that changes won’t arise. It means you have an outline of a plan to stick with and on days when you can’t create content, it’s already there for you to use. Planning your content is like stocking your pantry. If your pantry is empty, you’ll either skip a meal or you’ll have to stop everything to go get food. If your pantry is well stocked, you can pick what you need to use right then and use it.
Specific content is necessary for various channels.
We often encourage our clients not to jump on every channel available just because. Not every channel is great for your specific brand or business. A radio talk show host should probably use Twitter, Instagram and Facebook because those channels work well with the content they produce. A baker doesn’t need Twitter because the original purpose of the platform was words not images. People go to Twitter for discussion not dessert.
If you plan to use multiple channels, it may become necessary to cultivate your content to the demands of the channel. Each channel has specific requirements for posts on a platform and that’s when posting across can be tricky. Your fantastic image may not fit on both Instagram and Facebook. Many images do fit both, but some do not. Be sure to pay attention to how your posts perform and tailor them for the greatest success.
Social media is a great business tool. There are so many ways to use social media positively and generate income for your business or brand. It changes constantly and sometimes the changes can overwhelm. At Flywheel Marketing, we take the guesswork out of social media. We study your brand, your online presence, and your engagement. Then we create a strategy to help grow in the areas that need it. We would love to partner with you. Working with us is easy and we can lighten your load. Click the button today for a free consultation.
