The Anatomy of an Engaging Post
"Give a little, get a little." It's a good rule of thumb to follow in social media and in life.
Oftentimes, it's the small and consistent habits that keep us going. Drawing the parallels between fostering relationships with friends and attracting an audience on Instagram, you'd be hard pressed to find a successful feed that doesn't take the time to truly understand and make their followers feel understood. It's all about engagement, so now the question is - how do you get your followers to bite?
Even if social isn't your forté, community management for your brand doesn't have to be hard! You can still learn the components necessary to maximize the return on your investment in a particular piece of content. It really is as easy as getting to know the moving pieces that can make a post successful! Just like every body part has a specific function to keep you working in perfect condition, each post needs some nurturing to help your presence grow as a whole.
Before you hit "Post", you might want to check in with your brand and make sure you've considered the following:
1. Brand on the Brain
Do your research and feed your brain with audience knowledge. Some key questions to ask include:
- Who's is my demographic? How old are they? Which parts of the world are they coming from?
- What have they expressed interest in? Use any existing analytics you have at your disposal; Instagram analytics, Google analytics, link trackers. Find out what's performed well in the past and what's kept people around (amount of time elapsed, comments left, likes gained)
- Why are they here? Are your followers converting to sales? Are they sending you direct messages with questions about your products/services?
2. Dress It Up
We've all heard that it's what inside that counts, but in a visual world full of distraction, you have to grab the attention of your audience first and make them want to stick around for more! Make sure the photo you're using is evoking a feeling that puts your viewer in the right headspace. For instance, we like to promote that our social media services can make life easy, so we're partial to sunny palm tress and pink mugs of coffee steaming coffee!
3. Get Your Finger on the Pulse
Don't focus solely on being a problem solver, but turn yourself into a problem seeker! Although showing that your brand cares about issues that your followers may bring forward in a public forum, why not get ahead of their complaints and look for issues they may be having that you already know how to solve? Having the foresight to poll your audience beforehand can give you a ton of insight when it comes to showing them what's possible with your product or service!
4. Let It Speak
You've written your piece and your audience knows what you have to say - now what? Now that you've toiled over what your audience is telling you without their words, it's time to get them to speak up. A simple Call To Action is a sure way to engage them into doing something or talking to you. Don't be afraid to ask for their opinions and expertise straight-up and get them involved in the discussion!
6. Pull Your Own Weight
Don't expect your followers to jump through hoops to do what you ask of them. Make sure that you're laying out easy steps for them to follow, whether it's including a swipe-up link in your story or using shopping tags directly on product photos. Make their lives easy and they'll be more than happy to see what you're up to!