Welcome to another instalment of The Online Presence Specialist blog. Today we’re looking at how to increase engagement on social media and avoid common mistakes in social media for business.
What is high quality content?
A lot of people assume that high quality content means “professional video” or hiring a photographer. It doesn’t. Sure, the quality of your photos and videos matters a bit, but not to that degree. As long as you look presentable, and don’t have sticky finger marks on your camera lens, pretty much anything goes on social media.
The real definition of high quality content is giving people something that is valuable to them. Think about Youtube videos or blogs. They often provide people with a “how-to” information, or a peek behind the scenes of something incredible that they won’t get to see in real life.
Either that, or pure entertainment value. High quality content allows people to feel connected, discover purpose or switch off. In other words, light relief from the stressors of every day life. It makes them feel good – clever, better. As a colleague said to me on the phone today, happiness sells.
Know your audience
When I ask people, “who is your audience?” they nearly always say “well, we cater to everyone. Young, old, male, female… we have a huge range of people and there’s no clear profile there.”
I tend to disagree. There are always profiles that can be scooped up and analysed from your follower and customer base. The trick is to be good at spotting patterns. If like me, you’re dyslexic and/or ADHD, this may come more naturally to you.
The importance of knowing your audience is this; who they are will determine which platforms they use, and how they interact with them.
All too often I see people choosing a platform because it “feels nice to use” or because their friends are there. Peer pressure aside, it might not be the best platform for your customer base. This is due to how the platform facilitates interactions, shopping habits or even “hive thinking” for your customers.
Facebook for example, is ideal for businesses looking to capitalise on “cult following” style demographics. If you can think of a hive-mind hobby or activity, it probably exists on Facebook. You’ll find anything from sport dog nutrition to puzzle competitions to campervan conversions (and everything in between). If it can be obsessed over, you can bet there is an active Facebook group for it.
Consistent posting
Posting on a daily basis is only half the battle when it comes to good social media engagement.
The other side of this coin is a consistent brand image. Here’s an example…
I follow a dog rescue centre online who update daily photos of dogs and share the news when they get adopted. They promote a clean, caring and organised brand identity. It cares about the dogs, where they are re-homed and what happens next in their lives. If this charity were to change tack and start bad-mouthing past owners, or start a witch hunt they would lose a large chunk of followers. Why? Because the inconsistent messages breaks trust.
Some people will gladly jump on a negative bandwagon, but being part of a person’s daily scrolling time is a very privileged place to be. Drastically changing perception or being unaware of historical brand identity can be the beginning of the end with engagement. Know who you are and what you stand for. This is the basic building block to attract engaged followers who are happy to be there.
Are hashtags dead?
A while ago, someone said to me “Instagram has changed how hashtags work so they aren’t worth the bother now.” They are.
You’ll find that social media platforms chop and change features to increase their users, trip-up fake accounts and keep genuine users scrolling for longer. Hashtags are now big business on Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn. I do not doubt for a second that they will come again for Instagram.
If you’re aiming for local awareness, try local place name hashtags and tags with a smaller following. Now more than ever, people are using social media platforms akin to a search engine. Hashtags facilitate “being seen” in the results.
Try a new feature
Social media platforms regularly bring out new features, like stickers, polls, live video or shorts. If you want more engagement, try using them. The algorithm on most platforms tends to reward people for trying new features, and it should (in theory) make your content more interesting and accessible for everyone.
Give as good as you get
If you want people to engage with your content, try spreading some love. Give as good as you get by commenting, reacting and sharing content from other local businesses, clubs or societies. The clue is in the name! Its called social media for a reason…
Don’t expect to create an account and then not talk to anyone. If you want engagement, try giving pages that interest you some attention.
Analyse post performance
Hop into your social media page insights and see what’s happening behind the scenes. How many impressions are there? Are people clicking through to your website?
These numbers will help you see which posts performed best and why. Time of day, day of the week, topic or duration can all impact how a post performs. Recreating content styles have performed well before is the common-sense approach to social media.
Download the META app to read your insights for Facebook and instagram. It’s also helpful for scheduling ahead of time.
Thanks for dropping by
I hope you enjoyed this marketing blog, please feel welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments. If anyone needs me, I’ll be on Facebook…
About the Author
Catherine Jarvis Clothier is a digital marketer and online presence specialist living and working in Kent, UK. She has worked in unusual UK businesses for over 10 years across the South of England, particularly in automotive and therapy-based enterprises. Catherine specialises in social media, SEO and web design. She can be contacted here for online business consultations.
