The simplest and most effective thing you can do to gain followers and influence is be interesting. It’s not as easy as it sounds, particularly for companies, as social media is an ongoing commitment and it can be hard to judge success. Whether you’re promoting yourself, your business or both, here are our top tips to give your updates more of a kick.
Don’t talk about the weather
More specifically, don’t say something just for the sake of getting your voice out there. Make what you say relevant to your audience for better engagement and higher response rates. You can still ask the question, but phrase it in a more specific (and slightly more creative) way. Turn ‘What are your plans for the weekend?’ into ‘What design projects are you getting involved with at the weekend?’ for the web industry, ‘What are you cooking for Sunday lunch?’ for recipe and food sites, ‘How are you planning to keep your kids entertained over the next few days?’ for family-themed pages, for example.
If you can’t think of anything to say, that’s fine too. People prefer high-quality, less-frequent updates, so don’t feel pressured if inspiration eludes you.
Keep it human
Automating updates can save a lot of time, but there’s also the risk that you miss out on real-time interaction and discussion. Automating your Facebook updates is particularly dangerous as fans may hide the app you’re using to automate posts if another page is annoying them with it – and so potentially hiding all your messages as well.
It’s not (always) about you
Don’t talk about how many followers you’ve got (unless you’re turning it into a contest or special offer). No one is bothered about whether you’ve just hit 10,000, or you’ve got 5 to go before you hit 100…unless they’re going to get something out of it. Reducing people to numbers is also misleading as it’s the engagement that’s important.
People love being asked for their opinions, so make the most of it to get a discussion going. Create polls, use hashtags and pose questions for comment. Post links and resources with your followers in mind.
Be different
Don’t always retweet or repost updates from the same couple of users. You’re giving people a reason to follow them and not you. Make a list of reasons why people would and should follow you on Twitter to help you improve your updates.
‘Be different’ also applies across networks. Try to post different things to your Twitter stream and Facebook page rather than cross-posting from one to the other. This way you’re giving people a reason to follow you on both platforms so they don’t miss out. When you’re sharing the same link across both, vary the message or add a question to keep it interesting and ‘human’.
Use different formats
Sharing a variety of content types is especially important for Facebook pages, because it immediately adds colour and attracts attention to what is otherwise a plain white page. Posting photos, using link previews and image previews and setting up polls creates interest and shows you keep your page varied and interesting.
Now that Twitter has incorporated the ‘Recent Image’ feature to profiles, take the opportunity to tell visitors more about yourself, your projects or your business by refreshing your recent photos and including essential information.
Take feedback seriously
If you get lots of retweets or compliments about an article or shared resource, find/write others or consider creating a series or list. Conversely, if people complain that you’re posting too much or they don’t like your updates, respond accordingly and find out what they would like to see and when.
I couldn’t agree more, I absolutely agree with everything you’ve said. Without consciously realising it I’ve been using my shop Facebook Page exactly the way you describe. And it works! The number of fans ‘liking’ me is growing and whilst it is slow it’s also organic. I don’t actively pester people to ‘like’ me. And Facebook fans sometimes pop in the shop just to comment on one of my posts or tell me it made them laugh (and whilst they’re there often buy something!! – result!)
There’s no shortage of companies on Facebook, and Twitter, who just ‘use’ the site as a marketing platform. Big turn-off. They miss the whole point of Facebook and Twitter – they’re called Social Media for a reason, a media for socialising.
He’s a blatant plug for my Facebook Page to show you what I mean and how I use it:
https://www.facebook.com/LutterworthMotorSpares
Spelling: here’s
Hi Paul, just checked out your page and I have to say I love the way you’ve made it so friendly and interesting. Definitely an inspiration, I can see why people keep reading and stay engaged with it. Thanks for commenting!
Thank you for your kind words. And thanks for the ‘like’. And thank you for thanking me for commenting and commenting on my comment.
Paul.
Great example Paul – I take my hat off to you. Time is our biggest problem… Here’s how not to do a business Facebook Page…
http://www.facebook.com/CraftyJungle
… there, I hold my hands up.
In the end, it’s about how best to spend your time and ROI – you’ve got to make money! All the case studies and market info. I’ve read suggests people want something in return for a like…
http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/dollars-off-best-retail-facebook-keyword-19285/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink
I’ve also studied PPC on Facebook and you can easily lose your shirt if you’re in the wrong niche. At the moment Facebook is good for, well – being sociable. It’s also good for building a brand name if your market is big enough… and for certain niches.
Visits/sales to conversion rates stink (you can probably smell them from where you are). Go on I dare you… start tracking the clicks – all the time and effort you put in – vs the £ returns. I know – you’ve got to start some time. But there are still better ways to spend your time to increase sales.
Ah well… Must start building that page, our ‘super-brand’ status can’t be that far away…
Hi John. Thanks for the reply.
I use Facebook purely to engage with customers, I think it’s the Big Thing that Facebook is really good for. We’re just a little motor spares shop and don’t expect huge dollar returns directly from Facebook, but the ability to interact with customers when they’re not actually in my shop is great. Anything that keeps reminding them that we’re here and helps build the relationship between us is good in my book. After all – ‘people buy from people’ and Facebook help reinforce the fact that I’m a people!
Absolutely fascinating subject.
Regards, Paul.