5 fun social media strategies to increase engagement
Right now, social media is all around us. We’re plugged in all the time. So why not leverage that time online to increase engagement on your business’s social media pages?
Increasing engagement means providing interesting, valuable (and fun) content that will drive clients to engaging with you directly. That means you have to be available, provide value, and work one-on-one for a specified period of time. If you’re ready to set aside a few hours to a week, these 5 fun social media strategies will increase engagement (and lead to sales).
Strategy 1: Virtual happy hour/coffee time
Hosting a virtual happy hour or coffee time (depending on your client base) is a great way to engage your audience. It seems simple. Find a platform to meet virtually, send invitations, show up. That’s what a failed virtual happy hour/coffee time will look like. The problem with that formula is that no one or very few people will show up because they don’t have a reason to, and if they do show up, you’re going to end up talking about pets and kids and stuff that doesn’t add value, so they aren’t going to stay or come back.
Instead, consider an aspect of your business that you can tie to a chat. For example, if you are a restauranteur, host a virtual happy hour or coffee time where you are going to showcase knife techniques and answer questions about different knife choices. Invite people to bring 2-3 specific types of knives and any other knives that they have questions about. Prepare 40 minutes of content for that time slot and be prepared to cut some of it if questions come in or to repeat some of it if others come in at different times. Send out an invitation and share it across social media platforms. Suggest that others invite anyone who might want to know about some of the topics you hope to cover. Host your event and halfway through, invite your audience to sign up for your website, your service, etc. Maybe offer attendees a coupon or giveaway a free entree.
Protip: Engage with your audience by hosting another event later and showcasing one or more of the previous participants who caught on quickly.
Strategy 2: Presentations
Another way to engage your audience is to host video presentations or live presentations. This is similar to the virtual happy hour/coffee time but can be seen as more formal. Pick a topic, pick a platform, invite, and host. That’s it, right? No. Hosting a presentation takes a lot of work.
First, you have to determine what you want to present. Consider something that provides value but maybe tap into an old service you used to offer especially if you already have materials created around that service. Spruce up those old presentations before you even get started. Once you have your presentation together, figure out what platform you want to host in. Will you pre-record your session and then host a watch party? Will you go live with your presentation? Weigh the pros and cons of both methods. Generate a buzz about your presentation. Always be sure to share across multiple social media platforms. Have participants receive access by signing up for your email list. Host an amazing event. Send out a thank you to participants after the event. Remind them of something cute or funny that happened during the event. Ask them to reply with one take-away from the event.
Protip: Plant people in your audience to ask questions that lead to a service you offer. They can reduce any silence when you ask if there are any questions, and done correctly, they can seem like a natural lead into your services without you promoting them.
Strategy 3: Guest experts
Inviting guest experts is similar to a presentation but more of an interview format. These are great because you have to do less of the content work, but you have a lot of work to do as a host.
Start by finding an expert in an area that you’re not an expert in but that is closely related to your services. For example, if you’re an artist, find someone from your state’s art commission to talk about grants for artists. If you’re a business coach, find a systems strategist to talk about setting up systems in a business. You can even bring in one of your clients. Create a list of questions to ask them. Invite them to your event (see above) but give them some topics or a list of questions you plan to ask. Review that list with them and ask them if there is anything else they would like you to bring up. Plan for ¾ of the time and leave the rest for padding and questions.
Protip: Check, double, and triple check all of your technology before your event. Practice with your guest expert, too. And always have backups.
Strategy 4: Group challenges
Who doesn’t love a group challenge? Group challenges span 3-30 days, but I suggest you keep them 10 days or under. A group challenge is where you isolate a group of participants (set caps to entice people to join) and give them challenges that lead to some sort of development.
Essentially, you start with an end goal that your clients could work towards. If you help entrepreneurs get their business started, you might have a “5-days to launch your business challenge.” Next, you’re going to put a schedule and materials together. You can determine if you want to use a module-based format or a more hands-on platform. Once you’re ready to launch your challenge, find participants who are interested and invite others. Again, keep caps to entice people to sign up. Launch your challenge and actively engage with participants. Be prepared to spend at least 1-2 hours per day in the challenge. Whether you’re offering advice, reviewing questions, concerns, and posts, or live, you should be ready to spend some time engaging and participating.
Protip: Recognize participants by name. If you post at least once or twice a day, in at least one of those posts recognize something a participant said or did that was great. You’ll engage everyone with the hopes that you will say their name next!
Strategy 5: Virtual scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are a ton of fun, but with everyone stuck inside, it’s difficult to do one. Why not have a virtual scavenger hunt for clients?
First, decide what you want the theme to be. Connect that to your business. If you’re a systems strategist, maybe you launch an “A-Z guide to setting up your systems scavenger hunt.” You could include 26 items they need to find to set up their system. Then, put together your virtual hunt. Keep it simple but make sure any sites you use are evergreen. Drum up interest from potential clients through all of your social media platforms and launch! Be prepared to be there for any questions.
Protip: Avoid making items dependent upon each other. For example, you don’t want the only way to get to C on an A-Z hunt to be going through A and B, or your participants will get stuck and maybe even quit. Also, make sure they pair up with someone else or a small group to make it more fun.
Social media is meant to engage us in each other’s lives. It’s also a great way to provide value to potential clients while showing them how much fun we are.