Buzz Building Series - Issue 4: Social Media and how to build an engaged audience - part 2

Hi There,

Welcome to issue 4 of the buzz building series in which we look again at Social Media and how to build an engaged audience (Part 2 of 2), to support your buzz building program.

Last issue we looked at getting started with a social media engagement plan. This issue we delve into some of the more effective methods you can use to grow your audience across Social Media...

Rick says...

OK, so you've had two weeks since we revealed some of the ways in which you can get started with social media engagement so, presumably, you already have that well underway and are a total rockstar?

Well, anyway. Now is a good time to think about ways in which you can grow your audience and in turn engage more of that audience to attract them to your business.

Remember some basic rules to ensure you stand out and engage on Social Media

Work out of hours:You may find you increase engagement by ensuring that you post (or schedule to post) out of office hours or on weekends
Re-package and Re-post:Sometimes your content will just get lost or missed by people that would otherwise find it very useful. So, without SPAMMING, you should have the confidence to re-post it with new headings, questions or imagery to ensure it gets the exposure it deserves
Inject Personality: Ensure that your content and the way you post it onto Social Media, carries with it the personality of your team or brand.
Keep it coming: Make your plan for frequency of content, and stick to it, forever.

With these rules firmly established, your content marketing engine will be ticking over, and your key focus should be on new and interesting ways to share it and create engagement around it.

Consider including in your strategy, things like:

> Questions related to your content to encourage debate

> Polls & Surveys

> Free downloads in exchange for contact details

Ensure that whereever your content lives (your website, your blog, etc) that there is ample functionality there for viewers to be able to share, recommend or comment to build engagement and create further exposure of your content.

As always, analyse, track and measure! So that you know what works best. Then keep doing the best stuff!

Don't forget to tell your friends...

 

Owen says...

I want to pick up on one of Rick’s specific actions this week.

Working out of hours: Actually this is about “thinking out of hours”. If you’ve done your homework (go back over the previous emails about targeting) you will have a good idea about the kind of people you’re trying to engage, the sort of business they might operate in and the kind of pressures they’re dealing with.

Here, think too about the geography or time zone they might be in. Is your business or operation limited to your own country or could you just as easily attract a global audience?

Remember that some of the mechanisms you’re using to disseminate your content are “real time” mediums. I.e. the information people see on them changes and updates continually. LinkedIN and Twitter are good examples of this (Twitter especially). If you “Tweet” something to suit a UK audience at say 8.30am…where do you think that tweet will appear for your US audience when they wake up? Right, they probably won’t see it at all.

So you need to ensure you’ve set up to Tweet and post to LinkedIN at times that suit your audience and, as Rick say, you can do that more than once.

Another “gold dust” tip for you….more senior people start to plan their working week on Sunday afternoons and evenings. If that’s who you’re trying to reach, schedule emails, Tweets or LinkedIN Posts to “hit” from 4.30pm – through to 7pm on a Sunday. You’re more likely to get noticed and catch people when they are relaxed and unhurried…and ready to act on your communication the following day.

I used this approach with a client of mine recently, the results were remarkable!

3 things to do today to help with your social media engagement...

Develop your own means for tracking the growth of your audience
Plot out in advance the time you intend to invest in your buzz building and social media campaigns using your calendar of choice
Trial some promoted post campaigns to build your following

Don't forget, still to come in the buzz building series...

> Blogging; it's benefits and strategies to exploit them - Part 1

> Blogging; it's benefits and strategies to exploit them - Part 2

> Search Engine Optimisation and it's part in your strategy

> Email Marketing to amplify your content and build your audience

> Analytics and Optimisation; understanding your impact

> Reporting and building a pipeline of interest

> Audience & content. How to write a buzz building strategy

> Buzz building and the resources required to sustain it

To discuss any aspect of the buzz building series, please call us at your convenience on 0203 1372 844.

Rick & Owen