Over the last few years as I have been working on building our blog, I didn’t realize I was building our blog. In my mind I was simply surviving life out loud. It was a place for me to dump my brain. Life makes the most sense when I write it out and allow my brain to process through this awesome channel.
Over the last year I was presented with the opportunity to attempt to go “pro” with our blog. I do not consider myself a pro, but I do consider myself having learned a lot in the last year. I have had the awesome privilege of managing other businesses social media platforms. This has given me another opportunity, this one has allowed me to listen to the needs and wants of other people. A business is only as successful as its ability to listen to their clients and be able to provide them with the best possible services or products.
We have dealt with the common question that is asked when learning to manage a social media platform. The question is, “How do you get the best engagement”?
Here are a few things we have learned about creating great engagement online.
- Honestly, our most successful clients are those who are shooting the breeze with their clients online. Their clients feel like they are sitting at the local bar with them sipping a couple of beers or hanging out at the golf course talking a little business, but also catching up on their families, how well their fantasy football league is doing and other relaxed conversation. This is the conversation clients and people in general want to read. Life is hard enough, we want to laugh, relax, drink coffee, wine and/or beer and we want a place to not have to be so serious. This is what your social media platforms need to look like.
- If you do not have great community or customer relationships, going online will not fix this. The best form of spreading word about a business is done by word of mouth. Friends telling their friends, who tell their mother, she tells her coworker and your business is booming. This is just as true online. Word of mouth is still the best. If you have poor customer or community relationships in all honesty going online could hurt your business worse. Social media is a place to take your already awesome offline relationship with your clients and make it even better.
- Create posts that go along with your companies goals, vision, welcoming atmosphere and how your family or friends tie into your business. People want to relate to real people, they want helpful do-it-yourself posts, tools to make their life better, cheaper or frugal; or they want to laugh and share the laughter with their friends. They want to feel hope for today and be inspired to keep going tomorrow. This is successful online and offline marketing.
- How often you post depends on your business and what you have going on. Are you a construction business in the middle of a big project that has something changing everyday, go ahead and share a quick picture here and there through out the week and depending on the platform you are on share three to four throughout the day. Are you a mortgage company that is harder to make “fun”. Share funny meme’s, quotes, community events and there is a national day happening everyday that can be fun to share.
- Live video is huge and can extend your reach. Take a couple of minutes and walk people through your store, introduce them to your employees, give insights into your day or talk about great products you are getting in. Christmas is right around the corner and toy stores will continue to get new toys daily, show your clients the products you are unwrapping or watch as you open the boxes. Be excited and get your customers excited right along with you. Changing out your store front window, ask your customers what their suggestions are. There are a lot of possibilities to help your customers feel you value their input.
Social media is a fun place to get creative, be unique and bring a twist no one else has thought of to their platforms. Get out there and be awesome. Remember social media is about building real, live relationships. Get out there and engage!