We all know that social media is a powerful tool for marketing our businesses. But what makes one post more engaging than another?
More importantly, how do you get people to stop and take notice of your content?
As consumers get bombarded with too much information, it is no surprise that people’s attention span is getting shorter. Believe it or not, you only have 3 seconds or less to grab someone’s attention in today’s mobile-first swipe culture!
So if you’ve ever wondered,
“Why are my social media posts not getting enough attention and engagement?”
Then keep on reading – we’ll explore some tips and tricks for creating engaging social media posts that will help you stand out from the crowd. Let’s begin!
1. Share interesting and relevant news stories.
As a business owner, having a social media presence is essential to digital marketing because it helps you reach new customers and increase brand awareness.
However, with so much content being shared every day on any social platform, how can you create engaging and relevant posts for your audience?
One way to make sure your posts stand out from the rest is to share interesting and relevant news stories. This can help keep your followers engaged, and it also shows that you are up-to-date on the latest industry news.
In addition, you can use news stories as an opportunity to start a conversation with your followers. It’s not surprising to see people taking a stand on what they truly care about on any social media platform. So, ask their thoughts on the story, or share your own opinion in the comments.
By creating engaging social media content that shows your values and advocacies, you can build relationships with your followers and grow your brand.
| Social media marketing goes hand-in-hand with content marketing. Sharing original content, such as your written blog post, helps build authority. Compelling content, such as social proof, helps build credibility. And sharing curated related posts and social content by other experts and influencers helps expand your social network. |
2. Post photos and videos that are visually appealing.
In today’s age of social media, it’s important to have posts that are informative and visually appealing.
Remember, you only have 3 seconds or less to grab the attention of a social media user. And having eye-catching and scroll-stopping visual content would do just that!
Here are a few tips on how to create visually appealing and engaging content:
- Use bright, contrasting colors in your photos and videos to stand out.
- Use interesting angles and closeups to add visual interest.
- Keep social media your video short and sweet – under one minute is ideal.
- Use descriptive captions to tell a story and pull people in.
- Always incorporate your branding for recall.
By following these tips, you can create a social post that will stop people from scrolling and get them interested in checking out your content.
| Doing a Facebook Live is a great way to increase social media engagement. You can reach more potential customers this way because Facebook notifies all your followers whenever you go live. In comparison, regular image and video content may not appear on all your followers’ feeds. |
3. Give your followers a glimpse into your personal life.
People want to do business with people they know, like, and trust. And people want to see that there’s a real person behind the account.
Sharing personal details can help to create that connection. Of course, you don’t want to overshare, and you also need to consider the nature of your business.
So, what can you share without making your business page look like an extension of your personal social media account? Here are a few examples:
- Personal anecdotes
- Behind-the-scene photos and videos
- “A day in the life” posts
- Ask questions or solicit feedback
- Ask opinions on topics related to your industry
Giving people a glimpse of what’s happening behind the scenes and giving them a chance to chime in will help them feel like you’re valuing their voice.
When you invite them to be a part of the conversation, you instill connection and trust.
| Different social media channels have different uses. This type of content is excellent for Instagram Story and Facebook Story, especially if you want to keep your business page more professional. While LinkedIn is a platform built for more professional-related posts. |
4. Use humor and wit in your posts.
One key to creating an engaging post is to use humor and wit. People enjoy reading great content that makes them laugh.
Of course, it’s important not to overdo it. Too much humor can come across as trying hard or even offensive. A good rule of thumb is to keep your posts light-hearted and fun without crossing the line into being insensitive.
But what if humor and wit are not part of your branding? The quick answer is to stick to your branding. You don’t want to confuse your audience by being inconsistent with your voice. The key is to infuse your brand’s personality in your social media content.
That said, branding is a never-ending process. Look at how effective your current branding is with your target audience. It could be time to rebrand.
5. Be interactive – respond to comments and questions from followers.
If you want to create engaging social media posts, one of the best things you can do is be interactive.
Respond to comments and questions from your followers, and take the time to engage in conversations. This will not only make your posts more engaging, but it will also show your followers that you value their input and feedback.
But let’s face it – as a business, you will receive negative and spammy comments. Do you still need to respond?
Here’s a quick answer from Prosperna’s Social Media Expert:
- Negative Comments: Respond to the comment by thanking them for the feedback and asking them to send you a private message so you can help them resolve the issue.
- Spammy Comments: Don’t respond, but you can hide their comment. Who knows? The social media’s algorithm might still count this as engagement.
| What if the social media user persists in leaving spammy comments? You can choose to delete their comments and block their account to avoid future interaction with your posts. |
6. Promote events, products, or services you offer.
At the end of the day, you’re a business. You need to have social media posts that promote your events, products, or services so people will know what you are offering and how they can buy from you.
But it is also true that people don’t want to be sold to. Anything that is “too salesy” will be a huge turn-off.
So how can you create social media posts that will make people interested in looking at your ads and promotions? Here are a few tips:
- Keep your target audience in mind. What would they be interested in seeing? What would prompt them to click through to learn more about what you’re offering?
- Always include visuals. As mentioned earlier, the visual element in your post is what grabs your audience’s attention.
- Use a powerful headline. Hook your audience with a compelling headline once you’ve grabbed their attention. Make sure it piques their curiosity to find out more.
- Be clear and concise in your copy. Once your audience is hooked, it’s time to convert them with compelling content that speaks about the benefits and value of your offering.
- Have a clear call to action or CTA. Tell your audience what you want them to do. Do you want them to sign up for your event? Check out your product? Or buy directly inside the social platform?
| If you give your audience a clear path to follow, they’re more likely to take action. |
Engage Your Social Media Followers
Keep in mind that creating engaging social media posts requires a lot of testing and experimentation. But these six quick tips will help turn the tide in your favor.
As part of your social media strategy, test different types of content using these tips and look at how each social media post performs based on the social channel.
If there’s little to no engagement, tweak and test again. For posts with high engagement, identify what you did in that post and implement it again in your next posts.
Creating engaging social media posts helps keep people engaged and helps boost traffic to your eCommerce website. So, what are you waiting for? Get started today!
Further reading:
- Small Business Marketing Trends in the Philippines
- 4 Steps to Marketing Automation for Your Small Business
- 7 Tech Tools You Need for Online Selling
- Top 15 Philippines Marketing Blogs, Websites & Newsletters to Follow in 2018
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