When you’re busy making things happen for your online business, it can be easy to neglect your social media. And with so many tools out there to help you automate your social media posts and accounts, keeping your Instagram stocked up with new posts and your Twitter feed full is super simple. So simple, in fact, that a lot of badass bosses make this big mistake with their social media: they stop being social.
Wait a minute…..you’re telling me that I actually need to be social on social media?! Ugh, seriously?
Alright, I know none of you are really thinking that, but take a minute to look back at your last couple of weeks online. Have you been spending more time actually engaging with your followers?
And I totally get it! It’s tough to juggle your social media strategies while trying to keep up with your business. But while being able to automate your social media is crucial for your sanity, it can take a huge toll on your audience engagement. Let’s turn that around with these three actionable tips:
1. Respond to Your Comments
If you’re super popular and you get tons of comments on your social media accounts, it can be a lot of work to respond to all of them. Personally, I think that if someone takes the time to leave you a thoughtful, insightful comment, the least you can do is engage with them. If that doesn’t convince you though, maybe this will: according to a survey conducted by Sprout Social, nearly 30% of people will switch to your competitor if you fail to respond to them on social media.
Geeze - That’s a pretty scary statistic….but check out what happens when a person is engaged by a brand online:
70% of people are more likely to use the brand’s product or service
65% of people have more brand loyalty
25% of people are less likely to post negative things about the brand, product or service
75% of people are likely to share a good experience with the brand on their own profile
Awesome, right? Simply responding to the comments your followers leave for you can mean more brand loyalty and exposure for your business. Yes, it can be a daunting task, but taking the time to make genuine connections with your followers can be so great for your brand.
2. Get Personal on Instagram Stories
Stories are an amazing way to engage with your audience. While Stories is a brilliant tool for marketing product or services, it can be way more than that. It allows you to put a human face to your brand and connect with your audience by showing them your authentic self.
It’s not hard to get caught up with marketing techniques like long tail keyword research, conversion rate optimization, and all the other tried-and-true old school tactics. These methods work, but they don’t do much for building trust with your audience. Using Instagram Stories gives you a chance to let down your hair and have fun with your followers. Or showcase your cat for your cat followers who love to see him :)
Unlike your traditional posts on Instagram, Stories lets you spice up your photos with text, emojis, stickers, and more. Since the stories are separate from the photos on your feed, there’s no pressure to adhere to strict styling, which means you can treat your feed as a portfolio showing off the best of your brand and use Stories to post whatever you want. Show off your latest travels, tell a funny story, whatever you want! It’s a great way to leave the stuffy marketing persona behind and build real connections with your audience.
3. Host A Fun Social Media Contest
Social media contests are a fantastic way to connect and engage with your followers, and are super easy to pull off too! As long as your prize provides value to your target audience and is relevant to your business, running a contest is a fun, cost-effective way to generate tons of social proof. Some of my favorite high-interaction social media contest ideas are:
Encouraging followers to like your post and tag-a-friend
Asking followers to upload their own photo using a branded hashtag
Having followers re-post your contest image and tag your profile
Asking followers to answer a question, and the funniest answer wins
All of these can result in more exposure for your brand via social sharing, and they give you a lot of opportunities to interact with your audience. Be sure to comment on each photo using your contest hashtag, or respond to each entry with a custom thank you message.
And that’s a wrap - so easy and so fun if you make it. Just because it’s easy to automate our social media marketing doesn’t mean we have to stop being social.
With Love | Nikki xo