How to grow your startup’s social media engagement
To win on social media, your content has to be super engaging. Every brand has a story to tell, a unique voice and image that should reflect in every post to achieve win more and more people over.
There are also a number of best practices that can ensure that the quality of your company’s social media content relates well with your target audience.
Curious to know the winning formula for your brand’s success on social media? Here is my proven formula I have used over the years.
Winning Formula
Engagement = What you do x Why you do it x Human Side x Advocacy x Impact
What you do
It’s a no-brainer. As a brand, you want your audience to know you for what you do. Unfortunately, some companies only focus on that, i.e post the gadgets they sell. That’s fine if you have no intentions to evolve into a strong brand in the market.
If you do, then letting people know that you’re the best natural hair salon in town is not enough. That’s how the second element in the formula comes in.
Why you do it
Using our example of MK hair salon, through your content, you must help your audience understand why you chose natural hair. It could be that it was a unique and untapped market but people on social media don’t want to hear that. Honestly, they could care less.
You could state your why like this;
“Natural hair for black people has for long been labeled ugly & unprofessional. That is totally false. That’s why we work hard every day to show the world just how beautiful it is with our creative & innovative styles.”
When people know where you’re coming from with a certain idea, you create a space for people to relate with you at a deeper level and to join you in changing the narrative. Otherwise, they just think you’re out to get their money.
Human side
If it wasn’t for the sake of explaining the formula, I would have started with this one.
This is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect for any brand looking to win engagement on social media. It’s social media. People get on these platforms to relate with each other like human beings are wired to.
They are looking for memes, controversial topics, their friend’s wedding photos or weekend plot on Snapchat.
As a brand, you have to show your human side. Here are some great examples;
- Posting short vlogs of how your top hairdresser goes about her day
- Showcasing team day outs by the beach
- CEO launching the salon’s line of locally made hair products
- Influencers giving a testimony about the products
Advocacy
In this day and age, brands cannot be on the fence about ongoing crises. We’ve seen advocacy campaigns go viral on social media (#BlackLivesMatter) and your audience is always curious to know what you stand for.
Of all the social crises going on from youth unemployment, early marriages to climate change, minimum wage, which one are you trying to contribute positively?
It’s important if you picked one and dedicated your business to doing some good in society. This kind of content amplifies your engagement because you are showing the human side of you.
Impact
Show your impact or let your audience do it for you. One of the best ways to grow your social media engagement is through word of mouth marketing.
Using our example of MK, the natural hair salon, if they created a hashtag #myhairjourneyMK where any of their clients can share their experiences with MK and how their perspectives on natural hair have changed.
Bonus key points to support the formula
* Tailored content
Each social media platform has its own language and content they respond to best. Here is what works best for the most popular platforms for businesses:
- Twitter – Plain text posts. Links to content. Memes. Hashtags and handles
- Facebook – Videos (live and static). Photos. Memes. Links to content
- LinkedIn – Plain text posts. Links to content. Case studies. Some photos and videos are okay, so long as they remain professional in nature.
* Pay attention to what’s trending
It’s important to remember that not every trend fits within your brand. Avoid unnecessary trend jacking but also beware of running campaigns that might come off insensitive in the middle of a crisis.
* Be friendly, be social!
One of the best ways to get noticed by others on social media is by tagging other brands and individuals. Regularly share content from a business or individual you admire even though they are your competitors. They will want to engage with you in the long run.
Every time you build up a content marketing plan and calendar, ask yourself; Does it show who we are, what we stand for, who have been impacted… Let me know how it pans out.