How to Boost Social Media Engagement

Is your social media engagement falling and growth slowing? Here’s how to boost it again!

 

Social media plays an important role in business these days. Users expect brands to have some sort of social media presence, whether it’s on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. But managing social media can be challenging and keeping up engagement to grow your online presence is one of the most difficult parts of it. If you’ve found your social media engagement and growth has slowed, here are a few tips from our social media manager on how you can boost it!

 

What is Social Media Engagement?

Simply put, social media engagement is when users interact with your brand’s social media account. It can come in different forms and depends on the platform. Some platforms such as Facebook and Instagram get more engagement than others.

 

Engagement can come in the form of:

  • Likes
  • Followers
  • Shares
  • Comments
  • Retweets
  • Reposts
  • Click-throughs

 

Post Engaging Content

This one seems like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised by how many companies don’t take the time actually think about what they’re posting. Users have a lot of content thrown their way, so simply seeing something isn’t enough for them to engage with it. Make sure your profiles are posting informative, accurate, and interesting content. That can be visually appealing pictures, compelling articles, or original blogs. If you find engagement is dropping it could be because you’re not posting the right type of content.

 

Be Consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to social media. If you find you’re not getting enough engagement you may be posting too often or not enough. Try to find a content schedule you can stick to regularly. Maybe it’s once a week, or once a day. You may have to play around a bit to figure out which frequency works best for your users and per platform. Once you find a winning formula though, stick to it! Brands that don’t post for a long period of time signal to clients that they’re active or attentive, which means users won’t be either.

 

Respond to Comments and Messages

A simple trick to boosting user engagement is to engage yourself! Respond to comments on posts and answer any private messages that come through. This is especially important if people are asking questions or raising concerns. A huge plus of social media over traditional marketing is that it allows users and brands to have two-way communication. Users want to feel heard, and they’re more likely to engage with brands that are open to having a conversation with them.

 

Run Giveaways and Contests

It never hurts to give a little incentive to get users to engage with you on social media. Giveaways and contests are a great way to get users excited about following you on social media again. They’re also a great way to reward loyal customers. The prizes can be as simple as free products or gift cards. You don’t have to run contests all the time, but a giveaway every once in a while, will incentivize users to keep following you.

 

Partner with Influencers

People have strong opinions on social media influencers. Some people love them while others think they’re a stain on social media. Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that they can really driver users to your brand’s profiles. The great thing is that there are different levels of influencers. Major ones will charge big bucks, but micro and nano influencers can be just as valuable and will often do a post for nothing more than a free product or discount code. Remember to research influencers ahead of time to ensure you’re partnering with ones that fit your brand and target audience.

 

Use Hashtags and Locations

Hashtags aren’t applicable for every social media platform, but if they are you should definitely use them. While they might not always look the cleanest, hashtags are a great way to attract new users and connect with certain communities. Do some research to find relevant, engaging hashtags, but don’t forget to think up some branded ones as well! Make use of the location feature on Instagram as well. This is great for local marketing and will attract local users.

 

Share User Content

Want users to engage with your content? Try engaging with theirs! Customers love when brands repost their content as it makes them feel seen. This is an especially great tactic for boosting Instagram engagement. Users are a great source for quality content, and by reposting it they’ll be encouraged to keep following you and talking about your brand. Don’t forget to give them proper credit though. Businesses that take user content without acknowledging it can end up with poor PR.

 

Talk About More Than Your Brand

You know that feeling of boredom when someone only ever talks about themselves? That’s how users feel when a business only ever talks about their brand. It’s more common than companies realize, and it could be a reason why your engagement is dropping. Users want to know what’s going on with your business, but they try to balance that by talking about current events and trends, your industry, and relevant topics.

 

Run Polls and Surveys

Not sure what your users want? Why not ask them! A great way to boost engagement and check-in with user desires is to run polls and surveys. Instagram and Facebook make it super easy to do this as well. You can ask about anything from how your brand is doing to suggestions for new products.

 

Adjust as You Go

When it comes to social media and digital marketing, things are constantly changing. User trends, current events, and social media algorithms are always shifting. It’s important that you adjust as well.  Make sure to regularly check your metrics and adjust as you go. If you notice engagement is dropping or follower growth is stagnating, it’s probably time to revamp your tactics again.

 

Final Thoughts

Growing a social media presence and keeping up engagement is harder than more brands realize. It takes some trial and error, as well as creativity and consistency. Don’t be discouraged if your brand’s account doesn’t take off right away.

 

If you need help with social media management or boosting your social media profiles, contact us today! We have a team of skilled individuals that can help elevate your brand’s online presence.