How to Create Engaging Social Media Posts that Drive Engagement

The power of social media is undeniable -- that’s because humans are social beings and naturally curious. With social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, people are connecting like never before in history. This has allowed for streamlined consumption of photos and videos, but even more, the dissemination of opinions and ideas. In 2018, we’re truly living in a world where we can connect with anyone (on multiple levels) -- instantly.

Not only has social media made an impact on our personal lives, but in our professional lives as well. LinkedIn, for example, caters to businesses looking to build thought leadership and generate leads as a result. It’s a model that is being replicated on other platforms.

From a marketing perspective, engaging your audience on social media is undoubtedly the best way to build a trust among your target audience and defining your brand. However, social media is about being social so you need to be responsive. Regularly interacting with your followers will show measurable results with a higher conversion from referral traffic and significantly increase your ROI.

To help you drive engagement and traffic to your money site, here are some strategies that you can use to create powerful social media campaigns for your brand:

Use More Images in Your Post

Your audience, whether they’re on their smartphone, tablet or desktop want to SEE what you have to offer. Not just explain it. When a person sees an image, they stop for a second to process it so they have a better understanding of what you’re explaining/selling. Of course, you need a featured image that will be displayed in a follower’s newsfeed, but once they clickthrough, including images that break up the copy (and provide added value to the copy), adds flow and drives more conversion by leading more readers to the bottom where your CTA is located. Copy enhanced by images will also drive more shares which generate more impressions (brand awareness). However, you need to adjust your image sizes for each social media channel. Editing colour and adding filters, frames and other features can also boost your referral traffic from social media.

Be Responsive

It’s essential for brands to regularly respond to followers in threads on your engaging social media posts. Your followers want to see that you care about their feedback and opinion. If you don’t respond regularly, then they will see no point in engaging in the future. Far too many businesses treat social media as an afterthought -- they schedule posts and think that will be enough to drive traffic. Social media is a job in itself, that’s why brands that want to drive qualified leads from social media should have a dedicated person monitoring their social media channels. Not only will a social media manager boost referral traffic, but will also do social monitoring to gauge how your audience is responding to what your brand is doing.

Add Humour

If it’s in line with your brand personality, make a joke once and a while! Your audience wants to know that there is a face behind a brand and there’s no better way to be “more human” than by cracking a joke. Your content should bring a smile to their face, which will create an emotional connection with your brand and differentiate yourself from your competitors. However, you shouldn’t post anything risky for a laugh -- especially if you’re in an industry that must maintain a level of professionalism like law and health care. You don’t want to offend your followers with an off-colour joke because it can be detrimental to your brand reputation.

Share Facts

To drive engagement, you have to pique your audience’s curiousity. Social media channels like Facebook and Twitter can be entertaining, yet educational by sharing facts about your industry and brand. However, to build thought leadership, you need to get straight to the point. Photos are great for grabbing attention and quick engagement, which won’t directly generate referral traffic, but will drive shares which is invaluable for brand awareness.

Here are some ideas for thought leadership image posts:

• Stats post
• Condensed infographic
• Short case studies
• Top 5 list
• Highlight one fact (with source)

You can drive more engagement if you include a call to action on the image (ex: “Like and share if you agree!”).

Go Live

While photos can be effective, it’s video that is the most effective for all your social media campaign goals. Since social media is about being more human, “live” videos have skyrocketed in popularity because they’re candid, can be made anywhere, and become videos posted on your business profile for followers watch long after you’ve finished recording. Live videos were first available on Facebook and now their other platform Instagram has launched an almost identical live feature. Plus, when you go live, it sends a push notification to your followers to tune in. Live videos are most effective when you’re at an event or making an announcement. You can also have a Q&A with an influential figure in your industry or have a listening session with your followers. Prior to going live, you can promote it with an events page on Facebook or send an email blast to leads to check out the live session on social media.

If you would like to learn more on how to boost your referral traffic from social media, call TechWyse today at 866.208.3095 or contact us here.