Social media has become the focal point of society. Everyone from high schoolers just getting their first accounts to the leader of our country seems to be plugged in, sharing, and talking online.
It is the truth of marketing and sales that a business is expected to have an online presence. Unfortunately, not all companies have the time to dedicate to creating and cultivating an online presence. For the most part, social media operates as an afterthought.
Perhaps your company has decided to take a look at their social media and digital presence. The results haven’t been great unfortunately. There is good news for you though; all hope is not lost.
There’s no profound mystery in the process of improving your social media content.
If you want to create powerful content that engages readers; start by finding out what makes their hearts and minds tick. The more you understand your audience, the more effective you’ll be at reaching them with content they want to share.
Here are five steps you can take today to make that happen
1.Create Share-worthy Content
The New York Times conducted a study on why people share specific content online.
The results? Unsurprisingly, the connections we make drive what is shared online. People were more likely to share when they felt the information would be:
- Valuable and entertaining to others
- Helpful in nourishing connections
- Representative of who they are as a person
When you’re choosing what content to publish, take a look at what people are sharing. While this takes time, seeing what messages are getting shared can keep your content relevant and timely.
Don’t just create click-bait articles, though, where the title is catchy but there’s nothing of substance for your readers. Most of the time, your audience will turn on you and begin to distrust your future content.
Additionally, if you are using your content in an attempt to rank for certain keywords on Google, relevant content usually appears higher in search results.
2. Engage & Entertain
It helps to be funny, but you don’t have to be a stand-up comedian. There’s no one-size-fits-all brand of humor, but if you can make a person smile in an honest way, you’ve won more than half the battle.
One of the best ways to do this is by making yourself the focus of the joke. When your readers laugh with you, they’ll want to share with others who “get” them as well. Wendy’s social media is a great way to see how other businesses use humor to their advantage.
Keep in mind though, humor isn’t always the best message to send to your prospective clients. You can entertain your audience in a variety of ways. Try testing out humor on your audience to see how well it is received. Use those results to adjust your approach.
Bonus tip: Throw in a relevant emoji or two. Facebook posts with emoji’s receive a 33% higher share rate than those without them.
3. Tell Your Story
Instead of just being a store with another blog, humanize your content. Authentic personalizations resonate strongly with audiences. Find a way to be empathetic with your customers while sharing your own experiences.
People remember stories far better than they do facts and statistics. Set yourself apart by setting out to tell a relatable story that includes important details and stats, but doesn’t focus on the numbers.
Recount your own experiences and people will be eager to follow along.
Storytelling also helps you avoid sounding like a robot and falling into lazy writing habits. Think about what you enjoy reading. Sentences with is, am, are, was, were in them don’t have as much impact as their active verb counterparts.
4. Stay Up-to-Date and Relevant
Don’t be a content dinosaur. Stay informed on what’s going on in the world and what people are talking about.
Follow other feeds on a regular basis to keep your finger on the chatter pulse. Stay on top of relevant trends so you can write from a current frame of reference.
Take the time to re-do your content if the information is out-dated or if better technology has been released.
As you update your content, re-share that information with your audience. You’ll have the built up page authority on the post, while providing relevant information. This can also give it a bit of a boost in your rankings on Google, as they will recrawl the page.
5. Ask for Help
Often the best way to improve your social media content is to ask your audience what they need to learn. Use social media to discover what your readers are interested in talking about.
With today’s social media platforms, polls and various other tools give you instant responses from your audiences.
Treat social media as a good conversation between friends. Just like in real life, talk less about yourself and listen more to what the other person has to say. Experiment with turning statements into questions to get immediate feedback.
If you’d like to learn how to construct a social media plan to attract more consumers, call us at 702-270-8772 or fill out our convenient online form today.
We look forward to helping you get an ADTACK plan for your social media.
