In the toolbox of every digital marketer, ecommerce business owner, or just really anyone concerned with growing their online presence lie a cool array of tricks to boost social engagement.
Social engagement is one of your top metrics to keep an eye on, if you are serious about your business. Whether you sell digital goods or just want to have a wider reach or influence, paying attention to your likes, retweets and other emoticons are pretty much a 24/7 task.
You need to be aware that your customers’ feeds are always, always being refreshed with other content they may find interesting. Like it or not, you’re in competition with pretty much everyone else out there. The upside is that you have a potential reach of also, everyone out there.
Let me repeat that.
With just one post, you can potentially reach EVERYONE OUT THERE.
And you could just be the next viral phenomenon. Perhaps short lived, yes, but 15 seconds of fame ain’t bad for a business struggling to be heard above the fray of ecommerce businesses.
Nobody can predict who will go viral. Trying to hack each post to force its viral-ness (I just made up that word) is frustrating and honestly, not a good way to do social media. People can sniff out someone who’s trying too hard and that is sure to turn off your audience.
A better, smarter way to go about social media engagement is to be consistent in your engagement. Post on a daily, weekly or hourly basis. You can even get by on bimonthly posts, if your content is unique and well- polished.
I’ve compiled 3 short and easy tips to get you started on higher quality social media engagement. Put them into practice and start seeing a boost in your numbers!
Hack #1: Make it emotional
People are moved to share stuff when their emotions are engaged. Many feel-good videos, stories or pictures are frequently shared by others because it puts a positive spin on your emotions. It could be that 3 minute video of the dog of a war vet greeting him joyously at the front door, or that unstoppable kid who kept trying to hit the baseball as his friends supported him throughout the attempts.
Engaging the hearts and minds of your customers will move them to share your content. When you post something especially compelling, be sure to monitor the likes, shares and comments. The quicker you respond while their emotions are at a high, the more intimacy is created between you and your audience. This creates a positive feedback loop and a wonderful amount of momentum for your brand.
Hack #2. Make it wordless 😉
Huh? I can hear you say out loud in your mind. What do you mean wordless? 😛
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve used two emoticons so far on Hack #2:D
Make that three.
I’m talking about emojis—you know, the Ver. 2.0 of emoticons from the early days of the internet.
I’ve seen social media platforms begin to take emojis seriously, and I’m happy to see a lot of emojis being developed to really capture the range of reactions people potentially have to social media posts.
From the thumbs up signs to unicorns and even middle fingers (!), burritos and corn on the cob, emojis are quickly becoming a quick, wordless way to convey reactions. Humor, disgust, sarcasm and a wide range of reactions are now possible through emojis.
With a little creativity and savvy use of emojis, you can speak volumes about something, and have your customers emoji their reactions back. Try a wordless post and see how that works for you.
Hack #3. Make it transparent.
AMAs or ‘Ask Me Anything’s are a popular way to grow your audience. This may not be applicable to all readers, yet it’s still worth looking into to see how the most successful AMAs garner such huge interest.
Usually it’s the business owner or Chief, Principal or someone high up the business who stages these no-holds barred open forums.
When you open up an AMA, remember that anything and everything can be asked of you and about you.
So a good time to do this is when your company is not, and I repeat, not under any threat of public backlash.
AMAs are best done when there are no controversies, product recalls or scandals facing your company.
The best AMAs are transparent and let the personality of the CEO or head come across. People get to learn more about your product. You could share a picture of yourself in the early days of your business as a then-and-now comparison to get things started. Go out on a limb and see what happens!