Like it or not, social media is here to stay. It’s the new town square, the new public marketplace for ideas and discussion, as well as for business advertisement, marketing, and commerce.

For businesses looking to reach more customers, social media is one of the most important channels for driving engagement. More than 4.4 billion people are expected to use social media by 2025—more than half of the total population of the planet. And as other traditional marketing channels like print and television decline due to the fracturing of their audiences and dwindling of their circulation, social media is only growing bigger. That’s why spending on social media advertising is expected to surpass $173 billion in 2022.

With that in mind, the question isn’t should my business be using social media, but rather how can my business be more engaging on social media? Knowing what to post on social media, what social media content moves the needle most, and when to hire a social media manager for your business are the keys to success for your business’s social media strategy.

Fortunately, Wordsmithie is here to help! Read on to learn more about how to absolutely crush your social media strategy.

How to be engaging on social media

Knowledge is power. Information drives the success of armies, politicians, researchers, and—yes—social media marketers, as well.

That’s why the first step in how to be engaging on social media is to know your audience.

Who is following you, consuming your social media content, and reading your posts? What demographics are they? The way you seek to engage, say, senior citizens with disposable income is likely to be far different from how you engage high-schoolers. 

We recommend investing in a social media analytics tool so you can create this crucial granular understanding of your audience. And be sure to regularly track the dips and rises in your posts’ engagement so you can know exactly what’s working and what isn’t.

Create and share valuable social media content

It may be tempting to toot your own horn, or just treat social media like any other marketing channel. But in reality, social media users are looking for useful, valuable content. So give it to them!

If you run a flower shop, for example, don’t just share your newest arrangements. Share some video tutorials on how viewers can create their own beautiful arrangements with your flowers. If your brand builds and sells bicycles, consider sharing content about how to change brakes and perform common repairs. 

Remember: your social media content should be interesting. But it should be valuable, too. 

How creating a social media content strategy can help

Wondering what content to post on social media? You’re not alone—just 10 years ago, a “social media manager” was the person at the office who organized the company slideshow at happy hour. Now, it’s a mission-critical, big-bucks position.

But before you even ask that question, the first question to ask is: what does social media success look like for my brand?

For lifestyle companies and influencers, success may look like reshares, comments, and user participation. But for ecommerce-first brands, success may look like click-throughs to product pages and attributable revenue. Are you looking to simply engage your audience, or are you looking to convert them into customers?

Some common metrics brands use to measure engagement with their social media content include:

• Likes
• Shares
• Growth of audience or followers
• Click-throughs
• Mentions
• Branded hashtag use
• Sales or marketing-attributable revenue (MAR)

Scheduling and planning ahead

One of the other biggest mistakes brands make is not creating a schedule for their posts. Just as you work hard to create your marketing content calendar, you should plan ahead to align your social media content with your monthly goals for maximum impact.

If you have a product launch coming up, plan to create relevant posts around it in the run-up to, and immediately after, its release. The same goes for large rebrandings, important company news, acquisitions, brand initiatives, and so on. Your business goals should be the driving factor in what you post on social media.

Once your social media strategy starts to mature and get more complex, consider hiring a social media manager. Given that half of adult internet users say that social media advertising helps them discover products and services that interest them, hiring a professional to help you get it right makes sound economic sense.

Social media post creation checklist

Ready to get started posting your own social media content? 

Keep this helpful checklist handy to make sure your posts are as engaging as possible!

• Know who your social media audience is.

Are you using/have you used social media analytics to determine who you are hoping to engage and who is consuming your content?

• Plan your social media strategy to support your brand’s goals.

Is your post timed and scheduled to support your goals, like drumming up excitement for a new product, sharing important news, or highlighting a new initiative you’re proud of?

• Share useful and valuable content.

The most important question you should ask yourself when deciding what to post on social media is: would I click this if I didn’t work here? If your social media content adds value to your audience’s interests, it’s the right choice!

• Include any important links.

Whether you want users to read a blog, watch a video, or visit a product page, be sure to include a link to the right page so you can get those juicy click-throughs!

• Track and analyze engagement.

Congratulations! You’ve shared a post! Now, don’t forget to closely monitor and analyze its engagement to further fine-tune your strategy and make it even more effective next time.

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With these tips in mind, you’re ready to build your brand into a social media superstar!

And if you’re ready for some backup creating great copy for your blogs, posts, case studies, and more, Wordsmithie is ready to help.