Did you know that nearly 2.1 Billion people have a social media account? The population of the world is 7.1 Billion, which means about 30% of the world has social media accounts. Of those 2.1 Billion people, 7 in 10 are active on their accounts every day. To a business owner, this should scream “social media engagement opportunity”. This is something that companies can take advantage of when forming a larger number of relationships online with their audience through impressions and engagements.
Engaging with your audience through social media is a trending strategy for marketers of small businesses and larger companies. 64% of marketers said that increasing audience engagement was crucial for their social media strategy. Here are a few strategies below to help your business grow and engage with potential clients.
A good strategy for engagement with your audience is to initiate a conversation with them through their accounts. Commenting on their posts or sending them a direct message to let them know you are taking the time and effort to reach out and start a line of communication. Additionally, mentioning some of your audience in your posts can also increase engagement with your clients. Mentioning your followers in posts give recognition to your brand enthusiasts and allow for them to feel a personal relationship.
Publicly answering questions about your business on social media shows your audience, as well as others, that you are paying attention to the customers’ needs and showing you value them. On top of answering questions about your business, asking questions can also form an interactive activity for your customers which increases engagement.
Asking your followers questions allows you to gain information and also create future content for your audience. Collecting as much information about your followers/potential clients allows engagement rates for your profile to increase and people are more likely to purchase your product or service. You can ask vague questions such as “AMAs” (Ask me anything) or specific, pointed questions. Both get results on your social media profile.
Another way to boost engagement and give recognition to your followers is promoting user-generated content on your page. Being able to share, retweet, repost, or promote fans content that pertains to your business gives them another personal relationship with both you and your followers, as well as people who follow their accounts. Being able to promote through other users opens 3 times the number of followers to your business that you may not have reached prior.
A common way to engage with your followers is using hashtags. While this is an older technique and takes more time to see results, it is a safe bet when it comes to engagement with your audience. Hashtags that relate to your company allow for your users to look up hashtags on social media that tie back to products or services that your business sells. This can also be used for companies to reach out to relatable clients. Searching certain hashtags that you want to promote specific content to and find new people to follow or engage with this same content can be accomplished through hashtags as well.
A personal favorite engagement strategy is giveaways. It is a fast and simple way to gain followers, create engagement and give people something to get excited about while they remember your business’ name. Something as simple as a sticker, decal or magnet get people hyped and talking about your business and increase engagement drastically.
All in all, engagement is a very crucial part of your business and can be very beneficial when executed properly. Using different strategies for engagement will help drive business and gain revenue for your business.
The main concept of social media engagement is forming a relationship with your customers or your online audience. Treating your customers then more than just a customer but rather a friend allows for you to add more value to your own brand along with for a connection with your audience that is gain you more recognition in the long run. While there are very common and simple ways to engage with your audience online, the more of a personal touch you can add to these mainstream ideas the better outcome you will receive in the end.