Even if you haven’t dabbled in social media for your business, you will already realise that it has the potential to be a powerful tool for finding and attracting new customers. However, many businesses struggle to get started, although social media comes almost naturally to people, it’s much harder to translate that to a business. When businesses don’t have a network of real-life friends to engage with to begin with, how can they increase their social engagement?

The fact is that, although it might seem odd at first, exactly the same things that work when engaging as a person work when engaging as a person. It’s just a case of making sure you understand your business’s personality and posting style.

Think about personality and platform

It’s important to think about the type of personality you want your business to project. While it’s conceivable that any business could make a success of any platform, some fit more naturally than others. An accountancy firm, seeking to project an image of staid reliability, might not want to be making fun TikToks, for example. And while a fun café might find its ideal home on TikTok, it might also want to consider somewhere like Instagram, which is ideal for showing off barista art or delicious pastries.

The medium you use is not just important because of the associations it might have, but also because of the clientele you want. Those clients looking for reliable and steadfast accountants are, because of their ages and professions, are more likely to be on Facebook or Twitter, for example.

Think about your content

Again, just like a normal person, your business has to use social media in a way that is relevant and engaging. Think about how you might post to social media while you are away on holiday. If you tweeted the words just seen a beautiful sunset over the beach’, it might not get much response — other than perhaps some rolled eyes. But if you posted a picture of that sunset on Instagram, you’ll probably be quickly bored by all the ‘like’ notifications!

It’s exactly the same with your business social media. Try to use the best possible way of showing your content. If it’s pictures, then invest in an app to enhance photos, or even a good camera and lighting. Or look at putting together high-quality videos to really show off products. And if you only have words, then make sure you use action-oriented language and adjectives to make it stand out.

Have calls to action

And, perhaps most importantly, invite people to act on social media. Simply posting something will get some reaction, but take steps to encourage responses, likes, and reposts. Have share buttons on your website, so people can easily point people there. Or try using incentives, such as offering prizes for people who repost, or discounts to people who share referrals.

And even if you don’t offer a direct incentive, just ask. Research has shown that simply asking for a repost, or phrasing your message as something to pass on, will dramatically increase the number of times that it is shared.

Getting help with social engagement

And if you need help, why not ask the experts. We’ve a proven track record of working with local businesses to help them maximise the impact they make with their social engagement, helping them to increase their online word-of-mouth, building their brand, and finding new customers through their social media presence. Just call or email us for a no-obligation discussion on how we can super-charge your social media presence.