Having lots of followers is nice, but if you don’t have high engagement, your brand could suffer.
In the social media realm, quality is more important than quantity. It’s far better to have a small audience, say of 100 people, who engage with your brand regularly, than it is to have a large audience, say of 10,000 people, who never engage with your brand at all. This is because followers who are actively engaged with your brand have a much higher likelihood of clicking through to your site and of course, actually buying something.
Achieving a high level of user engagement isn’t easy. However, there are five types of social media posts that have a high propensity to increase follower engagement:
- Contests demand that people get involved, and if you offer good rewards, they’ll be happy to do it. For example, you could offer a cash prize to a winner randomly selected from a pool of contestants who share a particular photo or use a certain hashtag.
- Surveys and Questions. This is a way of asking your audience to participate directly, and it shows that you truly care about your followers. Your surveys could be directly related to your brand, like questions asking whether your followers approve of a new product line, or innocuous, like what they think of the weather.
- Giveaways and Promotions. People like free and discounted stuff. If you host a promotion appealing enough, it’s going to get people talking—and they’ll be more likely to share the post with their own friends and followers.
- Controversial Stances. Controversial topics are risky, but that risk is often rewarded with extra attention. Even if you end up alienating a part of your following, you’ll increase your brand visibility and increase loyalty in those that remain. It also shows your human side—just steer clear of anything political or religious. Stick to industry-related stances, or stances on local developments.
- Get people laughing, and they’ll be yours forever. How you go about it is up to you and the limits of your brand’s personality.
Put these post types to good use in your own social media marketing strategy. The more your readers engage with your brand, the more you stand to benefit from your ongoing social media work.
