4 Proven Ways To Increase Engagement On Social Media

September 10, 2015 - 11 minutes read - Social Media

Do you ever feel like you’re speaking to an empty room, despite having hundreds or even thousands of social media followers? Do you wonder if your messages are hitting the target or bouncing off deaf ears? You’re not alone! While most businesses have more than one social media profile they actively update and monitor, most businesses also admit that they have difficulty measuring Return-On-Investment and growing their social media presence exponentially over time.

Given the number of digital marketing tools available to businesses today and the readiness of experienced consultants to offer their wisdom and service, there is really no excuse to lag behind in social media engagement these days. The value of social media in terms of product choice, brand loyalty, targeted lead generation, customer service and reputation is indisputable. Successful brands hoping to continue on the path of prosperity will need to “become social media experts both in usage and in measurement,” as Forbes puts it. 

Mod Girl Marketing has a vast arsenal of tactics we use for clients, depending on individual need, to boost social media engagement. Here are a few tricks of the trade to consider…

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1. Revisit Facebook Questions.

We’ve talked about the importance of asking the occasional question on Facebook in the past. It’s a suggestion backed by evidence, really. A Kissmetrics study revealed that questions receive 100% more comments than regular posts. People on social media like to give their opinions and share their interests with friends and family, so asking the right question at the right time appeals to that sentiment. However, you may find that you’ve been asking questions to no avail. Still… you’re confronted with dead silence. What gives?

As Constant Contact points out, these common mistakes can derail the most well-intentioned queries:

– Your questions are too personal.

– Your tone is boring.

– Your posts lack photos.

– Your questions are too salesy.

– The content you share on your network isn’t valuable enough to inspire love.

– You fail to ask yourself, “Why would someone like this?”

– You aren’t responding to other people’s questions or posts.

– Your page lacks personality.

– You’re not willing to put in the time and effort to build community over time.

Remember, first and foremost, love is a two-way street. You get back from social media what you put in. If you’re only using your profile as a “dumping grounds” for your content, then you’re not likely to see a lot of comments coming your way. However, if you’re the type of person who monitors what’s being said, responds in a timely manner, tags people in your comments, “likes” and “shares” other people’s content, and goes out of your way to zing a personal message to your fans now and then, you’ll find you reap what you sow.

Tip: Want specific ideas for questions to engage your audience? Check out 10 from Clickz, 10 more from Mavrck, and check out this chart from Kissmetrics:

2. Know What Works On Image-Sharing Sites.

If you’re not on Instagram and Pinterest, then you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Forrester Research found that brand engagement on Instagram was through the roof — 58 times greater than Facebook and 120 times greater than Twitter, to be precise! Other studies have indicated that the average pin generates 78 cents in sales and the average Pinterest user orders $123.50 worth of merchandise from the brands they follow — which is more than double that of Facebook users.

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So what works to spur audience interest on these sites?

For Pinterest engagement, check out these research-based tips from Ripen Ecommerce:

For Instagram engagement, consider these valuable tips from Krishna Infographics:

 

Adoption of image-sharing sites has been slower than that of networks like Facebook and Twitter. A recent study by Digitas and Curelate found that only 30% of engagement on Pinterest comes from pins posted by businesses. Most liked and shared posts are added by users because their favorite products and brands just aren’t actively involved in sharing their goods on these sites yet. Developing a strategy for these sites can be daunting, since it will require emphasis on visual storytelling. Yet, professional images can take you far. Consider that fashion/retail brands on Pinterest average 46 repins for every post. If you want to take a stab at it, but don’t want to launch your profile blindly, your friends here at Mod Girl Marketing are happy to help you get started.

3. Put More Effort Into LinkedIn.

In our experience, LinkedIn tends to be one of the most forgotten-about social networks for brands. Yet, when it comes to B2B marketing, there is no more effective channel for getting juicy leads. Over the years, LinkedIn has gone from a résumé-dumping grounds to a rather robust place to network with other professionals. The addition of a blogging platform to profiles and the LinkedIn paid ads present excellent opportunities to cultivate thought leadership and interact with audiences.

Consider this epic infographic from Quick Sprout for guidance on how to increase LinkedIn engagement:

You should also be setting aside a few minutes each day to personally reach out to at least one person on LinkedIn. A little bit of thoughtfulness and undivided attention can go a long way in forming a strategic partnership. Check your LinkedIn contacts for special celebrations and offer a “congratulations” or touch base to share in the moments that matter most to your constituents. You may find that a simple gesture opens the door to communication and keeps you fresh in the mind of your prospects to sustain solid business connections down the road.

You might like: 8 Effective LinkedIn Strategies For B2B Marketing

4. Start Using Video On Twitter.

A while ago, including images was all the rage on Twitter. Research shows posting photos increased re-tweets by 35%. Fast-forward to 2015: video is the second-biggest trend fueling engagement, according to Twitter’s own blog. Brands that post videos are 28% more likely to receive a re-tweet. Corporate Communications VP Chuck Gose echoes this finding, stating that he was able to increase his level of engagement on Twitter from an average low of 1.1% to an average high of 6.7% by adding video to his posts. There were, of course, a number of posts that wildly exceeded his expectations. For instance, he posted a video of his daughter making a layup and received a 46.3% engagement rate — 16.5 times the normal rate.

For more Twitter engagement tricks, consider this infographic from Socially Stacked:

 

We find some of our best Twitter engagement comes from real-time social listening. Nothing beats sending someone a message when they’re feeling really passionate about something. Mod Girl Marketing consultants help businesses get set up with social monitoring tools that allow them the ability to listen to what Twitter users are posting about right now so they can zing over a message responding to a question or offering a solution at a critical moment in a prospect’s decision-making process. Sometimes just a well-timed personal message is enough to solidify a new connection and win a loyal friend for life.

You might like: 10 Social Monitoring Tools that Every Brand Needs to Know

Realistically, social media is too big a job for just one person to tackle. Even entire marketing teams can become bogged down with all the legwork that’s required to keep these sites freshly updated and worthy of audience engagement. If you’re a forward-thinking company with a great product or service and passion for what you do, the outside consultants from Mod Girl Marketing would be happy to take a look at your social networks to address areas of improvement should you be a good client fit. Contact us for a free quote!

Tags: Social Media, social media engagement, social media marketing