5 Tips to Increase Social Media Interaction

Social media offers a unique opportunity for a business to broaden brand exposure which is why understanding how to go about social media interaction properly is important for a company of any size. Plus, for those small or mid-sized businesses the cost of using social media is minimal which considering the global reach is a huge reason to take advantage of it.

How can you easily do that?

Unfortunately you can’t just sign-up for a Facebook or Twitter account and suddenly expect to reap the rewards of instant followers and promotion; there is a little work involved. Luckily the work is basically just your time thus why the low cost.

5 Tips to Boost Social Media Interaction

• Use multiple platforms – Facebook is nice because it is the biggest fish in the pond, but there are a lot of social media platforms available and they should all be considered. Twitter is the number two option and then you have YouTube, Pinterest, Google+, Instragram, StumbleUpon, Vine, Tumblr…are you getting the picture? Take some time to investigate each platform. Understand which platforms appeal to your core demographic. Then try to utilize each platform, one at a time, to slowly build your social media base. While some people might think jumping on every platform at once to be a good idea, it works better to really understand one platform and utilize before adding the next.
• Content is king – There is nothing worse than bad content. Well…there is but for this discussion let’s just go with that idea. Great content is important because you are providing something useful that people can’t get elsewhere. Personal anecdotes, examples based on experience, new concepts, fresh products and similar things are all good ideas for content. Keys to good content include being concise, using a good headline, an opening paragraph that hooks people, and content that in itself is interesting or helpful.
• Always answer comments – This is a powerful idea to maximize engagement. Sure, it might be easier to not reply to the angry comment or the boring one, but it pays to not overlook it. Even responding with “That is interesting!” or “Thanks for commenting!” lets people know that you care. Consider using a more detailed response on points that can spark conversation to increase engagement. Remember, this is social media so you need to work on being social at all times with people.
• Add interactive content – Use polls, surveys or voting to create a more interactive environment. Create Top-5 lists and ask readers for suggestions that aren’t already there. Create a contest for naming your next product. Include raffles and cheap prizes for people who engage in the polls or surveys. They key is to make people take notice and interact. People want to have fun and feel like they are a part of something so give them the opportunity.
• Track results – This is the bottom of the list but in some ways the most critical step to the process; monitor your progress! Google Analytics is a great free too for keeping track of results or there are other various services you can pay for monthly to track your progress and reach with various platforms. To understand what strategies work best along with which platforms it is essential to monitor progress. Then you can focus on the social media sites that provide the best results along with replicating the good ideas that push your brand further while tweaking or eliminating the ones that don’t.

The bottom line is that social media is a very inexpensive way to expose your brand to a large audience. You have to look at it like a marathon because it will take consistent work over a decent stretch to get the machine up and running but that effort can pay off in a big way once it picks up steam. The benefits of social media interaction are well worth the time and energy spent much like other avenues of marketing.