5 Strategies To Growth-Hack Social Engagement Anyone can post on social media. Fewer people can leverage platforms to create meaningful engagement.
By AJ Agrawal Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There is more to a powerful social media strategy than posting content and hoping for the best. Take this approach, and you'll be disappointed with the results more times than not. Instead, making noise on social media comes down to two things:
- Posting compelling and unique content
- Doing anything and everything you can to boost engagement
Related: 6 Small Differences Between Average Content Strategy and Genius Strategy
In short, you want to do more than simply share content with your audience. You want to take steps to boost engagement, as conversation is what will really push your brand forward. And that leads to an important question: What's the best way to growth hack social engagement?
There's no right or wrong answer, but there are definitely strategies that have proven more successful than others. Here are several to consider:
1. Get to the point.
Don't beat around the bush with your audience members. Instead, tell them exactly what you want them to do. In a article in Inc., a social media influencer explained how he was able to increase engagement by (he says) 2,500 percent by doing nothing more than telling his audience what he wanted them to do.
Sometimes, it doesn't take any special software to make major progress. All it takes is a change of direction in regard to how you communicate with your audience.
2. Use a call to action.
This may sound simple, but it's something that many marketers overlook: a call to action. A CTA could be the difference between no engagement at all versus a powerful conversation. Using the right call to action reminds your audience members that they can do more than read your content. It shows the action you want them to take, such as sharing a thought or personal experience.
Get this: Adding a call to action to your Facebook page can increase your click-through rate by 285 percent.
Related: Why You Should Craft a Compelling Content Strategy for Your Small Business
3. Take advantage of social media plugins.
There are thousands upon thousands of WordPress plugins, many of which are designed specifically for social media marketing. By reviewing the many social media plugins for boosting engagement, you may find a handful that can be used to immediately generate more conversation among your readers.
4. Ask others for help.
Many marketers are spending more time and money on influencer marketing, as this has the potential to deliver an eleven times higher return on investment than more traditional forms of online marketing. While traditional influencer marketing is something to consider, here's another idea: Ask people you already have a relationship with to strike up a conversation on your social media platforms.
For example, after you post a killer update, reach out to five people who you know would be willing to help promote it. You'll find that once somebody starts the conversation, others are much more likely to jump in and share their own opinion.
To succeed with this growth hack, all you need is a couple of people who are willing to push the conversation in the right direction.
5. Remember that video marketing is key to your success.
Let's assume for a second that you're not achieving the engagement you were hoping for on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For one reason or another, your audience isn't responding.
This can happen for many reasons. As you search for a cure, think about putting more time, money and resources into video marketing. Some audiences just respond better to video content. And, until you give this a try, you'll never know exactly what it can do for your brand.
Remember that, on average, businesses are posting 18 videos per month. There's a reason for this, and a lot of it has to do with engagement. People have fallen in love with watching videos online and sharing their feedback. By getting involved, you and your business could soon see a big boost in social media engagement.
Related: How to Make Room for Video in Your Content Strategy
Conclusion
So, there you have it. These are five of the best strategies to growth hack social engagement. The nice thing about these techniques is that they won't eat up a lot of your time and money. All you need to do is adjust your approach in order to take advantage.
But, don't assume that posting content is good enough. If you want to harness the true power of social media, you need to put more effort into boosting engagement.
