Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard all of the hype about content marketing. It’s an important part of your overall marketing plan. For certain businesses, it may be the most important part. Diverse content can introduce new audiences to your brand and products. Keep your content fresh and varied to keep your audience from getting bored. There are so many opportunities for unique content beyond your typical social media post or email blast. If you’re not mixing it up you may find yourself stuck in a content rut. Read on for some some content marketing ideas. We want to help you incorporate different types of creative content in your marketing plan. You may have not even considered some of these ideas as content, but they are.
20 Content Marketing Ideas
Infographics – Infographics provide an eye-catching mix of a design and copy. Analyze something quickly and concisely or show statistic using an infographic. It’s an ideal way to present data in a visual format that is interesting for your audience. Infographics are made for ease of reading and are often shared on social media. Best of all, they are a great way to show your expertise on a particular subject. Create your own infographics with software such as Befunky, Visme, Snappa or Canva.
Short Video – We all love a good short video, there’s no denying it! Oh, and we share those shorts at an amazing rate. Don’t worry about buying expensive equipment for a quick video. Your smartphone can take a decent short video.
Longer Videos (YouTube) – You just can’t ignore the statistics. YouTube has over a billion users, which is almost one-third of total internet users. 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. This is one of our most important content marketing ideas. Invest in video and do it now. What types of content translate well into videos? Product demos and tutorials, testimonials and reviews. Presentations, interviews, behind the scenes, and vlogs (video blogs) work as well.
Live Streams –Channels like Facebook Live and Periscope are enabling brands and individuals to go live whenever they’d like. Reach your audience immediately with live streaming. Content that is best for live streaming includes things such as new product announcements, grand openings and live behind the scenes looks. Similarly, Q & As, how to’s, special events, special announcements and breaking news make for great live streams.
Podcast – Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. Podcasting is a great way to build a strong and lasting relationship with your audience. To do a podcast right, you need to commit. It’s going to take some time and effort. Stay consistent once you get started. Begin by choosing your niche and your topic idea. Then come up with a catchy title for your podcast. You’ll also want to design a look for your podcast for advertising purposes. Write a podcast description and select music. You will also need some equipment to get started, including a quality microphone, an audio interface (if you have an analog microphone), headphones and editing software. This will depend on the type of computer you are using. Finally, you need to pick a reliable podcast hosting provider. You can select your host based on your budget, the simplicity of use and integrations, and support. If you’re interested in looking more into podcasting, but are unfamiliar, we suggest some additional research.
Webinar – Hosting a webinar can help position you as an expert in a particular field. With the right content, a webinar can help you to sell your products and services. Webinars can help to keep an audience engaged and generate leads. Just like podcasting, a webinar needs a commitment on your part to be successful.
How to Guides – We’ve all Googled how to do this or that at some time or another. How to Guides are a popular way for consumers to learn how to do something free of charge. Therefore, a how to guide can be of great value to a consumer. Whether you’re a financial institution providing a guide on purchasing a new car or a retailer compiling a guide on putting together a new wardrobe on a budget, you’re sure to get many readers.
Whitepapers – A whitepaper is an authoritative and informational document that contains very detailed information on a particular topic or product. They are typically data driven and pretty lengthy. While whitepapers can be labor-intensive to complete properly, they can be extremely influential in marketing. Although they are not for every business or brand, they can help the right business become a thought leader in an industry.
E-books – While a white paper has a more academic tone geared to a niche audience an E-book has a more casual vibe. E-books can be useful for various topics. They create greater awareness and enable you to go into greater detail. Depending on the topic, they often appeal to a wider audience that a whitepaper.
Case Study – A well-written case study can be an invaluable asset when it comes to proving the value of your product or services. It’s a great way to tell a story. Case studies focus on a problem, a solution and an outcome. Once developed, a case study can be used in various formats, including blog posts, ads or even video.
Blog – By now you know about the power of blogging. Blogging as a form of content marketing has tremendous SEO benefits. It also can bring in high quality leads via organic searching. A well-written blog can bring a more long-term ROI than many traditional marketing avenues. Once written, a blog can be used on your website, as well as all of your social media platforms. Businesses that publish regular content, such as regular blogs, receive much more web traffic. Not blogging? Contact Corcoran Communications to get started today. It’s the fastest way to improve your content marketing efforts.
News Release/Newsletter –A well-written news release or newsletter can still help to spread the word about your company, products and services. When a press release gets editorial coverage, it can also help your business build links. Press releases can help to improve brand image, announce a new product or service, expand knowledge and more. It can be used on your website as well as all social media channels, giving you a big bang for your marketing buck. A newsletter is another great way to use content to create awareness. Additionally, a newsletter can provide useful information to your audience. Newsletters can be distributed via email, social media, website or good ole’ fashioned postal service. It’s just another method of using content to stay in touch with your audience.
Checklists – The possibilities are endless when marketing with a checklist. 7 steps to follow when buying a new house, 5 ways to find the right preschool for your child, 10 ways to improve your diet. Just tie that list in to your brand and you’ve got a captive audience.
Customer Testimonials/Success Stories –Nothing beats the value you get from an honest customer testimonial or success story. A satisfied client will usually be happy to give you a testimonial. The key is to ask immediately. Get them while they still remember just how satisfied they are. Make it as easy as possible for the customer to provide that testimonial. Ask the right questions to help them provide you with the information you’re looking for. One testimonial can be used in so many ways. It’s truly invaluable.
Product Guides – If someone is on the fence about buying your product, an informative guide can go a long way in closing the sale. You can provide so much more information and detail in a product guide than in a simple ad.
Photos & Images – Content created using visuals is more engaging than plain text and is important to overall success. Most importantly, people respond much more positively to images. Just be sure to select appropriate visuals for your piece of content.
Emojis/Memes/ GIFs – People love them, so be sure to add them into your mix. Just keep in mind that they should enhance your content, not distract from it. Customize your own image for more reach.
Animations – Animation is very stimulating to viewers. They can also be much more memorable and help you reach a larger audience. Again, they need to tie in well with your content. You can test out some animation software easily online, such as Animaker.
Polls & Surveys – Getting feedback from your audience on questions can be a great way to keep them interacting with your brand. Use polls for serious feedback or just for fun. While Instagram limits its polling feature to Instagram Stories, Twitter lets you add a poll to any Tweet as you’re writing it. Facebook polls are the most in-depth social media polling option. Create polls easily with the “Create a Poll” button.
Social Media Posts – Our advice as it relates to your social media posts is to stay consistent. Be authentic and share moments that matter. Enhance your social media marketing using the content marketing ideas we’ve mentioned above.
Creating and distributing valuable content can help you to build your brand and develop a loyal audience and large customer base. Take advantage of the content marketing ideas above to grow your business. Utilizing content in the creative ways we’ve mentioned can help you to achieve that goal. Keep your audience engaged and drive a greater ROI on your marketing efforts. When it comes to driving online traffic, content is skill king. Contact a digital marketing expert to learn more about content marketing
With the right Instagram marketing tips and a strong focus on the interests of your target market, there’s a good chance you can build a loyal following for your brand on Instagram. Statista.com reported that as of June 2018, Instagram had reached 1 billion active monthly users worldwide. The company projects they will surpass 111 million users in the United States in 2019. An estimated 71% of U.S. businesses have taken advantage of the power of Instagram to communicate their message. Although it’s a social media platform saturated with businesses vying for attention, Instagram is still a great way to capture the attention of an audience. With a little knowledge you can advantage of this social media platform to grow your business. To help, here is a list of Instagram marketing tips to implement into your Instagram marketing strategy.
Eleven Instagram marketing tips for growing your brand
Focus on the interests of your target audience.
Keep in mind that Instagram users are highly engaged. According to research, 75% of Instagram users will take action, such as visiting a website or clicking on a blog after looking at a post that captures their attention. That’s low hanging fruit for businesses looking to grow sales via social media. What are Instagram users looking for? Posts that relate to their interests, ambitions, likes, and dislikes. They want to see engaging visuals and enlightening content that delivers value. As a brand trying to increase your following on Instagram, it’s in your best interest to research the interests of your customers. Of all of our Instagram marketing tips, this is one of the most vital to your success on this platform! Keep your posts looking fresh and exciting and also aimed at the interests of your target audience.
Take advantage of Instagram Carousel.
It’s hard to find one image that says it all. Did you know that you could use up to 10 photos or videos in a single post with Instagram Carousel? You can even combine the two. It’s a great way to showcase a product line, tease content, compare before and after shots, share a how-to and more. How do you create an Instagram Carousel? It’s simple. You start by launching your Instagram business page. When you tap the + add an image, you will see a new post feature, which is an icon of stacked squares that represents the photo carousel. When you tap that icon, you can scroll through your image library and select up to ten photos or videos. You can even order them how you’d like, and apply filters individually or to all of the photos in the carousel. Tap share and you’re ready to go!
Be strategic with your hashtags.
They are an important part of Instagram posts, helping you to expand your reach and connect to new potential customers. How can you figure out what hashtags you should be using? Well, for a start, they should definitely relate to your business, products, and services. If you haven’t already, you should create brand hashtags that you use consistently. You can even develop specific brand hashtags for special campaigns or promotions. To expand on the hashtags you are using, do a little detective work and see what your competitors and industry influencers are using. Most importantly, your hashtags should reflect the content of your post. An experienced social media marketing firm can help you with this as well.
But don’t go overboard.
Is there such a thing as too many hashtags? Although Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, certain studies warn against overdoing it. According to research by TrackMaven on Instagram accounts with >1k followers, there was a steady increase in average interaction up through five hashtags per post, after which the average interaction actually drops. According to SimplyMeasured, 91% of posts by top brands use seven hashtags or less. It makes sense that top brands are using fewer hashtags, since they’re established. If your business or organization isn’t, it’s ok to use more hashtags as long as they’re relevant to your content. Another of our integral Instagram marketing tips – relevancy is key! It’s also important to avoid coming across as spammy. Don’t use the same list of hashtags for every post, change them up depending on your content.
Use filters.
They can enhance the look of your photos and help give your brand a distinct look and consistency. Relatable published a report on the most popular Instagram filters that was based on a study of 40 million posts. They concluded that 18% of all photos posted used a filter. The winner by far of the most popular Instagram filter is Clarendon. It was used in 25% of the photos with filters, followed by Juno, which was used in 8% of the photos. Juno was followed closely by Gingham and Lark, both around 7%.
Try Instagram Stories.
It’s a great way to maintain visibility on Instagram. You can tease new products, promote an event, poll your followers, or even advertise a flash sale. It will allow you to incorporate photos and video into a slideshow that can be enhanced with text and graphics. You also have the ability to tag and link. Your story only lasts for 24 hours, so it’s great for things that don’t need to be up indefinitely.
Use Instagram’s video ad formats.
This valuable tool for targeting a select audience offers three video formats to create Instagram ads. We all know that Instagram users love video. According to the SensorTower Ad Intelligence Data Digest, one in four ads on Instagram is a video. That number is even larger this year. When developing a video, the most important thing to remembers is that you only have a few short seconds to capture and keep someone attention. Get to the point quickly in a unique and engaging manner.
Take advantage of all of the bells & whistles.
Instagram’s new zoom feature gives you the ability to get a little closer to your audience while using stories. Users can zoom in on photos or videos. You may also want to consider using emojis or better yet, the emoji slider poll feature to generate even more interaction. The emoji slider is a new audience feedback sticker that polls your viewers on a rating scale using any emoji. After all, it’s all about the image on Instagram!
Consider the best time to post on Instagram.
Best time for you to post is when your followers are most active. Every business is unique in that their audience is different. It may take some trial and error and tracking of your results. A good rule of thumb is to post during lunchtime (11 am to 1 pm) or after work (6 pm to 9 pm). You can use Instagram analytics tools to find the best time for your posts. Instagram analytics is located right on your app. Best of all, it’s free when you set up an Instagram business profile. So, be sure to use the information available in the insights feature of your Instagram business account to identify when your followers are most active and schedule your posts accordingly.
Don’t over post.
Just like including too many hashtags isn’t a smart move, neither is over posting. A couple of relevant posts a day is ideal. You want to post just enough to keep your followers interested and engaged, but not so much that you become a nuisance. An experienced social media marketing firm can help you build a social media calendar with engaging posts and optimum post times.
Don’t forget a CTA in your post.
Very important on our list of Instagram marketing tips, be sure to use a CTA! While engagement is important, for certain posts, you’ll want a call to action. Remember, Instagram allows a single clickable link in your bio that can take followers directly to your website or landing page. You can include a copy of the link in your post, remind the user that the link is in your bio or both.
Reach out and touch someone with an engaging Instagram post
According to the Pew Research Center, one-third of the US mobile users are on Instagram. The majority of Instagram users (59%) are between the ages of 18-29. Instagram reported 15 million registered businesses using the social media app with 2 million active advertisers on the platform each month. Obviously, businesses are seeing the benefit of engaging with this large captive audience. If you’re a brand that’s looking to reach a younger demographic, this should be your social media choice and our Instagram marketing tips are for you!
We hope you found this list of 11 Instagram marketing tips useful. If you’re not taking full advantage of Instagram to help promote and grow your business, consider the benefits. At Corcoran Communications, we help businesses and organizations of all types and sizes build strong followings, drive engagement, and execute high converting ads. Contact a social media consultant at Corcoran Communications today to learn more specifically about what we can do to help build your brand on Instagram.
Influencers, or opinion leaders as they are also called, can generate excitement for your brand and help to sell products and services. They build relationships for your brand via social media, reaching customers thought targeted posts and blogs. Influencer marketing content is thought to deliver 10 times higher ROI than other forms of digital marketing. If influencers are successful in helping to build sales, and many are, then they are a worthwhile investment for your brand. They key is influencer content that converts to greater awareness or better yet, a sale.
Why are influencer posts more effective than yours?
Influencers have a great understanding of social media and relating to their fan base. They earn the trust of their followers and speak directly to your targeted buyers. Consumers crave authenticity. An influencer may have less followers than a large brand, but influencer followers are often much more loyal. Influencers also discuss their experience with brands and products. They may also review products, providing valuable firsthand insight to consumers. Most importantly, they accomplish this in creative ways.
A Nielson study found that 83 percent of online responders said they trust referrals from people they know. Simply put, influencer marketing generates referrals. Because of their experiences with a brand and its products, influencer posts and blogs are often much more engaging and authentic than brand posts.
Traditional advertising vs. Influencer Marketing
Many companies are spending less on traditional advertising mediums, such as TV, radio and newspaper. Instead, they are focusing their attention on social media and social media influencers to reach their target market. They are discovering it can better target their ideal consumer. Social media influencers are also perceived to be much more trustworthy than an ad. Influencer marketing content can provide a much grater return on investment than traditional advertising.
The best platforms for influencer marketing are Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Blogs are also a powerful way to influence the public. Your ideal influencer is one that shares your key messaging and is knowledgeable of your industry. You will need to help develop usable content and graphics to assist an influencer in providing the information necessary to his or her followers. They will couple this with their own insight, life experiences, photos and videos. It’s a much more personal way of indirect advertising.
Internet & Social media statistics
Statistics prove that people are online all the time. They are searching, logging on to social media platforms and browsing the worldwide web all day, every day. Social media influence is poised to grow and if you have a well-planned influencer program in place, your sales can grow with it. An influencer can aid in your SEO efforts and help boost rankings. Here are some statistics from WorldStream and internetstats that showcase the power of social online and social media influence.
Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second, which translates to 3.5 billion searches per day.
Approximately half of the world’s 7.5 billion people are Internet users.
83% of female and 75% of male Internet users are on Facebook.
There are nearly 2 billion users on Facebook.
YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
100 million hours of video content is watched on Facebook daily.
Start growing your social media interest now
Social media is the ideal spot for word of mouth marketing. Gain more interest in your brand and your products by building a greater social media presence. It will help you stay ahead of the competition and secure a loyal following. To be effective, brands need to begin authentic conversations. Media influencers are an excellent way to start these conversations and expand your social media presence in a meaningful way. They will help influence others in our target market to support your brand. Influencers will get your message out to the masses quickly and creatively. They are also an excellent value for your marketing dollar. Remember, the power of social media is in its ability to immediately reach the your target market. Exposure and awareness is imperative for a brand’s success. With the right social media influencer plan, you can achieve your sales goals starting today. If you’re interested in learning more about influencer marketing read another of our blogs. Have questions? Contact Corcoran Communications social media marketers today by emailing ruth@corcoranpr.com.
We as active people are on the move all the time. Fast is also the way we conduct business and gather information. Mobile devices are becoming our number one source for instantaneous content. Smartphones have become an important part of our every day life and many of the decisions we make are made in a micro-moment. We turn to our phones to research everything from new cars to new products. According to the 2018 Digital Suite of Reports from Hootsuite and We Are Social, mobile phones lead all other devices in share of web traffic. This includes laptops, desktops and tablets. It’s important to realize, that at 52%, mobile phones accounts for a greater share of web traffic than all of these other devices combined. In addition, Google reported that in the past two years, mobile searches for product reviews have grown over 35%. Searches for local places have grown 150%.
What is a Micro-Moment?
Consumers experience what Google refers to as “micro-moments” every day related to their mobile devices. They have identified four micro-moments of users, which include:
I want to know.
I want to go.
I want to do.
I want to buy.
These moments not only include research for information, inspiration, searching businesses or products, but also learning how to do things or making mobile purchases. Many decisions are made and preferences shaped in these micro-moments. They are an ideal opportunity for a brand to engage. Micro-moments happen quickly. Marketers and brands have mere seconds to capture and keep the attention of a consumer. It’s definitely changing face of digital and social media marketing.
Capturing the Attention of a mobile society
We go right to the palm of our hand in our quest for immediate answers. Who of us hasn’t turned to our mobile device for inspiration for our weekend plans or to search for restaurants. We seek out travel ideas, weather updates, answers and we make purchases. As digital marketers, we need to capitalize on mobile search and more specifically, these micro-moments.
First and foremost, consumers want value. This can include valuable educational content and exclusive information. It can also include discounts and quick and easy purchase opportunities. Did you realize that more than 80% of smartphone users report consulting their phones in-store when making a purchase decision? Imagine the opportunities both gained and lost in those split seconds.
Opportunity can be Gone in a Micro-Moment
Google recognized the increase in mobile searches and reacted with a change in algorithm. Just last month, the company announced that “mobile-first” indexing of the web is finally starting to roll out. Mobile-first indexing means that Google will use the mobile version of a web page for indexing and ranking. The goal is to better help primary mobile users find what they are searching for.
Expectations are higher than ever, so user experience needs to be a top priority in mobile marketing. Equally important, the load time of a site can spell death for a retailer. You only have a few short seconds before a mobile user decides to move on to another site. Give them what they want and give it to them right away. What’s going to reach out and grab attention? Videos and imagery that wows is a great start. Furthermore, valuable content is a must. Useless fluff is a thing of the past.
Raise the bar and follow your own vision. Be the go to site and source for authenticity and original information. Exert your influence by being the fastest in your industry out of the gate and capitalize on consumer micro-moments.
Five Ways to Leverage a Micro-Moment
First and foremost, understand your consumer. They expect information of value and to have more personal experiences tailored just for them. To deliver this, you need to know your consumer. This includes their wants and needs. Knowing this will help you create more effective digital content. It will also help you to better understand when and where your consumers are searching. Once you know, you’ll want to be sure you’re there as well.
Be sure you have high-quality content that is readily available and easy to access. Significant content is what’s going to help you take advantage of consumer micro-moments. Google will still put a priority on indexing useful content first. Think short, attention-grabbing headlines and engaging visuals. Easily accessible useful content is the name of the game if you’re going to succeed in a mobile world.
If you haven’t already done so, optimize your site for mobile devices. Implement design changes to ensure mobile usability. This should include utilizing flexible text and images that are easily adaptable. Mobile visibility is critical to achieving your digital marketing goals. Responsive design is imperative if you want to provide a mobile-friendly experience. Be sure to optimize content for readability. Another key point, responsive sites that change based on the immediate needs of the users and the device they are viewing on are imperative.
Focus on the user experience. You want every experience a mobile user has with your brand to be a content rich, positive experience. You want them to come back for more. Don’t make mobile users search endlessly or go through multiple steps. By all means, simplify your navigation and highlight clear calls to action.
Optimize site speed. Speed it’s crucial when you’re dealing with a mobile micro-moment. Page loading speed is not only important for a better user experience, but also to your search rankings. A delay is just a few seconds can make a user move on to another site. A report by DoubleClick found that 53% of users would bounce from a mobile site that takes more than three seconds to load. With this in mind, if you’re selling something, simplify your purchase process. Limit the number of clicks it takes to reach checkout. You want consumers to finish that purchase every time they shop your site.
Time for a Mobile Marketing Strategy
Someone once told me that I had the attention span of a gnat. Apparently, I’m not alone. Consumers are living in the moment. As a business or brand, you need to as well. Consumers want and need answers at their fingertips. It may be the right time to begin developing a mobile marketing plan. Understanding those important micro-moment opportunities for your business is key. Your goal is to provide the information consumers need when they need it. Keep in mind, when it comes to mobile search, speed can save the day and your sale! To read more articles on various topics and trends of digital and social media marketing, follow Corcoran Communications on Facebook or Instagram. You can also subscribe below to be notified as new informational marketing blogs are posted.
Contact the digital marketing team at Corcoran Communications for helping develop a mobile marketing strategy today.
Facebook’s algorithm change earlier this year sent shockwaves through the businesses and organizations that count on that medium as a way to reach their target audiences. Facebook’s prioritizing of posts from family and friends over public content left business owners and marketers wondering what to do to combat this setback.
According to Facebook, the algorithm will prioritize posts that prompt meaningful conversations between friends, as well as highly shareable posts. Simply put, Facebook’s algorithm is rearranging the way you see posts according to ones you would be more likely to interact with. Posts that spark conversation and get the most authentic reactions, comments and shares will rank much better. It’s not enough just get those post likes, you need to get post shares and comments to broaden your post reach. If you’re seeing a big decline in your Facebook post engagement, it might be time to enlist the help of a social media marketing agency.
Five tips for getting a higher organic Facebook reach
Post meaningful content, questions and items that encourage opinions.
Spark conversation among your followers with relevant content. Post questions that will evoke emotion and encourage authentic conversation between audience members. When content induces a strong emotion, it is much more likely to get shares and interaction. To do this successfully, you must first understand your audience and what motivates them. It’s all about creating the right mix to appeal to your fans. What exactly is meaningful content? It’s content that educates or informs your audience or is very timely or relevant. This may mean a social media strategy shift to more posts targeted at individual audience groups rather than a “one size fits all” approach to posting.
Think video.
Video naturally gets better engagement and Facebook Live videos perform even better than regular videos. Facebook Live enables you to interact with your viewers in real time. Facebook Live videos are likely to appear higher in news feed when the videos are actually live. It’s always best to let your audience know in advance when you will be going live to be sure people tune in. Facebook also alerts your audience when you are going live. FB Live videos can be up to 30 minutes long. Once the live broadcast has ended, the video will be saved on your timeline for anyone to watch in the future. Facebook views these live videos as the ultimate authentic experience. Tap to learn how to go live.
Engage customers with Facebook Groups & Facebook Stories.
See a common theme here? It’s all about Facebook and its products. Facebook Groups are a great way to build a more engaged community around common interests or causes. This can be anything from groups of people who are passionate about animals to people who love travel, parenting groups, clubs, people who support a particular non-profit organization or people who love to cook and try new recipes. Is there a group that can be formed to tie into your brand, products and services? It’s worth exploring to make closer connections with your audience. Facebook Stories is another visual way to share your story and reach your audience. You can create a story through the Facebook app on your mobile phone. Simply go to your business page and scroll down and tap Create Story to begin. You can take or upload photos or video from your camera, add text and filters.
Be sure your photos stand out.
The more interesting and engaging the photo, the more reaction it will get. If you’re taking a photo, try working with different camera or phone angles to get a more dramatic effect. Action shots are always great. Keep it simple, not overly complicated. Photographing product? Arrange it into a unique type of design and color selection. There are also many high quality and enticing stock photos available online to purchase for social media sharing. That may be the better option for some. Think cute, mischievous puppies and stunning scenery. Whatever photo you use, it should be relatable and authentic. You’ll also need a great caption that ties into the photo and immediately grabs attention. Time spent on finding an appropriate photo and developing an interesting caption is time well spent.
Don’t be shy about reaching out to your fans for help.
This can be instrumental in combatting Facebook’s algorithm. Ask your followers to go to your Facebook business page, click on following and then click on see first to insure they see your posts. If your content is consistently compelling and useful, your fans will already realize the value and won’t want to miss it. As a result, they will want to do this!
Don’t get caught in the engagement bait trap
Encouraging users to like, comment or share just to boost your engagement could be considered engagement baiting and it could work against you. Businesses that regularly engage in baiting tactics to get a greater reach on their news will quickly see a decrease on their post reach. There are five forms of engagement baiting: Tag baiting, comment baiting, vote baiting, react baiting and share baiting. Posts such as like and share if you like ice cream, share to win movie tickets or comment if you love that the Eagles won the Super Bowl are all forms of engagement baiting.
To overcome the changes of Facebook’s algorithm, your goal should always be to have an authentic connection with your audience. To accomplish that, you need to concentrate on consistently creating content of interest. This content should on its own encourage people to share, because they found value.
Leverage the power of your employees in the battle against Facebook’s algorithm
The involvement of your staff can help you instantly strengthen your Facebook reach. Perhaps feature your team members in certain posts. If they buy in with active participation in the form of likes, shares and comments, more people will see your posts. Encourage your staff to get involved and share. In addition, make it as easy as possible for them to share. Email them links to the post and ideas for captions when sharing. The easier it is for the employee, the more chance they will actually do it. The greater the social media outreach for a business, the better it is for the entire team.
Always be unique and relevant on social media
Remember, Facebook is one big community and the more buzz you can create within that community, the better. Your post goal in overcoming Facebook’s algorithm is to get people talking. You want comments, likes and shares. Therefore, be sure to be unique and not post the same content over and over. If you’re posting product photos, change up the captions or pose questions regarding use of the product. Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes content based on the value it brings to the individual user.
Facebook ads may be for you
In conclusion, while you always want to focus on improving your organic reach, Facebook ads are a cost-effective way to build engagement and get a positive ROI. Boosting posts and running Facebook ads can definitely work in conjunction with your organic efforts. You can set your target audience for your ads based on many factors, including age, geographic location and interests. The social media team at Corcoran Communications helps clients to strategically develop a mix of enticing social media posts and Facebook ads to enhance their social media efforts and get results.
Need help with your social media initiatives, contact us for a free consultation. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for helpful marketing tips, social media strategy updates and our informative blogs.
