It's 2020 and social media is core to virtually every brand and business' digital marketing strategy.
Social media is a fundamental element of the way people interact with each other, and with the brands they like. More and more people use social media to discover new brands as well. Brands can not live without a social media presence these days. With the social media content you share, you can establish a dialogue between your brand and your customers and truly connect with them in a meaningful way.
At this point, most of us know the value of social media marketing, but do you know how to measure success? If you think that the number of followers you have or the number of likes you receive on a post is what matters, you have some catching up to do!
When you're determining KPIs for your social media marketing plan, you should priority engagement. Social media engagement is a way for us to measure how effective a company is in creating customer-business interactions on social platforms. Meaningful interactions with a brand, such as comments and shares fall under this umbrella. These actions indicate how many people your social media content is resonating with.
According to the Global Web Index, 30% of the time the average person spends online is allocated to social media. The average person spends around two hours a day on social media. With so much time spent on social platforms, you need to make sure your brand captures attention through social posts that encourage audience participation and reactions.
If you’re looking to increase social engagement to build customer loyalty, craft posts that encourage your followers to interact with you. Ask your users questions, and reply to them in return. You'll not only be providing valuable information but you will be giving users an exciting experience. Brand interactions build and strengthen your brand's relationship with followers.
Another way to increase social engagement through posts is to consistently share content. Posting content regularly that matches your brand voice is a surefire way to grow your engagement rate. One great thing about social media is that users provide instant feedback. If you recieve a positive response to a certain type of post, replicate that! And if you get a lackluster response from another, pivot. Social media is a great place to experiment with different types of content, but remember to stay on-brand to avoid confusing your followers.
Publishing posts that offer incentives for social sharing is an excellent way to encourage engagement from followers as well. Can you offer a discount if customers post a review of your business on Yelp? What if a customer posts a picture of your product on Instagram? Determine what immediate benefit can you give in exchange for this business promotion and fire away! For added effect, consider asking customers to post brand relating content with specific hashtags. This will not only increase your reach, but your customers will be thrilled to have a chance to interact with you.