Imagine that social networks are a lot like an in person social party put on by your local chamber of commerce. There’s quite a few people there and you know that in order to successfully navigate this party you’re going to have to engage in some face-to-face conversations with the potentially new customers that are there.
The easiest strategies that almost always has shown a good success rate at driving interactions is what is known as the 80/20 principle. 80% of your interactions such as Likes, Shares, Comments, replies, retweets, hearts (Instagram), etc should be focused on your followers and not on you.
I want to repeat that so it sticks. 80% focused on your followers and NOT on you.
Once you’ve built a rapport with them and have interacted with them in some way, they will feel connected to you and your business. Social etiquette dictates that they should reciprocate any attention given to them by you. At this point, you can then start mixing direct offers or promotions to get those followers to start clicking or purchasing from your website.
You should aim to have a style that’s approachable and authentic. A good sense of humor is always a plus and do not be overly formal. Keep a unique style and tone that is fun and professional.
There’s no wrong way to do this. However, here are some useful tips.
Try out different times of day to see when you get a higher engagement.
Try to issue updates on a regular basis so that your user base can get used to your schedule and will look forward to your entertaining and quality content.
Your followers and fans will appreciate you for it.
Content ideas
Create a theme for each day of the week:
- Markdown Monday – Highlight a sale or discount code valid for only this week
- Exclusive Tuesday – Show a photo or video giving a sneak peak behind the curtain.
- Useful Wednesday – Informative tips or trends in your industry
- Spotlight Thursday – Reply publicly to customer questions, or show off a positive review.
- Feature Friday – Showcase a broader industry news article or relevant content
- Giving Saturday – Focus on some kind of charity event or neighborhood non-profit that you support.
- People Sunday – Highlight your employees. Show them having fun at work.
Updates that are effective at driving engagement
Do this if you want your followers to share, reply, or like your content
- Get Visual – They are more likely to respond to funny newsworthy and inspiring visuals (photos) than just text updates.
- Ask for what you want – Believe it or not, just ask people to share your content and they will do it. Of course, the content has to be worth sharing.
- Seize the moment (trending topics) – Tap into the current conversational trends. Whether it’s seasonal, cultural or even current events. (Google trends is a good place to pick up on whats currently happening. http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends )
Updates that are good at encouraging a direct response
If you want action NOW, then do this;
- Compelling offer – Drive clicks and generate leads by delivering a truly compelling offer. Ask your users for suggestions for these.
- Sense of Urgency – Limit your offer to a specific time period to create a sense of urgency.
- Clear call to action – If you are trying to drive traffic to a specific URL, then don’t include anything else that might distract people into going somewhere else. Create the funnel.
I hope you find this information useful, and that it gives you a good starting point in developing a strategy that you can customize to your particular industry or business.
I understand that there is no “one size fits all” answer, but that’s why experts exist. We’ve made all the mistakes and know what to avoid and what to emphasize. Good luck to all of you.
