Loads of followers but low engagement? Here are our five top tips to boost your social media strategy.
Your follower count on Twitter is increasing fast, your Facebook page is gaining new likes every day. But, when you post the latest company news, you are achieving a mere one or two likes, and they are more often than not from your friends and family.
Utilising social media platforms as a marketing tool to grow your business is absolutely key in today’s climate, yet there are a ton of ways to get it wrong. Here are some top tips to up follower engagement and optimise your social media activity as much as possible.
Don’t Rely On Bots
There has been a significant uplift in the use of bots and purchasing followers to increase the reach and appearance of brand social media accounts. However, bots and bought followers only increase follower count, and thus leave a noticeable gap between follower count and engagement. People are getting wise to this, and it is generally thought to reflect pretty badly on a company. It is much better to have fewer followers who are there because they want to be, and who engage directly with your content.
Be Clever With Hashtags
Rather than casting a wide net, be more strategic. More hashtags do tend to mean more reach – but you’re likely to be reaching a lot of people who don’t really care about the post. By being more targeted, you’re much more likely to find your potential customers, without looking too ‘spammy’.
Utilise Scheduled Posts
Being consistent is key to maintaining a positive social media presence. You can see when your audience and followers are most active on social media, and put out your best content and posts then in order to maximise their reach. Posting consistently, once or twice a day, is likely to be the best way to appear present but not annoying. If you can’t manage this, post when you can – but remain consistent. Posting twice a week is better than posting 10 things in one day.
Expand Your Horizons
If you’re only using Twitter, for example, you’re missing out on a multitude of potential audiences on other social media platforms. So make sure to make the most of each platform – Instagram is great for posting visual content and behind-the-scenes Instagram stories, for example, and are generally thought to lead to more audience engagement. Facebook is best used as a way to inform and update your existing customers/audience, organise events, and post content such as videos and images. LinkedIn can be used to share professional content, such as long-form content and media coverage of your company.
Give Your Audience A Reason To Engage
Hosting contests where a like or re-post is required can work as an ice-breaker to encourage more audience engagement overall, but with ever-developing algorithms, such techniques are being recognised by social media bots as being spammy.
A better way to engage with an audience is to provoke conversation and show personality. Ask questions, start debates, post videos, share interesting news, and go live. It is important to vary your content so your followers don’t get bored of what you are posting and it is refreshing for consumers to see the personalities and people behind their favourite brands.
Invest In Quality
In truth, all of these tips can help a flagging social media marketing strategy. But really, nothing beats being creative with good quality posts, engaging with your followers, and investing in growing a true and loyal community online.
