Ways to improve your social media engagement

Everyone likes their share of ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on Facebook and other social media sites. While it’s relatively easy to get people to like and share posts, it takes creativity to drive comments. Here are five ways to get your audience to talk to you on social media,

Ask questions creatively

Asking questions may get some response. But if you really want to inspire engagement, take things up a notch. Let’s say you’re in the food industry. A question like, “What’s your favourite dish?” could be so basic that none might bother to answer. Ask a similar question with multiple-choice answers, illustrated by an interesting graphic, and you’re likely to get plenty of responses.

Zomato, a restaurant finder app, writes excellent and witty social media posts. They ask questions, designed to genuinely get to know their fans, and include intriguing, above-average graphics. As a result, their posts always get huge engagement.

Organise unique contests

Social media contests are very common these days, so it’s important to stand out and do something different or unusual for your brand. Don’t just create any contest. Think outside the box and come up with something fans will want to participate in, share and discuss on respective social sites.

TurboTax is a well-known tax-filing software, which may not seem interesting and appealing to people. To add some fun during tax time, this year they initiated a lighthearted Instagram contest to promote their product. People had to follow the brand on Instagram and post a picture with three zeroes and a designated hashtag, #absolute0, for a chance to win $500. The contest received huge response.

Arrange a Q&A session

Your customers may have questions for you, whether they’re on the company itself or your products and services. Establish a forum where they can be heard. Host Google hangouts and Twitter chats or even create a simple Facebook page that asks your audience what they want to know about your company or product.

For example, NASA occasionally arranges Google hangouts with astronauts and scientists, which are open to anyone interested in space exploration or work done by NASA. No matter what business you’re into, there are things your audience wants to know. Give them an opportunity to ask, and as a result, there will be plenty of social media engagement.

Connect with a social cause

Even if a social cause doesn’t directly relate to your brand, you can still embrace and promote it on your page. It’s always nice to do things for others. Plus, it enhances your branding.Estée Lauder is a world-renowned beauty product manufacturer. When they conducted a Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) campaign, it made them a socially aware and sensible brand.

They asked their audience to visit BCAcampaign.com to hear from breast cancer survivors and share their own stories. When they initiated the programme, hundreds of people shared their stories on the platform. If there’s a cause your company supports, create a campaign or just spread the word on your social pages. Fans are likely to engage with socially responsible content.

Post current events

Being topical always brings fresh traffic to your page, whether it’s centered on a holiday, event or live show. For example, Papa John’s Pizza posted about the March Madness basketball finals on their Facebook page. They asked fans to pick the winning team, and received more than 50 comments within a few hours. When you create content that relates to current events that people are already talking about, it really helps to engage your fans.