Seriously. That’s it.
I hear this ALL the time:
Why don’t we have more people liking our Facebook page or following us on Twitter? Aside from the fact that I ALWAYS want to ask: Why do you want more and how will that help your business? My next question, or rather the one that I ask, is this:
What are you doing to engage new followers?
Here are a few things I like to offer to anyone starting out on social media who is desperate to get those Likes and Follows.
- It takes time! If it happens overnight, you’re either Justin Beiber or you’re buying your followers. Neither one is overly cool in my book.
- Share something of interest. Share that blog post, but don’t make it the ONLY thing you share. Share something funny. Share pictures that show you actually ENGAGING in your community. Share other people’s stuff, too. Did I mention that you should share?
- Be a Leader. You don’t have to go out on major limbs here, but I have a feeling your followers and fans often look to you to share the latest and greatest in your field, or at least comment on trending topics related to your field. Don’t let them down.
- Get involved in something outside of yourself or your business and then use Social Media to get others involved. Say you are a healthcare practice interested in conveying that you embody wellness and community engagement. Put together a team for a local charity bike race. Wear team shirts, take pictures of the team, the family, and the event and then SHARE them on your Facebook page or your blog. You’d be amazed at how intriguing that is to people. No, make that endearing. You’re doing something to help someone else and having fun.
- Be available. If you’re going to be on the platform, make sure you, or someone else, can respond when you’re spoken to. Nothing worse than a ghost town of a page. The dynamic duo over at New England Multimedia is one to watch on this one – their Facebook page is a hotbed of discussion and activity!
- Be you. Your social platforms should reflect the ‘flavor’ of your business. Embody the brand, as they say. Make sure that what you’re sharing, posting, asking and doing reflect that. Take the example of the healthcare practice participating in a charity bike race. That’s totally in line with their brand. Participating in a Hot Dog eating contest? Not so much.
- Celebrate those who celebrate you! Go beyond the “thanks for the like” and actually track the person down to their page. See if there is something that you can compliment them on or like on their page. I’m not suggesting a “tit-for-tat, quid-pro-quo” world here, but rather a genuine interest in those who are interested in you.
- Remember that likes alone do not a business make. Getting too hung up on the number of likes or follows will distract you from what you should be doing: running your business. Consider the Facebook page or your Twitter stream valuable networking that could lead to new business, bolster your brand, and if you get really in tune, equate to sales. It is not a stand alone. It is an add on.
So, that’s my rant post, for the day. Let me hear your thoughts on engagement. What’s worked? What hasn’t? I certainly learned about what didn’t work when I first started…maybe I should write about that!
Delightfully colorful cupcake image via Flickr.
This post was great. A mouthwatering treat for kids. Thanks that you've shared.
Yeah, I think I'll just hit every dormant blog and write snark and earn some link love. Especially those blogs with @livefyre so I can show my latest blog post; yeah, that's the ticket...need some traffic, since, as you may now, I've been out awhile, but not as out as you! Hi, Anyone Home?
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Good Lord! I have been out working my tush off, thank you very much! I'll get back over here one day...maybe...if you're lucky. :)
Thanks for checking in and adding to my comment count!
Was I here? Holy Moses; indeed I was. Look, there I am. Gosh, it's been ahem 13 days since this post was written, and I thought I missed something being out a week. Guess not...hmm...OK...hi, is anyone home?
Engagement is also about how well you welcome other thoughts, opinions and criticism. I find, as @MichelleQuillin always tells me, that learning from a different perspective and sharing that is valuable. It also shows others you're not afraid of saying you don't know everything. The welcome mat is part of an engagement tool, and people very often forget they should unroll one before they expect folks to come on over for tea and crumpets. Thanks for including me here in your very welcoming community! Sorry it's taken me awhile to respond, as I sit on the shores of some tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Good Sunday!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Hey lady! Lesson for me on this post? Make sure you have plenty of time to respond when people come 'a calling' - else you'll have guests milling about looking for the wine and hostess. Oy! Hope you're having a fab time- the pics are beautiful.
I love the bloggers that not only answer my comments, but also make a point of coming back to my blog and leaving a comment of their own. It makes me feel a sense of loyalty and appreciation to them. I recipricate most often with those bloggers and I think it's an awesome way to create engagement.
@richescorner Hi Rich! Thanks for visiting! You are absolutely right about visiting and commenting on blogs of those who visit. I make a point to respond (albeit a bit late on this one), visit their blog and if I don't comment at that moment, at least find a post that I like and share it. My only quibble with the reciprocal agreement is when it becomes forced or more of a 'quid pro quo' in order to get traffic rather than as a genuine interest or desire to foster engagement. Just because I might not comment does not mean I'm not engaged; I just might show it other ways. I also don't expect comments from folks whose blogs I visit. I understand that many have jobs, a business to run, or life. As a result, I'm happy for each comment that comes through and do my best to show that gratitude. Sorry for the long response, you brought up a topic that I unfortunately feel has become 'corrupted' lately. What do you think?
Thanks for this! Such a relief to see this message reiterated! Social media is, in fact, social, so quality interaction is crucial. I've touched on the topic too, if you need more fuel for the fire;) http://www.bigbadbulldog.com/blog/bid/156128/Social-Media-Fans-and-Followers-the-Quantity-vs-Quality-Quandry
@BigBadBulldogNC Thanks for the link and my apologies for the 3-day delay! I've been across the state and back again to pick up one of my kids and visit family. It's a good reminder though to be as 'on' as you can, have a back up plan for comments. For me, it was tweeting that I had read it and would get there soon. Thanks for hanging in there!
@EricaAllison @BigBadBulldogNC No worries! Family and "away" time is super important, too! Thanks for the reply.
@BigBadBulldogNC You bet! Thanks for hanging in there! ;)
Thanks so much for the plug, Erica! Very cool!!
"Celebrate those who celebrate you" is such good advice. One of the things I've started doing again is checking out our new Twitter followers, a handful at a time. Scan their Twitter feeds and hit up the websites they list in their bios. "Favorite" a few Tweets that will appeal to your own target audience, bookmark a blog post that does the same, and then give the new follower a public shout-out. Thank them for following, and ask or say something about their Tweets, website, or blog that lets them know you noticed. Connect them with another one of your followers that shares the same interests. Retweet those "favorited" Tweets and share that blog post.
Build in that good will and community we all love about Twitter!
@New England Multimedia I love to check new followers, find out more about them and then visit or RT when possible. Love the idea of 'favoriting' (is that even a word?) a tweet. Tried it after reading your comment and it had fantastic results. :) see, I'm learning all the time.
Great advice, Erica.
People are always looking for shortcuts when it comes to social media engagement. What they seem to forget is that even though the interactions take place online, they are still with real people who expect to have your real attention. No matter how you slice it, that means a real time commitment, not to mention putting some thought into what you want to say and how you want to say it.
My biggest piece of advice to people who ask me "what do I do on social media?" is this: Do something that interests you. If it interests you, you'll breathe life into it and that'll make it interesting to other people.
;)
@suddenlyjamie So true, Jamie! "If it interests you, you'll breathe life into it and that'll make it interesting to other people." Bravo. That's really it. I am not that interested in Google +, Pinterest, or Instagram; as a result, I don't really dabble there. I'm totally interested in blogging, my business, and fun stuff like Facebook and most recently music sharing sites like Spotify or Shazam (great for sharing personality!). As a result, that's where my time is spent and prioritized.
@EricaAllison Love Shazam & just learning about Spotify.
People typically do what makes them feel good. It only seems to make sense to build your social engagement strategy around that. Where do you naturally spend most of your time? What kinds of content do you love to share? Which conversations compel you to get involved? Start with those things and build from there. It's a social variation on "do what you love" - a topic I blogged about recently.
Don't fight it. Go with it!
;)
Good tips Erica! It's a challenge to manage these things well, and to Howies' point, if you are not all in, it can be worse than not being there at all. But for small business owners (like ahem, us), the "be available" concept is the most challenging.
@adamtoporek Precisely why it's taken me so long to get back over here- business called! Quite the challenge, but worth it to keep at it. Great to see you, Adam!
I blogged recently you have to be all in or not at all. You have to be active and participate. This is a great ost because it shows that unless you give you won't get. My LA client has an uber fan today she posted a photo (omg so mouthwatering) and posted on twitter. She has done this many times. Had no idea she had a food photo blog. So I promoted her blog and made sure when I shared it on FB, Tumblr , Pinterest she gets the traffic. I don't care that she has 15 pages of multiple photos where 99% are not my clients. And some could be competitors.
Little things really mean a lot to your fans and followers. Don't take them for granted. They will champion you if you don't use them selfishly.
@HowieSPM I loved the food porn blog, Howie! Thanks for sharing that with me. I couldn't comment here last night because we were a bit disconnected. However, you're 100% correct-a-mundo on participation. My only quibble is that my participation and being all in is far different than say @ginidietrich , for various reasons, but namely because I can only sustain what I can sustain.
For example, blog posts are something that I absolutely think are critical, but I can no longer sustain posting 3/week. My solution? Go for quality posts (at least I hope they are) once/week so that I can comment, share and promote on a level that reflects my desire to be 'all in' at that point. I'm present the rest of the time, just not as intensely. Make sense? That's the tough part for small businesses: defining their level of online community engagement that they can a) sustain and that b) yields results.
@EricaAllison you and I are different than say a retail business that is open 7 days a week. We want a community but we don't have to deal with what a B2C business does. You are all in because you are active in social media enough for clients and prospects to see you know what you are doing. At the same time our clients want to see that we are working for them and not spending our whole time conversing in social media.
Cupcakes?! Seriously, that's all I need? Where do I sign up for some that engagement? Lol. When I'm feeling negative I think of social media as a hamster wheel: it only rolls when you roll it. You really wish you could just sit there, but surprisingly, it's a lot like the rest of our lives: we have to do the work to get what we want out of it.
But it doesn't have to be drudgery, as you've shown. Thank you for these reminders to get involved and get out there.
Even cupcakes don't make themselves... or the money to "just go out and buy some."
@ShakirahDawud Aren't those nice? :)
You're right, it only rolls when you roll it and therein lies the rub! I was having this conversation today and will definitely write more about it: today's marketing takes WORK. No longer do you write the check for the ad and walk away. You have to constantly be thinking up new, inventive and engaging avenues to explore and walk down. That's a big pill to swallow for many a small business and likely why they give up on social media due to unrealistic expectations in relation to the amount of work put in!
Thank you for stopping by, Shakirah! Always good to read your words. :)