16 Jul Size Doesn’t Matter – for Social Media Marketing Success
No matter what your goals are, social media marketing success boils down to one thing: an engaged audience.
Let’s say Brand A “only” has 1,000 followers on Instagram, and 500 of them actively like, comment or click on posts. Compare that to Brand B, which has 10,000 followers on Instagram, but only 500 are actively engaged with the content.
I’d much rather have 50% engagement than 5%, wouldn’t you? See – size doesn’t matter.
So, why’s an engaged audience important for social media success?
In short, they can help your business or brand grow. And that’s the whole point of marketing.
When someone digs your brand, they’ll talk about you, refer people to you, share your stuff and generally get you in front of a wider audience. A bigger audience means more potential clients, which means more money (as long as you do a kick-ass job of converting leads into paying clients).
Because Facebook is strictly pay-to-play for brands, none of the above (or below) applies to Facebook. With that said, these principles apply to Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
How to increase audience engagement
Let people participate
Let your fans be part of the brand. Hold contests to name a new product or company mascot. Ask them questions or have them fill in a blank (“I am most happy when _______”). Allow them to submit content, like photos, videos, quotes or memes.
Highlight them
Your audience is going to help you succeed, so give them love. Make a big deal out of a contest winner. Randomly choose someone as “Fan of the Month.” When/if you share their content, give them a hat tip.
Respond to comments
Social media is social. Even though you’re staring at a screen and your audience is doing the same, you’re still having a conversation. It’s terribly rude not to respond.
Therefore, always respond to comments people leave on your posts, even if it’s just a “thank you”. People who feel heard will feel more connected to your brand – and they will remain engaged.
Post consistently
The algorithms that control social media feeds tend to reward consistent engagement. That means you need to post consistently, too. As soon as you stop posting, someone else will take your spot in the feed, and you’ll have to race to catch up.
Commit to consistency. Your life will be easier in the long run.
Tell me – what else have you done to achieve social media marketing success?
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