Adding Value Through Your Social Media
If you’re like most businesses, you have probably adapted to the world of social media and all of its possibilities.
Understanding that you need to be where your customers gather is a fundamental and proven business strategy. And with practically 80% of first-world populations being plugged into the web, social media platforms are undoubtedly one of those gathering places.
But, while you may have garnished a sizable following, you may not be getting the engagement you hoped for! 1500 followers, but only 15 likes on your posts… Sound familiar?
Do not fear – plenty of businesses are in your exact position. Given these mutual concerns throughout industries, our marketing team thought it only fair to gather our favourite techniques to engage your community, find your ambassadors, and wrapped it all in a neat little bow called Value!
Social Media is More Than Being Social
So, before we move on to our approaches for social media engagement, we wanted to talk about how social media should be used and why so many people fail to get the RIGHT followers – ones that really add to your brand!
As the sub-heading suggests, being social isn’t the only goal of social media for business. It is your customer service. It is your first impression. It is your marketing vehicle. It is your ad manager. And it can be your website.
If there are so many operational tasks that can be completed through social media, then why are so many businesses putting their online presence on the back burner?
You never made real-world friends without some form of commitment, so don’t expect online relationships to work that way
What Followers Should You Focus On?
We often get this question, so don’t feel out of place. It is hard without a devoted social media team (let alone a single expert) to gather the pertinent information to answer this inquiry.
Nonetheless, despite industry differences, there are a few Social Listening skills that everyone can use to uncover their top fans.
Some key followers are obvious, like a large contract client or the friend that will help your business in any way they can, others can be intermittent lurkers. The one aspect you’ll want to find behind them all is a positive online mood, which is sometimes referred to as Social Media Sentiment.
Paying close attention to praises and condemnations will help uplift your customer service, solidify policies, and can lead to fine-tuning of brand messaging.
So, make sure your business is set to follow mentions. The more you know your audience, the more you can leverage their value.
Tips for Being Engaged in Social Media
Owned Channels
Before going anywhere else, businesses can earn a lot of followers by utilizing channels that already exist. This can be your website, Google My Business, a blog, or email blasts. Pretty much any place that you have contact with your consumers can also be a place to leverage your social media.
Just be sure to explain what your clients might be missing by not joining your social channels. Do you do frequent giveaways? How about discount codes?
Whatever your marketing strategy, inform your audience in WHY it’s important. It can’t just be to say, “Hi!”.
Be Real!
Gone are the days of the internet where you could pilfer your website with keywords or pay bots for Instagram follows. As it stands, social platforms don’t like when individuals abuse their systems or find loopholes in algorithms.
So for now, there isn’t an easy shortcut to social media engagement. It is all in your responsibility to create conversations, topics, and interests.
For platforms with hashtags, there is a very popular strategy known as the $1.80 strategy. Simply enough, it requires to find the 10 most relevant hashtags within your industry. Reach out and comment on the top nine posts for each hashtag. So, if we put it all together, giving your 2 cents on nine posts for 10 hashtags will add up to $1.80!
For socials such as Facebook or Pinterest, you’re going to have to put in some elbow grease. Popular posts are generally ones that offer education, entertainment (Memes count, folks!), or instructions.
BONUS TIP: Tie informational/educational posts with a relevant blog post from your site. This will drive more traffic to your website while also improving your social value.
Work as a Community
As the world becomes more and more connected it is important as businesses to follow along the same path. Not only does real-world interaction help to build your network of professionals within your area, but they might also be your next source for followers.
Cross-promotions, guest blog posts, and other collaborative efforts show that you’re an active participant in the community (large or small), as well, you’ll benefit from extended sources of consumers (online and offline).
Try reaching out to popular YouTube channels or websites within your industry to see if they would be willing to work together on a project.
Be confident about this! You are a master of your business, and cold-offers such as these happen HOURLY on platforms such as LinkedIn. So, put your best foot forward and explain why you’ll add value for both of your brands.
Consistency
There are numerous ways that business can engage their social followings, however, every single one of those strategies requires consistency.
Both your followers and social algorithms favour those who post regularly and those who post relevant content.
Utilize your stories to show some behind-the-scenes, share posts and testimonials from clients, but just make sure you do it frequently! If done well, your key followers will show their true colours.
As well, business owners and social managers should be aware of the power behind branding. If you can make an infographic seem like it BELONGS on your website, or a fan can instantly recognize the combination of fonts as your business, you are doing branding correctly!
Geeks Getting Social!
If this all sounds like a lot of work, we’re afraid to say, that’s because it is! Social media is like having a relationship with hundreds of people at the same time. They all have their needs and wants, and if you’re not meeting those desires, well, your page is going to be unliked!
Luckily, nowadays, businesses realize the power of outsourcing their social media management. We can’t be great at everything all the time.
So, instead of wasting your precious hours that could be spent on customer service, networking, and running your business, let the Geeks get social!
