You’ve set up your page on Facebook, opened a Twitter account, and even created a blog for your business. In other words you have a social media presence. What now?
Most businesses have cottoned on to the fact that social media isn’t a fad, and that it’s vital they have a presence on social media. Setting up a presence is easy enough – but what’s the point of having it if no one’s talking to you. It’s like opening a store and locking the front door. So, how do you get potential customers/clients to start engaging with you on social media? Here are five great ways to get started:
Do the easy stuff first
There’s a few things that you should start doing right away if you’re not already. They’re easy to implement, and can start improving your engagement levels straight away:
- Leave responses to questions and comments as quickly as possible
- Make sure you post regularly
- Utilize surveys, polls and contests
Be more punctual
The timing of your posts has a big impact on the level engagement they’ll receive. While the best time to post will vary for each business, depending on their target audience – there are generally three points each day when engagement peaks: 7am (before people go to work), 5pm (when people finish work), and 11pm (before people go to bed).
Don’t sound like a car salesman
A lot of businesses fail to understand that social media is not like traditional media – and treat it like another opportunity to blast out sales messages. Think about it from your own perspective, if you see a business saying “check out our latest sale!” – how likely would you be to comment or respond to it? Not very.
To be more engaging, get out of sales mode – and try to be more personable. Post content that will be interesting to your target audience, and ask questions that show you’re genuinely interested in their responses. For example, share a new piece of industry news and ask for people’s opinion on it.
Be proactive with posting
Being sporadic with your posts on social media will decrease engagement. If people don’t know if or when you’re going to post, they’re not going to be looking for it. However, if you’re proactive, and post at certain times on certain days consistently – people will know to look for it, and be much more likely to engage.
Don’t use drone tone
Think of it this way – who do you enjoy conversing with more, people who have a lively and engaging conversation style, or people who speak in boring monotones and sound like they’re about to fall asleep? It’s the same on social media – if you can incorporate personality into your posts people will be much more likely to engage with you.
Unlock the door
Engagement is the key to unlocking the business benefits of social media – and following these steps is a great way to start building your engagement.
Are people engaging with your business on social media? What works well for you?
