You know social media changes so fast, any advice you hear today might very well be out of date by next week.But I have learned that there is one simple formula for social media success that works no matter what new platform comes along.
Success on social media for your business really just boils down to one simple formula:
Yes. Great Content + Consistency + Engagement = Success
Great Content
How do we define great content for social media? The answer is going to be slightly different for each business. It’s important to know and listen to your audience.
Create content sincerely speaks to your audience. Remember that great content tends to be useful, valuable, solves a problem or pain point, inspirational, or entertaining. And if you can trigger an emotion, all the better.
Consistency
Every channel is different when it comes to how often you should be posting content. But regardless of which platform you choose, post consistently is key.
That means creating a social media schedule and sticking to it. Remember to be realistic when you’re choosing your platforms and creating your schedule. Can you come up with content to post consistently on all of your chosen platforms?
Social media schedulers like Hootsuite, CoSchedule, Meet Edgar, Buffer, can help you stay consistent by allowing you to create content ahead of time and schedule it.
Engagement
Maybe the most important element of our equation is engagement, but it’s also the trickiest one to cultivate.
Engagement doesn’t just mean you showing up and engaging, but also getting your audience to engage with you. Almost all of the social media platforms use engagement as part of their algorithm, meaning that the more people who like, comment, and share your post, the more new people will see it.
How do you encourage engagement on your social media posts? Great content and consistency are the first two elements you need, but beyond that, try these strategies:
- Ask questions. People love to share their opinions. Try also asking easy questions so that people don’t worry about having time to craft a long answer.
- Post fun and funny content. If it makes you laugh or smile, it’s likely to make your audience smile, too.
- Get personal. People love to see behind the scenes! I like to share glimpses of my life and lifestyle.
- Share inspiration. There’s a reason all those inspirational quotes are so popular; people love to share them.
- Post useful content. It’s a great idea to share your most useful, evergreen blog posts to your social media channels often. Solve someone’s problem, and they’ll love you!
- Share other relevant content. Social media isn’t just about you talking; it’s also about sharing content from other sources that your audience will enjoy. Be generous about sharing links to other articles you know your audience will love.
When you combine great content, consistency, and engagement on your social media platforms, what you end up with is real traction, which will lead to success.
Remember that social media success won’t happen overnight. That’s why you need a Content Strategy so that you can get organized and plan your way to success!
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