Social media is always changing due to new trends, algorithms and even platforms! In this blog, we’re letting you know how to improve engagement on social media.
Choosing the right social media platforms
The right social media platforms for you will depend on your business type. Some of the most popular platforms include LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. These platforms succeed due to having their own features.
For example, LinkedIn offers a more professional platform, whereas Instagram and TikTok are very much visual platforms. Facebook is great for building a community, and Twitter is the place for discussions.
Having different features means that there’s little chance every platform will work for you. Instead, it’s a good idea to choose a couple of platforms and see how you get on. Before choosing a social media platform, you need to conduct research into where your target audience spends their time.
Remember that growing a social media following takes time, so don’t expect a million followers overnight!
What is social media engagement?
Social media engagement can be measured in various ways, but the most common metrics are:
- Likes
- Shares
- Comments
- Followers
These metrics are all useful for getting your content seen by a wider audience. This may even include users who don’t yet follow your account.
Paid social vs Organic social
In addition to choosing the right platforms for your business; you may also be deliberating between paid social and organic social. There are many benefits to both options. They also allow you to post a wider variety of content.
For example, more personal posts can help to engage users, but there’s little point in paying for more users to see them. In contrast, an upcoming sale or new product would be a better social post to spend money on as it drives more users to your website.
We recommend using a combination of the two, as this can help to boost engagement and increase following. Organic reach alone will only distribute your content to around 5% of your followers. We can support you with your social media management.
How to improve engagement on social media
Vary your content
We know that your main focus is probably to increase sales or leads on your website, but that doesn’t mean that every post should be written to sell. You’d be surprised how much users like to see different content too. This includes sharing content such as quotes or behind-the-scenes office posts.
Using a range of images and videos can help to increase reach on some social media platforms. Videos are also a good way to keep people engaged with the content. Be sure to include captions on your video content if possible to ensure your content is accessible.
Keeping up with the trends
We mentioned before that social media is always changing, so it’s a good idea to dedicate some time to find out what’s going on. Platforms such as TikTok are very quick with trends, whether that be through challenges or trending audios.
Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter may be more appropriate for other types of trends, like important news in the world or your industry.
Scheduling
Despite many social platforms not displaying content in chronological order, the timing of your posts can still be important. It’s best to get to know who your audience is and try and estimate when they will be online. For example, most business accounts will be more active during the working week, whereas personal accounts will spend more time online outside of working hours.
Using hashtags
Hashtags are a good way to be found more easily on social media. Using hashtags means that anyone searching for content that matches yours will likely find your post. Many companies find the most used hashtags and only focus on these, but the best practice is to use a range.
Only using the most popular hashtags means that your post won’t stay near the top for very long, and it may get lost. Using a range means there are more chances to appear and also to stay nearer the top of the recents tab on platforms like Instagram. Hashtags can work better on some platforms than others.
Engage yourself!
Social media platforms have come a long way in recent years, and they’ve also become much more business-friendly. Interaction is made easy for your followers if you give them something to interact with. For example, you can use stories to engage your followers in polls and other activities.
Other engaging content can be user-generated content, which is exciting for the user and may encourage others to do the same.
Developing a strategy
Before you dive straight into social media, it’s a good idea to develop a strategy. Here are some things to consider:
- Who is your target audience?
- Which platforms will help you reach them?
- What kind of content will they enjoy?
- How often will you post?
- When will you post?
These pointers can help you to get started with a social media strategy. Most platforms allow you to track analytics within the app, so you can see which content performs best.
We hope this article has been useful on how to improve your engagement on social media. Get in touch with us if you need any support with your social media marketing; we’re always happy to help!