10 easy ways to create more engaging social media posts

by in Digital Marketing, Social Media

In 2018, it is estimated that there will be around 2.67 billion social network users around the globe, up from 1.91 billion in 2014. Personally and professionally social media affects us all on a daily basis, whether this is directly or indirectly. From a business perspective if you’re not using social media in some way to market your company then you could be missing out on so many effective (and probably more importantly, free) marketing opportunities. Different things work for different people but the below tips should help your social media posts get more engagement.

1. Be visual

Stats show that visual content is currently the most engaging content online and is the most likely to get shared on social media. According to Hubspot using coloured visuals increases people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80% and tweets with images receive 150% more re-tweets than tweets without images.

2. Let people get to know YOU

Where else would you get to see images of the CEO playing games at a BBQ or Web Developers & Designers engaging in a fierce ping pong contest? Offer insight to behind the scenes of your company and you may find that this helps open your company up to a whole new audience as well as being popular with your regular followers.

3. Short & Sweet

As consumers we have increasingly short attention spans and can be really choosy with what we see and hear thanks to the large amount of content we have access to. Something like an infographic can be really effective as it’s an easy and quick way for people to absorb lots of information but is still highly appealing. Infographics are “liked” and shared on social media x3 times more than any other type of content.

 

 


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4. Video

Video has become such a successful marketing tool because we want to be informed as quickly as possible and to be honest, without us doing much to get that information. With 52% of marketers believing that video is the content that gives you the best ROI and stats indicating that 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that any content marketing strategy should involve video. Best of all, anyone can have a budget for it.

5. Maintain focus

Using social media for business purposes can be hard work, seriously. Particularly when you are trying to maintain a regular routine, it can be tempting to post more content that is silly and fun compared with content that is actually offering your followers anything useful. If you know you are guilty of this be careful that you don’t turn people off who are genuinely interested in you as a business and rely on you to inform them regularly.

6. Be unique

There is so much content out there in the market, it’s difficult to actually post something that hasn’t already been done. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries and be the one to start something new, rather than jumping on the trending bandwagon.

 

 


https://twitter.com/wave_rm/status/794224618588540928
 

7. Lose the hard sell

People on social media ultimately don’t want to be sold to, they want to be entertained. If you try to sell too hard, too often you will turn people off and they won’t want to engage with your content. By engaging people with stories and content that is interesting to consume, it won’t feel like you are trying to sell your products, but will hopefully show off the services you do offer in a good light.

8. Get interactive

2016 saw a rise in popularity on all things interactive when it comes to social media, the big winners being Instagram Stories, Facebook Live and Snapchat. According to Hootsuite more than 400 million snaps are sent every day which highlights how engaged their users are on this platform as people are having conversations through their snaps, not just sending a quick post.

 

 


https://www.instagram.com/p/BI-Se7GjvLr/?taken-by=wave.group
 

9. It’s all in the mix

Don’t just stick to one method of communication – try out different content and different platforms until you establish what works for you and your business.

10. Tailor your content

Following on from the point above, once you understand your audience’s preferences then you can tailor your content so that you post relevant content to specific groups and individuals, which should help keep your followers engaged.

Social media posts can therefore make all the difference when it comes to selling your brand and standing out against your competitors but it’s vital that you don’t just post for the sake of posting. Keep your posts as engaging as possible and you should start to see the benefits for your business.