In Part 1 of Social Gone Small, we explored the different social media platforms and the popular demographics found on each.  Now, we’re going to dive into they type of content that will get your audience engaged with your brand.  In Part 3, we’ll look at how you can grow a following of avid fans.

Social media is different than other types of marketing in that you are promoting to a social channel. The keyword there is social, and you need to keep in mind that people are on each site to interact with their friends and acquaintances. The best way to get your audience to engage is to be genuinely social with them. 

Here are 8 social media content hacks to show your personality and get to know your followers:

1. The Rule of Thumb

This rule of thumb hack is true of most social media sites. People will follow you if they are interested, and stop following if you are not sending them what entertains or educates them in some way. Therefore, you have to mix up your content. For every marketing-focused piece, you should post a few personal pieces. They can be about your employees. They can be about the current news. They can be funny videos that you find online. You can’t bombard followers with advertising. If you do, you will lose them.

2. Visual Content Is King

Images are extremely important on all social media sites with added importance on sites such as Pinterest, Snapchat, and Instagram. Creating original images is an easy way to stand out from your competitors. Make sure you are posting the recommended sized image for each site. There are many great online photo editing tools out there such as Canva and PicMonkey that are affordable and easy to use. 

3. Call-to-Action

For most social media sites, you have the ability to add a call-to-action in the text area for each post. You can ask your followers to bookmark a post, save it for later or read the rest on your blog. 

4. Post With Goals In Mind

Make sure you have a strategy for each post. Most social media posts have one of three goals:

  • Click to go to your site
  • Share this item with your friends
  • Respond with a like or comment

You can survey followers, have them take a quiz or show them a video. Make it short and simple and know why you are posting.

5. Stand Out With Videos

Videos are extremely popular and they don’t have to be long or professionally produced. A minute or less will get you the most views. You can post videos almost everywhere including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. The best videos are recorded with a smartphone and posted online. Instead of worrying about production, get your video out there fast. The more you do it, the easier it will get as you develop your voice. 

6. Share with Friends

Ask your followers to share. Social media channels are all about sharing with other people. That is how they grow. If you are engaging the right audience for your products or services, you can ask your followers to share with their friends. If they like what you are posting, then their friends will too.

7. Shorten Those Links

If you are not already using a link shortener, you should be. When you shorten links, you annoy people less AND you can track them. While you shouldn’t want to annoy your followers, tracking their behavior is something that can help you learn what is successful so you can repeat it. While some social media sites do provide analytics, most do not give you comprehensive information.

8. Be Picky

Do not try to jump on every social media site that comes out. Do your research and work with two or three to start that have the right audience for your company. You need to be consistent or there is no point to being on a site at all.

Want more insight into how to grow your social media strategy?  Check back to learn how to grow an engaged following.