For effectively and meaningfully reaching your audience, I think it’s safe to say that all marketers understand the important role social media plays in that quest. As a result, social media marketing has become a necessary tool for meeting your audience where they are. And it’s all about creating a connection with your audience by encouraging them to engage with you and the quality, informative and entertaining content that you share.
First, you’re competing hard for your audience’s attention. I mean, everyone is on social media these days. But the pleasant news is that there are several things you can do to give engagement a nice little boost. And the brilliant news is that anyone can do them, and that’s why we’re calling them hacks.
here are eight easy hacks that can lend your social media marketing strategy a hand and boost audience engagement.
#1–Ask interesting and creative questions to get a conversation going.
One of the best ways to engage your audience is to simply ask them to do so by posing thought provoking, interesting or creative questions. To get the best reach and to catch their eye, include a video or image with your question.
#2–Conduct polls.
Polls are any easy and effective way to generate engagement because they don’t require a lot of effort to take part in. They’re also a fabulous way to get recent information about your audience.
#3–Tag and mention commenters, sharers or those you’ve collaborated with.
Tagging or mentioning other people or brands in your posts can lend credibility to your post and notify those in your tagging that they’re being talked about and compel them to share with their audience. If you’re sharing content that could include multiple tags or mentions, don’t go too overboard and try to fit them all in. This doesn’t create a pleasurable user experience for your audience, nor does it give the people or brands you’re mentioning enough credit. Instead, create multiple, unique posts that are more personal and schedule them out over a few days.
#4 – Use hashtags.
This one may seem like an easy decision to some, but it’s definitely still worth mentioning. Hashtags help people find your social content, so including them where they’re relevant is a must.
To find relevant hashtags, search social media networks natively or take a look at databases such as Hashatit or Hashtagify.me. Also, do some research on hashtag best practices for each social network, as they often vary.
#5–Use interesting images and video.
I have said before it and I’ll say it again: humans are visual creatures. In fact, research shows that about 90% of the information that comes to our brains is visual. So, using interesting images and videos as part of your social media marketing strategy will get people to stop and look or watch.Take advantage of opportunities to give your audience a sneak peek at new products or events. These types of posts often do well because you’re inviting your audience to be a part of something unique.
# 6–Use current events to spark timely engagement.
Interesting events and news items are never in short supply. Use the relevantly to spark conversation and encourage people to share their thoughts.Take a look at the trending news topics sections on Twitter and Facebook to see what people are talking about. Google News is also a helpful spot to find interesting topics.
# 7–Launch a cool contest.
While social media contests are a common engagement tactic, you can’t argue their effectiveness when done right. Create a contest that is unique and easy for people to take part in.If a contest makes sense for your brand, make sure you abide by specific contest rules that are outlined by the different social networks to avoid any penalties.
# 8–Utilize social media management and engagement tools.
While the above seven hacks are easy and effective, they can only reach their full potential if you’re consistently posting and engaged in what’s happening on your pages. We can easily integrate social media management and engagement tools into your daily routine. They typically give you a place to schedule your posts and also help you keep up on social activity, so you can respond quickly and keep conversations going.
There are several tools—both free and for a fee—out there. Some of those include: Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Sprinklr, Spredfast and Buffer. Choose the one that best matches with your budget, goals, and the networks you’re using.
There are dozens and dozens of things you can do to more engage your audience. Hopefully, these hacks provide you with a place to build your engagement efforts. Just remember, social media is all about building that relationship. So be consistent, be creative and be interesting.
What are some social media marketing hacks that you used to boost engagement? Tell us in the comments section below.
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