Social Media Management involves Engagement
Any marketing expert will tell you that compelling content is the key to a successful social media strategy. So why does interesting, well-written material sometimes flop?
One of the most important factors in social media management is engagement. Ultimately, your social media posts should convert your followers from readers into paying customers. But to get there, people need to see what you’re posting.
Many social media posts get lost due to complex algorithms that determine what shows up in your news feed. For example, Facebook uses EdgeRank, which accounts for time decay, weight and affinity. In simple terms, EdgeRank shows you what it thinks will be most relevant to you based on the age of the post, the post’s activity and how well it thinks you know the poster. Unfortunately, this type of ranking means that if your followers aren’t seeing what you’re posting, the situation is only going to compound on itself. The bright side, however, is that there are things you can do to prevent this.
1. Post Frequently
The success of your page depends largely on two things: posting frequently and getting people to engage with those posts. It should be obvious that the more you post, the more likely it is people will see your content. However, seeing a post isn’t the same as interacting with it.
2. Engage Your Followers
When someone “likes” a post, the activity is visible to their friends (who aren’t necessarily your followers), potentially leading new customers to your company. And when that initial person likes the post in the first place, EdgeRank learns that they are interested in your content and want to see more of it. This means the next time you post, they are more likely to see it.This relationship intensifies with the strength of the action. On Facebook, “liking” content is good for your affinity with a given person, but commenting is even better. Sharing is best because it brings your content directly to the original poster’s friends, who constitute an entire network beyond your immediate followers.
3. Ask Questions
To encourage engagement, pose questions on social media. Invite your followers’ opinions on your content or relevant issues, prompting them to actively engage with your page. For example, a real estate company might post a property listing with the text, “What’s your favourite thing about this neighbourhood?” This is a creative way of advertising your business while also encouraging people to engage with you.
4. Tag Relevantly
Tagging is another great way to increase your exposure. When you tag another page in a post, your post is also visible to the tagged page’s followers, opening the potential for many more people to view and engage with your content. This is especially true of pages that have a large numbers of fans, but keep in mind that spamming with tags is never a good thing.The only way to truly interact with your followers is to develop a mutual, organic relationship on social media.
