3 Ways to Increase Audience Engagement on Social Media

You’ve taken the time, and started to establish a presence on social media, but you don’t seem to have much in the way of a ‘fan base’ or consistent numbers. It’s frustrating, and you want to find ways to interact more, to get more people sharing and talking about your business. We understand, so we’ve put together a list of the top three ways to increase audience engagement on social media, along with examples of where to start.

Contests

Perhaps the easiest to start with is a contest. Have followers share the tag for your contest in some innovative way that ties back to your brand.

Do you have a fitness blog? Have them take a picture doing a plank somewhere interesting.

If you deal in fashion, have your followers show off a favorite outfit, or how they look trying on a product of yours.

You could also have them make a video or share a creative work. The goal here is to get them to a) share your tag, and b) spread the word both about the contest and thus increase audience engagement with your brand.

Challenges

This one is sort of like a contest, but not quite. Instead of offering up a prize, the idea here is to get people talking, and sharing ideas. You’re just giving them a starting off point. A few examples include Six Word Story, Darebee’s monthly challenges, and Inktober. You don’t necessarily have to be the one to start a challenge, but you should make it known that you, or some of your employees are participating in it, and supporting it.

Webinars

Webinars are a fantastic idea, that is just starting to take off. If you’ve got something you can teach, explain or talk about, this is for you.  If your industry doesn’t really allow for that, consider interviewing people in your industry. This allows you to still take advantage of offering your fans value, while not having to give away company secrets, or discussing topics that are only interesting to a select few. The benefits of webinars are multitudinous, but the top 3 are:

• Building Trust- Hosting a webinar allows you to provide something to your audience for free, that they couldn’t necessarily gain on their own. Sure the information might be out there on the internet, but how long would they have to hunt for it before they could find it? This is what you need to emphasize. That you are providing not only the best information, but providing it in an easy to digest manner.
• Establishing Your Brand As An Authority- Going hand in hand with the above, when you do provide information, interviews or demos, you’re establishing yourself as an expert. You’re giving your fans a face to associate with your company, and giving them a way to see your brand as more than just a faceless collection. This is important in that people are more likely to trust a person they can see, rather than a collective they can’t.
• Building Interaction With Your Audience- After you’ve done the webinar, there’s usually a period for questions and answers, much like there is at a conference, or in person. By doing this you’re getting to reach out to your fans. They can ask questions, and feel a personal connection for the time that you take to answer them. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, you’re directly interacting with them, which of course just serves to reinforce the first two points.

As you can see interaction with your followers can be simple, and even rewarding. If you take some time to plan out what best fits your needs, and what you can offer, it’s possible to find something tailor-made for your business. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can increase audience engagement on social media, please contact us today. We would love to help you craft a media plan to fit your needs.