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In recent years the demand for businesses to become acclimated to the social media sphere has increased tenfold. While making yourself known on social media as a business is important it can be hard to stand out amongst those already attempting to do the same thing.
Recently platforms like Instagram and Facebook have become oversaturated with all manner of businesses attempting to do the same thing. As such it has become much harder to stand out against those who are all attempting to do the same thing, engage with the consumer.
In this article, we will be discussing how to create meaningful engagement with your audience on social media. Items such as using relevant hashtags, engaging with other accounts like yours, making use of collaboration, and more are just some of the strategies you can use to create meaningful engagement with your desired audience.
“Think about what people are doing on Facebook today. They’re keeping up with their friends and family, but they’re also building an image and identity for themselves, which in a sense is their brand. They’re connecting with the audience that they want to connect to. It’s almost a disadvantage if you’re not on it now.” --- Mark Zuckerberg, Co-founder, and CEO of Facebook
Post Content That Matters
When we say content that matters we don’t mean from a global or humanitarian perspective. The content that you post needs to relate to the needs and interests of your audience. A lot of businesses fall short by trying to make their content appealing to everybody without focusing on their content, and unfocused content is one of the worst things you can have on social media when trying to build an audience. For example, say that your business specializes in helping people control their finances. Your content should be focused on the benefits of having controlled finance, the pain points and pressures that arise as a result of not having controlled finances, and some tips and resources on how to do so. Put simply in this instance your content should be focused on: how you can help, the pain points and pressures caused by the problems you solve, and resources for people to begin alleviating the pain or pressure.
Stay Relevant to Current Events
While you don’t need to know every single thing that happens when it comes to the news, you need to stay aware of news happening that is relevant to your business. Reporting events that happen in your industry to your audience is a great way to build authority and trust around your expertise when it comes to your field. We know that it can be difficult to stay on top of all current events so setting up a google alert for things relevant to your business is one of the easiest ways to stay informed.
Make use of Hashtags
While this is a commonly known tactic it is often underutilized by businesses that are new to social media. Hashtags are a great way to engage meaningfully with your audience because they tap directly into the things that interest them. Making proper use of hashtags goes beyond just using them under your posts. You can use hashtags to follow and comment under accounts similar to yours. Engaging with people who are in the same field as you may seem counterintuitive at first but odds are people will want to follow your account anyway. This is because when on Social Media audiences want to give themselves multiple choices when it comes to consumption and use of different services or products. Which leads us to the next point.
“Social marketing eliminates the middlemen, providing brands the unique opportunity to have a direct relationship with their customers.” --- Bryan Weiner, CEO, Comscore
Engage and Collaborate
Collaborations are one of the best ways to engage with your audience when you are just starting. Not only can you tap directly into an audience you know is interested in businesses like yours, but you can also create connections with other businesses as well which can make them more likely to refer your business to their audience. While some people are wary about collaborating with others for many reasons, it can be one of the best ways to engage meaningfully with your audiences.
When it comes to engaging directly with your audience liking and responding to comments you receive is a great way to do that. Remaining aware of Direct Messages and questions posed to your page is important as well.
According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, “40% of consumers expect brands to respond within the first hour of reaching out on social media, while 79% expect a response in the first 24 hours.”
Make sure to keep your response time quick when it comes to people engaging with your posts, as it also boosts your ranking in the algorithm.
A collaboration could be something as simple as an Instagram live where you discuss your industry or business, or a podcast that you promote on Instagram. The most important thing is that you are providing value to your audience at all times. When you give your audience information that they can apply to their lives and see results, they are more likely to support you because you know that your desire to make their lives better is genuine.
Always Be Genuine
Finally, while this may seem more than a bit cliche it is important that you remain genuine when engaging with your audience. Whether it is in the comments of your posts, the content of your lives, or the promises made by your content, you need to be 100% honest about what you can deliver and your goal in business. This goes beyond being honest because it is the right thing to do if you are dishonest on Social Media people will find out eventually, and it could spell disaster for your business off of the platform simply because of how fast information travels on the internet. Always remain cognizant of the promises that you make about what you can offer because an audience that trusts you is much more likely to support your business than one that does not.
Social Media can be a wonderful tool when used correctly by the user. Creating meaningful and consistent engagement with your audience is one of the easiest ways to stand out. People are constantly being bombarded with an array of advertisements that cause them to develop “Ad Blindness” so make sure that your content is genuine and helpful.
If you are a business looking to use Social Media but you need help, contact us today by filling out the contact form below.