7.4: Maintaining Audience Engagement

Creating original content for social media is called content creation. In the content management lifecycle covered earlier in this chapter, content creation is part of both the organization and creation stages. In the organization stage, you should determine which content will be on which platforms (e.g., website versus X (Twitter)). Then, in the creation stage, you will create the content specific to that platform, with the understanding that not all content is equally appropriate for all platforms. For example, the way adoptable pets are highlighted on the Happy Tails WC website can differ from how the pets are showcased on Instagram. To create engaging content, you will need to understand your topic and listen to your audience. If the content is valuable to your audience, they will be more likely to reshare it.

When creating content, think about the “four Es:” (see Figure 8.31). Content should entertain, educate, encourage, and engage through a call to action. Also think about the way your content is structured. Through the use of headings, you can avoid posting long paragraphs and instead break the content down into bite-sized pieces for your audience.

Figure 8.31: Creating engaging content increases the likelihood that your social media posts will be shared with others and thus increase their reach.

Another key to original content creation is writing for your audience. You want to develop an understanding of your target market, and identify their demographic characteristics and pain points (recurring problems with products or services that inconvenience or annoy customers). Use this information when you write content for your business. Because social media platforms are primarily visual, your content should include visuals and infographics as well as text. Tools like Canva (an online design and publishing tool that allows customers to design anything and publish it online) can be used to style your content into posts that fit the specifications of different social media. You can also use some of the tools in Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint to design engaging visuals. There are many other tools you can use to create various types of content—for example, YouTube for video, SurveyMonkey for short surveys, Anchor for podcasting, and Spotify for playlists.

Collecting information on a relevant topic and sharing with added value is called content curation. When the content is shared on social media, credit is given to its original owners. Curating content allows you to add value to your site by collecting information and organizing it to appeal to your audience. This is similar in concept to backlinks: The goal is to locate thought-provoking or engaging content to build upon original content and enhance your credibility. As a content manager, you will be a researcher who sorts data online and identifies relevant and purposeful content. Essentially, you will manage and oversee the content for the organization. For example, HubSpot is a company that focuses on creating software solutions for marketing and customer service management. The site creates content regularly to demonstrate to its audience how to use social media for marketing in the form of blog posts. They pull a variety of content from case studies, social media tools, resources, etc. to provide resources on best practices in marketing that are relevant to their target market.

7.4.1 Strategies for Repeat Visitors

Repeat visitors to a website, social media, or blog are good for businesses that want to develop brand loyalty or build an online community. There are a few strategies that will assist in increasing the traffic to your business (see Figure 8.32).

Figure 8.32: To drive traffic to your social media sites, you can use various methods that have been found to attract and retain customers.

Start with a “call to action.” This is a way of encouraging your site visitors to do something. Encourage your visitors to leave a comment, share an image, or enter a contest. Some businesses center their relationship with their customers around product sharing. For example, customers might take an image of themselves with the product and use a special hashtag to be identified and posted. You can also build a loyalty program, encouraging visitors to return by having them subscribe or join a membership rewards program. This will give visitors something to look forward to in your business.

An example of this strategy is having users download an app and earn rewards toward a free purchase. Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, and Chipotle all have these types of rewards built into their apps. Offer incentives for reposting and sharing your organization’s posts on their own personal social media pages. You can create even more engagement by asking them to tag their friends in the repost. Finally, one of the best ways to have repeat visitors is to create a consistent experience with excellent customer service. This is an essential part of making visitors want to stay involved in the process of buying from your business.

7.4.2 Engagement Management

Any interaction between two parties on social media platforms, such as sharing, linking, or commenting, is called engagement. Organizations use engagement management (EM) as a tool that allows them to engage with members or clients anywhere or anytime. It involves a team of client relations (sales and support), project management, delivery, and quality management to satisfy clients. EM operates across multiple projects and ongoing relationships. For example, Hootsuite is a social media management platform that integrates social media networks and helps clients focus on engagement. Companies can curate content, schedule posts across different social media platforms, and manage team members. Hootsuite offers integration for X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, making it easy for clients to measure ROI. There are other similar software programs available to help your organization manage multiple social media platforms.

A key advantage of using one of these programs is that you can schedule your social media posts and incorporate the social media calendar discussed previously. For example, when a post is made on one social media platform, such as X (Twitter), the same post can be made to Facebook automatically. This can facilitate your social media marketing plan to ensure consistency. It can also help keep your posts organized and can save you time if you have limited resources to dedicate to social media.

Attributions

The final material was remixed, curated, edited, authored, and arranged through human creativity, originality, and subject expertise of Gabrielle Brixey, MBA MAC and is therefore under the CC BY NC SA license when applicable.