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“If you build it, they will come”. In business, this conjures up an image of creating an amazing service and just waiting for potential clients to swarm in with the mission to buying from you”
This was a good line for the iconic 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”, but not the reality for most businesses.
You not only want to create an amazing service, but you also have to let people know about the value it brings and you have to do it repeatedly.
On average, it takes over 16 impressions for your target audience to decide that they want to buy from you.
Social Media makes those impressions cost-effective.
And an effective strategy is the foundation to increasing your engagement.
Increased engagement boosts your “Know, Like, Trust” factor.
Potential Clients need to know your brand, like your brand and trust your brand.
An increase in these factors can lead to increased sales.
Having an effective Social Media Engagement Strategy means you can:
- Identify what success looks like
- Know which of your marketing efforts are working
- Save time by focusing on those actions to grow your business
Identify: Know What You Are Measuring
What does success look like to you?
If you have never asked yourself this question in your marketing strategy it is important that you decide what you want to measure. It is important that your expectations align with the reality of your strategy.
With running your own business sometimes there is a lot of pressure to ensure what you are doing is working. And getting real results means identifying what you are measuring and how you are measuring.
To do this, you may want to take a step back.
So, what and when do you measure?
Will it be views, likes, shares, comments, followers, profile views, profile link clicks, or website visits? Which of these is a good indication of your post messages? What is your call to action?
Measuring your results at similar points in time is a good way to see changes in your data and get to understand which posts are working, so you can do more of that.
For example, you can choose to measure from month to month, week to week or compare your result today versus the same time last year.
Relationships: You Go First
When you are in business mode, it is easy to think of marketing a transactional system, you put up a post and you get some likes, follows, etc, but, it is an investment in relationships
This change of attitude from solely focused on marketing-mode to a connection-building mode can help you develop your strategy.
If you want other people to like, share, follow your brand, you need to be doing that stuff for them first.
Are you following your ideal clients? Are you interacting with them? Are you following the hashtags they are following? Are you following the content they are viewing? Do you know what groups they are in?
If you want your prospects to engage with you, engage with them first.
‘Priming the algorithm’ means behaving in the way the platform rewards so that you are more likely to have your content rank high among that target audience.
Think of it like a “warm referral”. The algorithm is more likely to favour showing your posts if there has been prior engagement with that profile.
To prime the algorithm, engage with them before you post your own content.
Try this tactic and see how it affects your engagement!
Simplify: Choose a Few
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is real. Especially when it comes to social media. It is easy to fall in the trap of adding more to your marketing efforts.
Instead of being a “jack-of-all-trades”, consider selecting social media platforms that best suit your business goals.
What if you focused on the top 1-3 platforms that would make the most impact in your business?
You would spend less time learning each platform, changing the dimensions of each post and trying to figure out specific tactics that go along in using each platform.
This time saved could be put towards focusing on strategies that work on the platforms that matter most to your business.
Using fewer social media platforms does not mean limiting your business potential, in fact, it could mean increasing time, effectiveness, and sales.
To get the most out of this strategy, consider taking an online course on the specific social media platform you would most like to use for your business.
Tactics: Know the Game
Compared to traditional ads, posts that are tailored to the specific platform gave 53% more views.
You want to format your posts to what is ideal for that specific social media platform – the size and shape of your visuals, length of caption, use of hashtags, where you place outbound links, and more.
The benefit of having fewer platforms to manage, means you have increased capacity to optimize your posts.
For example, LinkedIn totally prioritizes content that has links that are within LinkedIn and not so much for links to outside platforms (like your own blog).
Social media platforms want users to stay on their platform, so they optimize the algorithm for the user experience. Each social media will favour posts that suit the way the users interact on their platforms.
Consider learning not only the strategy for social media but the specific tactics for the platform you choose to focus on.
Evaluate: Let Go of What Does Not Work
We have all been there before, sticking to a strategy that does not yield the best results, but it is what we have been doing for a long time.
Getting unstuck, will be the key to finding strategies that actually work.
There are many reasons to re-evaluate a strategy as platforms constantly change their algorithms. Re-assessing your strategy to ensure it still aligns with the way the platform rewards is important.
When you know what you are measuring, you are able to use objective metrics based on your marketing goals to determine if a strategy is working. You do not have to guess as many social media apps and websites have analytics within.
Once you start eliminating what is not working, you free up resources, energy and time for what truly works so you focus on other aspects of your business that bring you joy.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with the results in your current social media efforts, try these 5 steps so you can have more time to create the freedom, personal income and creative fulfillment you want.
Business of Creativity specializes in helping business service providers create a clear marketing message, and create a step-by-step action plan to consistently attract your ideal client.
If you want to learn ways to attract projects and clients you love, join us in one of our FREE weekly virtual events here.
Prefer a tailored, one-on-one experience? Book a FREE session with one of our experienced advisors here.
