Virtually every company has curated, edited, and uploaded content for Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media platforms. However, much of this content only gets a few likes and little engagement. In a world where nearly four billion people use social media every day, what content will interest and engage your audience?
Low engagement is a common problem for B2B marketers. Social media engagement includes everything from likes and favorites to comments and direct messages. Any way in which a potential signals an active interaction on social media is considered engagement, as opposed to passively scrolling content. Due to the real-time effect of social media, it has become a useful and now indispensable tool for companies to increase brand awareness and lead generation. But it’s hard to get noticed when there is so much background noise. Even the New York Times (with 49.9 million Twitter followers) only sees an average of one hundred likes per Twitter post.
So why is engagement important? With organic reach shrinking rapidly and 88% of customers now researching online before making a purchase, higher engagement for companies that have adopted digital content marketing techniques translates into up to six times higher conversion rates than companies that have have not done. Being the first to reach and engage with potential customers in a meaningful way provides an opportunity to build a valuable relationship.
These five tips can help you create social media posts that will engage and attract an audience and create a two-way dialogue that will generate revenue for your business.
1. Respond to customers.
Social media users value real and positive interactions, be it through funny videos or a company that responds to happy customers. Commenting on tweets, Facebook posts, or even LinkedIn posts makes individual customers feel like they are being seen and that their needs and successes matter. Even responding to a negative review can turn a bad interaction into a good one. In fact, nearly 45% of respondents say they would see a brand more positively if they responded to a critical post. Good customer service online (and in person) can even turn buyers into advocates for your brand.
2. Get involved with other companies.
Social media is about building connections. Interacting with other companies and brands online shows that building relationships with both customers and within the industry is important. Commenting on the contribution of another organization or starting a dialogue with another brand shows humanity and authenticity. A B2C example of this in action are fast food Twitter feuds. These often go viral and can often change brand perception and spark positive interest.
3. Create a brand voice.
Brand positioning communicates value, differentiates itself from the competition and increases brand awareness. While your brand has clear positioning on your website or in promotional emails, getting your brand personality to shine on social media is just as important. Customers want to connect with people, not entities, so creating and strengthening a clear brand voice in digital spaces is critical. For example, Netflix’s people-based approach to social media shows how creating a clear voice on the internet leads to more effective marketing.
4. Understand the algorithms.
While numbers can’t quite capture the depth of the human experience, understanding how social media algorithms work can help you create better content. Social media algorithms determine what content is displayed on a user’s page, how often each account is viewed, and when certain content is viewed. For example, Instagram posts perform better if the user actively uses the Instagram Stories feature. Video ads on Facebook generate 20-30% more conversions than image ads. Understanding algorithms even goes beyond social media. One of the most important endeavors by B2B marketers is search engine optimization (SEO). Check out our basic SEO strategy to understand how to improve your organic search rankings.
5. Create content that you can easily interact with.
Likes and shares aren’t the only ways to connect with your audience on social media. Everything from creating Instagram questionnaires to voting on Twitter can help increase engagement in a fun and interactive way. These content types provide an easy way for users to reach you – and you can reach them. Facebook polls, Twitter polls, and “Comment Below” posts help transform users from passive observers to active subscribers – and the more willing they are to get involved, the more willing they are to support your business.
Establishing authentic, personal online connections with prospects and customers is more important than ever. Nowadays, your company can use social media to maintain the same relationships in digital channels as in others. Focusing on content that engages conversation will connect you with your audience and generate leads in the long run.
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