I do not know about you, but I would love to see more engagement on social media, how about you? The truth is that social media is no longer optional for your business, it is a necessity. Social media used to be optional and something you could do by scheduling content to come out just a few times a week. Now, however, social media is a necessity for businesses today. We will discuss social media engagement decreasing as well as some Epic Social Media Tips.

“The truth is that social media is no longer optional for your business, it is a necessity.”

-T.S. Durden

Today you should have a presence daily on social media. It also helps significantly to have engagement on those posts. What is considered engagement? Engagement means that others are commenting, sharing, and/or liking your posts. Although ultimately having comments and shares are the best forms of engagement on most social media platforms. Unfortunately, the last few years, have seen less and less engagement for business pages.

Decreased Engagement Social Channels

There are many reasons why engagement has decreased and I will let those much smarter than I debate out the multiple theories. Although I will offer a few possible reasons (in my opinion) that I believe engagement has changed in the last few years.

1. Algorithms are always a factor for declining engagement on every social media platform. This is particularly true of Facebook in the last few years.
2. Recent Challenges in our society have caused many to work virtually and this can affect who and how many see your posts on each platform. The significance of this is that these changes have caused a multitude of individuals to take a leap into entrepreneurship online. The end result is that many rushing to the platforms with even more businesses promoting themselves.
3. People have become numb to business posts, in my humble opinion. Unless, of course, you have a post that will jump out at them, causing the post to become viral. So how can we really make a difference with our posts on social media? Fortunately, I have some Epic Social Media Tips for you today.
4. Less Content = Less Engagement If you do not regularly produce content (not overdo it) you can expect to also see a decrease in engagement or irregular statistics at minimum.

Building relationships is still the best way to build your social media and social media engagement. I will share some ways to help you do this.

Keeping in mind that social media presence is the foundation and beginning of your organic traffic flow.

It is not enough to run ads on platforms, you must first establish a presence and then consider ads to help boost that engagement and traffic. Just as Katie Sehl of Hootesuite shares the foundation has to be established first.

As a result, businesses often underestimate the importance of organic marketing. But organic social is the foundation that your ad strategy rests on. Behind every successful ad campaign is a consistent and creative social media presence that strengthens brand, relationships, and trust. – Katie Sehl of Hootesuite

15 EPIC Tips

1. Welcome & thank new followers to your business pages on all platforms.
2. Post Directly on Facebook as you will get more out of your post if you schedule it directly on Facebook’s platform.
3. Thank Comments & Shares on Twitter (before you have many followers) – thank all who comment & reshare your Tweets.
4. Give Your Best Wishes on LinkedIn – give your best wishes to those who have new jobs.
5. Wish All A Happy Birthday – on All Platforms – Wish colleagues & friends a Happy Birthday.
6. Comment & Share On All Platforms – comment on posts you follow & like as well as reshare with others (not competitor posts of course). This often produces your posts being shared by those you comment on and share (reciprocity) – not always, but some will do this.
7. Produce Content, Content, Content – post at least one post per day (Twitter & IG can have more per day).
8. Write Articles On Your Website (blogs) and share them on all of your social media platforms.
9. Take Quote Excerpts From Your Blogs and put them on a branded background and post with the links leading back to the original article. Missinglettr can do this automatically for you. It will pull content from your blog stream add it to your preferred brand colors and allow you to approve them. Then they will post this content spread out throughout the entire year. It is a wonderful resource.
10. Share More About Yourself – be Professional, yet Personal. People want to know who you are and sharing a little of your life will help them trust you more, especially right now.  Share photos of you out around town, social distancing & how you are doing it.  Even share screenshots of your meetings on Zoom (if other attendees agree to it). It shows you actively engaging and working. It will go a long way to earning your potential client’s trust as they get to know you better! [Caution – Never treat the platforms as your personal diary]
11. ​Stay Consistent – this is not the time to disappear because you get busy and do not post 1 day a week – post every day (Twitter & IG can handle more posts per day). You can use schedulers such as Hootesuite, Buffer, and Social Pilot to help you schedule content ahead of time. If you find it difficult to do this, the best thing is to outsource it and let another person or company help you with managing your social media.
12. ​Share Tips To Help Others – share tips that are not found everywhere but that will also help a potential client.  Provide value for your prospective clients and they may just become clients as well.
13. Offer Special Pricing & Discounts (especially if selling products) – it is that time of year.  This year has been especially difficult for everyone so try to give your clients/customers a break to shop with you.
14. Develop A Strategy – use content calendars, themes, and even Holidays using your branded templates that will help create a strategy and will have others following you from your organic content.
15. Create A Free Group And A Paid Group – Although business page engagement is down group activity is where it happening.
    1. The Free Group’s Focus is on attracting all in your target audience.  Keep them active with discussions, surveys, tips, etc.  Give, give, give & ask questions.  Do NOT sell, sell, sell.  Once a week give this group a good offer.
    2. ​The Paid Group only allows those who have purchased from you in the group.  This can be laser-focused in helping others especially if you teach or coach online and they are purchasing from you.  Give them some added bonuses of one on one time with you to build loyalty. After they have had time to see the value in your paid group and programs ask them to give shoutouts in the free group so others see even more value and benefits in the paid group.

These are a few EPIC Social Media Tips. I saved the best for last – BE YOURSELF! Be genuine, real, and engaging and others and you will attract your potential clients to you and your social channels. Stand out in your own way, do not try to imitate anyone else. You are unique and have qualities that special and specific to you – let them shine!

In Summary

These tips are not to be used all at once, rather integrate them as you go. If you are already using some of them, then try some of the ones you are not using yet. It takes time to build an audience and have others following you. You need to continue to provide value and tips that your audience will want to hear.

Think about the posts that draw you in to comment. What are they made of and why do you comment or share them? Although being personal and personable is good do not consider Facebook your diary. There is a fine line between venting about your recent family matter and giving your professional opinion about a new software program.

As you know the real key to most engagement is content!

Consistency and building relationships are what will get the most on social media. Do not discount the ads either. Ad dollars on platforms combined with good organic use of the platform can partner well together. Use both to your best advantage. Keep in mind, however, that one cannot happen without the other.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your sharing and commenting!

*May contain affiliate links (I do not share anything or any products that I do not use myself or recommend highly).