social media engagement

Why Social Media Engagement is VITAL to Your Content Marketing Strategy

Learn WHY it matters to connect with your audience on social—and practical tips for getting the most out of your social media engagement efforts!

Social media marketing is a critical element of any effective content marketing strategy. Boosting social media engagement helps get the most out of it. Businesses wanting to succeed in today’s digital landscape need more social media engagement now, more than ever.

Content marketing has taken on an important role in companies’ efforts to reach consumers in online spaces. This is because of the way social platforms and social media engagement shape our mental process when we try to figure out what products or services are most appropriate for us.

Today, social media platforms entail more than just advertising. On social channels, companies can truly engage in conversations with their customers and potential customers—not just provide sales pitches.

Because social media can be used in a variety of ways, businesses need to have a good understanding of how these platforms play into the way consumers view their brands. This will give them a good understanding of how best to leverage social channels. The power of a brand positioning strategy, incorporating social media, cannot be understated. It speaks to the success of any social media marketing campaign.

In this article, we will explore the true importance of social media engagement and will look at ways to leverage your social media to achieve the best results.

Build Relationships With Customers

Social media engagement is more than social media marketing and social network advertising.

It’s about finding opportunities to build relationships with your audience and potential customers—and finding ways to keep those conversations flowing.

A brand positioning strategy of social media engagement provides brands the ability to forge these connections with their consumers. When you engage on social channels, you can converse with the people who follow you and encourage them to share their feedback with your business. You can also use these interactions as a way to learn more about your consumers and find out what they like and don’t like about your company.

Finding out what your customers want from your brand allows you to create content that aligns with their needs. For example, if your target market is women between the ages of 18-35 years old, then you may want to focus on creating content that appeals to young females.

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Ask Your Audience Questions

The goal of any good social media engagement campaign should be to get your audience conversing with you. You can do this by asking questions and encouraging your followers to respond.

For instance, if you have a blog post about your new product launch, ask your readers to comment on the post and tell you why they think your product is great or what they would like to see from the next launch. Then, answer their comments and continue the discussion. This type of interaction allows you to understand what your consumers want and need from your brand.

An added benefit of engaging with your audience through social media is that it helps you develop trust with your consumers. Consumers often feel more comfortable sharing personal details online than they would in person.

This means that when you ask your followers to share their thoughts on your brand, they’ll likely be more open to giving you honest answers. You can use this data to improve your customer service. If you notice that certain posts are getting lots of attention, you can address issues or complaints directly.

This high-level attention to the needs of your customers is a great way to secure their trust in you and let them feel you care about their needs.

Limitless Potential to Reach New Customers Through Social Media Engagement

Social media engagement opens business opportunities by targeting new potential customers. There are a number of ways you can accomplish this, but here are just a few of the most effective strategies.

Active Listening

This means monitoring keywords that pertain to your field on socials like Twitter and Instagram. This way you can participate directly in current conversations. You will be able to jump in and answer questions and even make recommendations when asked.

Respond to All Questions

Be sure to keep your engagement going by always answering any questions given by customers or potential customers. Even if the answer directs them to customer service, make sure that all inquiries are handled quickly and efficiently. This level of attention to detail enhances your reputation as being responsive and helpful. It also boosts your stance as a source of information which will, in turn, increase interest in any content you produce.

Social Media Contests

You can incentivize social media engagement through fun contests. For example, you might offer a discount for the best photo with your product when shared using a specific hashtag.

Increased Referral Traffic

Social media engagement can lead to an increase in referrals to potential clients by simply boosting your visibility.

One of the best aspects of social media engagement is that customers often share your social posts with their friends and family. This can lead to increased referral traffic to your site.

Even better, social media engagement generally means that consumers are more likely to buy from you again. This is because social media engagement shows that social proof and trust have been established in your business.

Another way to increase referral traffic is to actively participate in industry forums. This works the same way as being active in comment sections. Look for opportunities to answer questions and provide information for those seeking it. But, make sure that the forums you are looking to participate in are still active. Depending on your field, there are many industry-specific forums that are still bustling online spaces. Be sure to register your account with your business name and create a call-to-action to use in your signature.

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Image Source: Shutterstock

Leverage Influencers Through Social Media Engagement

Influencer marketing is one of the best methods of increasing your reach. When done correctly, influencer marketing can have a huge impact on your company’s image.

When searching for influencers, look for people who have large followings within your niche. They should be someone whose opinions matter to your target audience.

You can find these types of individuals through various channels including Google search, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Once you’ve found an influencer, reach out to them and ask if they would be willing to promote your brand.

Increasing social media engagement by working with influencers can help you build credibility and authority in your market.

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Generate Sales Leads to Encourage Social Media Engagement

Social media engagement can streamline progression through the sales funnel.

For instance, if you have a blog post about how to install a kitchen sink, then you could include a link to your website where people can purchase the sink. Or, if you’re selling a product, you could add a button to your website that links back to your Facebook page.

Include calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout your posts. CTAs include links that direct users to different pages within your site. They should be placed at the end of each post. When someone clicks on a CTA, they are taken to your site. If this leads them to a landing page, they may become a lead. Landing pages are important as they allow you to track conversions and see what’s working.

As mentioned above, you can also encourage social media engagement by offering incentives for engaging with your brand or for sharing. For example, you could give away free products or discounts to people who share your posts.

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Image Source: Shutterstock

Social Media Engagement Guidelines

Being active on social media is not just about being prolific and posting 24/7; it is about creating meaningful interactions with human beings.

As you work to increase your social media engagement, there are some suggestions to keep in mind as you begin to connect with your audience.

Be Authentic

The most successful brands are transparent and honest. They don’t try to hide behind false personas or pretend to be something they aren’t. The same goes for businesses on social media. If you want to build relationships with your followers, be real. Share personal stories, ask questions, and engage with others in a meaningful way.

Be Creative

If you’re not having fun while communicating on social media, you probably won’t get very far. When you’re creating content, think outside the box. Create unique visuals, infographics, memes, and other types of content that will stand out among the competition and increase engagement with your target audience.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to building a strong following. Post consistently so that your followers know when new content is coming. Make sure that all of your social platforms are set up to automatically post to each other. That way, your content will show up across multiple channels without any extra effort.

This also includes being consistent with your responsiveness to those you are communicating with. Don’t leave people hanging.

Be Helpful

People like to follow brands that help them. They want to feel like they’re part of a community, and they’ll appreciate your efforts to interact with them. Helping others is one of the best ways to gain their trust.

Be Supportive and Positive

In social media spaces, there is a lot of negativity. Let’s be honest: it comes with the territory of social media. If you want to stand out from the crowd, focus on being supportive instead of negative. There are many #bepostive campaigns on social media you can link with to create a positive spin for your brand. People today love participating in these in a show of solidarity and support for a more positive society.

People will respond well to your positivity if they know that you’re going to support them through thick and thin. Plus, a positive social media presence gives you a more likable image and boosts your reputation for the right reasons. Linking to positive social media campaigns encourages followers to engage with you.

Don’t Always Sell

Just because social media is a platform for engagement doesn’t mean that all this engagement needs to be about sales. People want authentic communication and not just communication pertaining to potential products and services. They want to get involved with brands that are interested in creating connections, not just profits. When your social posts focus on things other than your products, you’ll build a social following that’s more likely to become customers in the future.

Partner With WriteForMe for Effective Social Media Engagement Solutions

Social media engagement is just one aspect of an effective content marketing strategy. If you are looking to get a jump into the world of content marketing, or you are hoping to get some help developing a new content strategy, contact the content experts at WriteForMe.

At WriteForMe, we understand the ins and outs of content creation and optimization and we are ready to work with your business’s unique needs to make truly effective content.

Learn what WriteForMe can do for your business with a complimentary content marketing playbook!


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Andy Steuer

Andy Steuer

Andy Steuer is the Chief Marketing Officer at WriteForMe. Andy has been CEO, CMO, VP of Product for 8 fast-growing companies in his career. 3 of those companies became Top 10 Internet companies. Content Marketing has always been at the core to differentiate these companies from their competition. You can always schedule a 1 on 1 meeting with Andy by grabbing some time on his calendar here. List articles below that have Andy on the byline on the rest of the page. Here’s my calendar link:https://meetings.hubspot.com/andysteuer » More blog posts by Andy Steuer

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