Whether you’re a small business or an influencer, NXTFactor always hear variations of the same questions in regards to digital marketing. How do I increase my followers? How can I get a higher engagement rate? Why aren’t people commenting on my posts? In fact, we’ve been so driven by numbers and analytics and changes in algorithms to improve our brands that we forget the number one element that social media platforms reward: being social.
With integrations like paid advertisements, it can be easy for businesses to overlook social media as just a way to promote their products and services. (Basically a second website).
But social media allows businesses to become much more than just their product or services. Their brands can have a personality. Their brands can become involved with the community. The brands can push for values they believe in. In fact, the closer you can make your brand into a real life, breathing human – the better (just kidding!).
So how can we be more social on social media? We would like to refer to Gary Vaynerchuk’s $1.80 strategy and make further improvements on it. The process is simple:
- Follow hashtags that are important/relevant to your brand and engage in their posts
Look at the person’s bio and understand their interests and their values. When you find a post you want to engage in, leave your 2 cents. The comment doesn’t have to be long or profound but it has to be relevant. Be honest and authentic. Provide value for them with just one comment.
- Continue to comment, like, and engage
It’s .02 cents on 9 posts for 10 hashtags everyday. Pay attention to the accounts’ followers, likes, and comments. Even if the account has less than 500 followers, they may have tons of comments and likes, which indicate a very social channel.
Because social media is constantly changing, we added our own advice to optimize growth and engagement in 2019. This is what you can do on your own account that doesn’t involve the labor of reaching out to other accounts:
- Make use of stories and videos
Stories allow your followers to get a sneak peek of the workings behind your brand. This is a great opportunity to show your staff’s personality. Plus, you get the option of adding stickers! Stickers nudge followers to interact even more with your brand! Open your social media up to questions. Create a poll. Use the “yasss” sticker to create a mutual feeling with your customers. Your job in digital marketing is to bring this business to life.
- Asides from hashtags, always include a location in all your posts
Hashtags aren’t the only thing people look for. Due to the emerging travel and lifestyle culture, brands must make use of it. People are often looking for new places to explore within the area and if you forget to include yours, you’ll be left out from their itinerary!
- Emoticons!
We would like to emphasize that social media is primarily used for being social, not advertising (get the hint?). How many avid social media users have you seen that doesn’t use emoticons when creating a status? If we were to create a Google Ad with emoticons, Google will 100% shut our ad down. Social media doesn’t have those rules! But remember – use emoticons only enhance your story.
- Feature your fans
Comment on their posts or stories when they tag you. Feature them on your own social media and tag their accounts. Make a positive, personal comment about them in your captions. Give as much love to the community as they give to you. This is the ultimate tactic to prove to your audience that it’s not just about you, it’s really about your customers.
Have more questions on social media? Give us a call at 844-NXT-IDEA or email us at info@nxtfactor.com to accelerate your digital marketing strategy.
