No matter how big your audience is, engagement is a crucial factor when it's time to promote your brand on social media. If you can create amazing relationships with your audience, you will have a group of people ready and willing to boost your marketing efforts – and they will do that for free! Read this short article from the editors of Brybe.com on how to build a community that will sell your products for you.
Mainstream marketing advice tells us that numbers matter above all else. But the surprising truth is that most businesses do not need hundreds of thousands of followers to facilitate consistent sales. One of the editors of the Forbes website, Stephanie Burns interviewed India Jackson – a brand visibility consultant, who specializes in working with entrepreneurs and small business owners focused on social change. Jackson has helped clients achieve six-figure profit by selling to an Instagram following of less than 600. Her secret? They concentrate on engaging with their followers to raise their visibility and create superfans who help them sell their products.
Ready to focus on relationship-building instead of growth? The following strategies will easily take your engagement to the next level!
You Have to Be Thankful
Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users, Linkedin rakes in 260 million, and Facebook has a chart-topping total of 2.7 billion. Out of all of the possible profiles in the world, your followers chose to connect with you – take a moment to acknowledge that and them.
“One of the easiest ways to acknowledge them is to greet your new follower with a simple direct message. If you feel inclined, send this note of thanks as a voice memo. You can bet none of your followers are getting many of these from someone they just ‘met.’ You can add further value to this new relationship by liking, commenting on, or sharing one of their recent posts, helping them with their own visibility. The key is to show genuine interest in who they are and what they have to say,” says Jackson. “Not to be confused with the ‘follow for follow’ game many accounts play, this gesture shows you value their contribution and presence.”
Asking Questions Is Important!
Most of our time spent on social media is mindless scrolling – we do it to fill time, and even without realizing it. So if you do that, you can be sure that your followers are doing the same.
“Online marketing often fails when businesses drop a post and expect a slew of engagement. That’s like expecting someone to write down a number and call a business they saw listed on a highway billboard. It’s just not going to happen,” notes Jackson. “One of the most effective ways to interrupt this pattern and stop the scroll is to ask questions. Posts, stories, and polls that ask questions are much more likely to get engagement. And not every question has to be directly tied to your industry. Consider asking open-ended questions about habits, preferences, and experiences.”
Show Them Your Values
While historically many brands have not focused on discussing their values, the shifting landscape now demands it.
“Consumers are voting with their dollars and in turn want to support brands who align with what they believe in. They want to know if your business gives back, has sliding scale pricing, or takes an anti-racist stand,” explains Jackson. “Sharing what your brand stands for – beyond the mission statement – will help your followers feel connected on a deeper, emotional level. Identifying these commonalities can result in engagement and interaction in a way that a static product image isn’t capable of. This could look like documenting your annual give-back day or using your platform to amplify awareness of change-making organizations and individuals.”
Let Them Peek Behind the Scenes
People love to see the “messy middle” and behind-the-scenes posts give them just that. We crave this type of content because it is not there to be perfect. It shows the work in process and allows us all to feel better about our own progress.
“Behind the scenes content focuses on creation and connection. Creation content shows how your product and service are made while connection content shares what it feels like to work with you and/or your team. It also allows your followers to see the time, effort, and detail that goes into what you sell, increasing the perceived value of your product or service. And that’s exactly what turns a social follower into a loyal customer,” says Jackson.
Did you know all of that or perhaps you have just learned some really useful tricks that you are going to start using from now on? More such tips and tricks can be found at Brybe.com at least once a week!