In social networks, it is not enough just to be. If your company has a presence in a social network, it should generate conversation, interactions. Social networks facilitate the approach of the consumer with the brand, something that can not happen in other channels and should be exploited.
It is not simple. Increase and maintain a good ratio of interactions, or as we commonly call it, engagement rate goes beyond publishing on social networks. Much more.
Social networks such as Facebook make this challenge difficult, since they limit the scope very much. A worrying fact that gives Buzzsumo on this subject:
“Since January the engagement of brands on Facebook has decreased by 20%”
It is no longer just a matter of a number, of a percentage.
Increase engagement in social networks means connect with the user, offer value, position yourself in your mind as a different brand.
How can you get your company to improve that valuable engagement in social networks?
Affinity and quality community. The quality above the quantity.
One of the tips we gave you when we talk about the multichannel strategy is related to this point. Before starting a social media strategy you must understand and locate where is your buyer person.
There are hundreds of social networks, although only some are mentioned. You must focus on those in which your efforts can be rewarded, can have an acceptable ROI.
Getting a large community on social networks is relatively simple. There are tools that automate processes or you can even buy followers. Do you really think that’s any use? Only to deceive yourself.
It is very easy to see profiles of companies in social networks with many followers. However, the interactions that can be seen in their publications are scarce. There is hardly any conversation, approach … According to a study by the University of South Carolina and the University of Indiana, there are 81 million false accounts on Facebook and another 48 million on Twitter.
Do not worry about the quantity, worry about the quality.
Define your audience, your buyer person
If you do not define how the user you want to impact is, you will not be able to take a safe first step. It’s not just about being in the social networks where they are. It’s about knowing them, speaking their language, knowing what they like.
Getting more engagement in social networks is connecting more and better with these people. For this you must be able to adapt the content, not only to the buyer person, but in each social network.
“You must be able to adapt the content, to each social network and to your buyer person”
The way in which social networks are consumed is different, if we talk about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram … Users are accustomed to very particular tones and forms of communication and you can not afford to be out of tune.
Adapts the same message for different ecosystems, publishes certain content only on some social networks. You do not have to publish everything in all.
An excellent example of adapting the message, language and tone is without a doubt Media Markt Spain, without entering into the controversial tone that they once had and seems to have set aside. On Facebook they use a more linear tone and content about technology and innovation. On Twitter he mixes technology with humor, leaning heavily on GIFs and with a more casual tone and language.
“Appeal to curiosity, do not give 100% of the information in your headlines. Increase the CTR”
Increase the CTR of your publications with a link to increase engagement in social networks
The click bait can be a great ally to generate traffic, which is also a type of interaction, such as connections or even conversation. The downside is that this technique is being used in an irresponsible way and Facebook has been the first to act. Already has workers who monitor the news feed in search of this type of content to reach at least possible public.
Well used can be a great weapon to generate traffic and engagement in social networks. Buzzfeed, for example, gets an average of 5 billion views per month on its content on social networks. This brand is a clear example of well executed click bait.
Another example, which we are used to seeing is Upsocl. Which brings the click baiting to the limits.
Use the video
If there is something that connects, keeps the user attentive and generates engagement in all its forms is the video. It is the format with the least reach and interactions lost in 2017. According to Locowise, 12.05% of the audience reached was for videos, 11.63% for photos and 7.81 for linked publications.
Creating them takes more time and resources, but it’s worth it.
If you want the videos to get the most engagement possible you will have to take something into account. A video, after 90 seconds of duration tends to lose engagement. Create videos with a duration between 60 and 90 seconds and you will get, according to Buzzsumo and you 100 million videos analyzed, double the engagement with short videos under 30 “.
If you want to increase engagement on Facebook, also bet on direct. Facebook Live have an average of interactions slightly higher than normal videos.
Analyze
Getting good engagement in social networks does not only involve creating the best content, nor following what the studies say.
Each community has some particularities and yours is not going to be less. You must hit the spot every time you post a content, the user to see it must think that it is made for him. It’s just what I needed.
That is not achieved other than applying active listening, and of course, analyzing the data itself.
Calculate the engagement rate of each of the publications in each social network in which you are present. Find out what kind of publications they like the most and which ones they like least. Conclude what topics, what characteristics are those publications that generate more engagement and those that less and profile your strategy.
Calculate the engagement of your publications by applying this formula:
In the case that you want to calculate the engagement in a specific profile, you should do it like this:
Uncommercial contents
An error that companies can not commit is to look at the navel and offer too much commercial content.
There are other ways to impact with this type of content, for example, through the advertising platforms of the social networks themselves.
Now think,
Why should a user follow you?
What value proposition do you offer them?
Create a line of content that is useful, entertaining and above all, that is able to create a link between the brand and the user. Because that translates into engagement and this in turn can turn into sales. A clear example of this in our country is undoubtedly Mr Wonderful.
Conclusion
Getting engagement in social networks is key for the digital strategy to be successful. It is not good to be, not to increase the figures and analytics. You must get quality interactions, connect with users and create a link. If there is no conversation it will cost much more to grow your business thanks to social networks.
To achieve the objectives, it is necessary to have a strategic vision. The average user has become much more demanding and no longer serves with publishing. The advantage is that, although the efforts that must be made are great, the reward can be much greater.
