Engagement is key to generating organic reach, especially with Facebook’s recent algorithm changes. Businesses must stay up-to-date with social media’s latest trends & features in order to best engage with their customers online.
From freshening up your content to creating relevant conversations with your followers, check out PAVLOV’s four tips for generating engagement on social media in 2018.
1. Use the Stories Feature
Whether it’s Instagram, Snapchat or even Facebook, Stories offer businesses a new & unique way to connect with their audience. Not only do they eliminate “oversharing” in the newsfeed, they also allow you to explore your creativity by sharing customizable Stories of events, company culture and more, in a fun, engaging format your followers can relate to.
Pro Tip: Stories provide an element of exclusivity between a brand and its followers, as content is only visible for 24 hours. Brands should take advantage of this by sharing “sneak peeks” or behind-the-scenes looks into upcoming sales and special announcements.
2. Share Live Video
How do you guarantee that your entire list of followers sees that you posted on social media? Live video. That’s right – any time your business page “goes live,” your followers get a notification sent straight to their desktop or mobile device. This can be an effective tool to use when making an important announcement or building hype around an event.
Pro Tip: Keep in mind that the average attention span per social media user is seven seconds. If you don’t have compelling content, it might not be worth live-streaming.
3. Create Conversation
Social media is about creating meaningful relationships, including the connection between a business and its customers. Sharing interesting content on your page is only the first step to generating engagement – it’s just as important to monitor & respond to comments, messages, visitor posts & reviews. Your followers want to know that your social media pages are run by real people, not artificial intelligence or chat bots. Opening up conversation on social media will not only help spike engagement, but also provide businesses with valuable, honest feedback from their customers.
Pro Tip: Get creative! Ask questions, share Twitter polls, re-post photos & videos from happy customers, etc. Find ways to get your followers excited & involved on social media by showing you’re paying attention to their feedback and value their opinion.
4. Run Contests & Giveaways
Social media giveaways are a win-win for businesses & followers alike. Running a social media contest generates incredible engagement for businesses in the form of likes, comments & shares, and in-turn makes followers feel valued and appreciated. Giveaways don’t have to be high-value – consider offering gift cards or even something smaller like a company-branded t-shirt. Regardless of the prize, participation is almost always guaranteed, because everyone loves competition & everyone loves to win.
Pro Tip: Ask your followers to tag a friend (or three) in the comments to qualify to win. Each comment will increase your chance of gaining a new follower or page like.
Don’t have the time to generate engagement on social media? Ring our bell!