We’ve been discussing the importance of using the social media, and I keep telling you one thing: you have to be engaging and active every day. However, you need to know exactly what you should be doing to create the right type of engagement.
You’re in for a high level of competition for people’s attention – this is one thing that you must keep in mind. For instance, on Facebook alone there are 1.5 million advertisers! That’s huge and so is the fight for attention, clicks, likes and shares. So, what should you do, post more frequently than the others? The answer is a big NO. Here are some facts that should help you understand people’s interaction to company social media accounts:
- 71% is the increased level of engagement brands get if they post 1-4 times a week, compared to higher number or posting
- companies that post 1-2 per day get 40% higher user engagement compared to pages that post more
- 39% higher interaction for posts including photos
- 180% more engagement for photo albums.
The rule is simple: don’t post too frequently, post lots of photos and keep a close eye on the latest happenings on social media. Here is a simple checklist for you to follow every day and increase your user engagement on social media:
1. Find Out What’s Trending – In Twitter it’s easy to notice the top hashtags of the day, so in just a few minutes you will be up-to-date with the news. In Facebook and Google+, you need to scroll down, see what the top influencers and your most active followers are sharing and discussing.
Even if the events are not entirely related to your business, touch upon them in a short and to the point post. People like to see that you care for other things happening in the world outside your business.
2. Share a helpful article on LinkedIn and Google+ – In terms of building professional reputation, these two social networks are among the best options. The LinkedIn groups and Google+ communities are usually related to business and professional interest, so this is the right audience for demonstrating your expertise.
3. Check the Metrics – Every day you need to know how your posts from yesterday performed. I recommend using an integrated platform for social media monitoring, like Hootsuite or BuzzSumo, to get the statistics on all your social media accounts at a glance.
4. Answer Questions – Whenever you get comments on posts or private messages on social media accounts, read them as quickly as possible and answer them. Facebook even integrated a metric for time of response on private messages. I don’t mean that you should drop everything you’re doing every time there is a new comment notification, but within a few hours you should answer your follower’s question.
5. Create Photo Albums – Share your products or the work in progress as photo albums on Facebook, or individual posts on Instagram.
6. Share a Happy Client Story – This is a great way to show your followers that your business is solving problems and helping people. Attention! You must expressly obtain the client’s approval before sharing any personal data like their name or a photo of them.
7. Engage with Influencers – Comment on their status updates, answer their questions or ask them questions. Soon they will notice you and return the favour, creating a boost of engagement for your posts which they share or comment on.
I know this looks like a long list, but once you start getting used to being active on the social media for your business, you will do these things instinctively and quickly, without losing too much valuable time.