Social Engagement Beyond Online Reviews

In a previous blog post, we discussed why local businesses should care about social engagement. To put it simply, maintaining an active social presence is an awesome source of free marketing and reputation management.

If your business is ready to begin interacting with guests on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, check out our tips and tricks below to make the most of your online engagement.

Host a Live Q&A

Facebook Live is a fantastic new tool for businesses looking to connect with their customers.

It allows you to stream directly from your store and answer questions from viewers in real-time.

This is a particularly great option if your CEO or Founder is looking to get involved because it reaches a large number of people in a short amount of time, perfect for their busy day. 

Hold a Contest or Giveaway

Everyone loves free stuff.

Holding a giveaway on your socials not only gives back to your loyal customers but incentivizes them to talk about your business with other people.

For example, you could hold a contest where the entrance requirement is to tag two friends. If fifty people enter the contest, that’s an additional one hundred people that will view your content.

You can also give out freebies to folks who share your posts or invite friends to like your page. 

Keep it Trendy

Going viral is one way for a marketing campaign to gain a large audience fast.

This is a rare occurrence, however, and not something you can control. A simpler option for getting a lot of traction online is to engage with a trending topic.

This can mean creating a post around cultural events or updating a popular meme to make it relevant to your products.

Staying on top of the trends requires fast work, but it’s a great way to start conversations.

Ask For Suggestions

Your customers love you, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have suggestions on how you can improve. While online reviews are a fantastic source for gathering feedback, you can also post open-ended questions or run a Facebook poll.

The results might help you determine which products to add to your inventory or how to improve your facilities.

No matter what, your customers will be happy to see that you appreciate their opinions. 

Involve Customers In Your Achievements

Businesses celebrate a lot of milestones. Anniversaries, website launches, facility openings, new employees - all are reasons to get excited.

Instead of keeping these celebrations private, welcome your customers to join you.

This could mean literally inviting them to a party, or posting photos and announcements online.

Happy customers want to feel included and will be the first to congratulate you on your achievements.

Promote Brand Loyalists

Loyal customers don’t hesitate before recommending your business to a friend or posting about their recent purchase online.

Follow these super fans so you can thank them for their support and use their content for marketing. Their authentic testimonials will go a long way in enticing potential customers.

Reposting photos and tagging brand loyalists will also encourage their friends and family to engage with your content. 

Post Exclusive Content

Your social media followers are special and they deserve special treatment.

If possible, post certain announcements only to your Facebook page.

This might mean creating a coupon code for people who like your page or sharing product launches on Instagram a few days before sending out an email notification.

Saving special perks for your followers is a sure-fire way to increase engagement and word-of-mouth marketing.

Respond to Comments

This might be obvious but it should be reinforced: respond to as many comments as you can. On your blog, Facebook, Instagram, and wherever else they can reach you, it’s vital that you answer your customers.

They’ve gone out of their way to contact you and are eager to connect with your business, whether to show their support or in search of help.

Keep a close eye on your social channels to ensure that none of your patrons are left unanswered. 

Widewail’s Engage Plus package is specifically designed to make the most of your Facebook engagement.

We “like” comments, engage with your customers, keep the page and your social ads free of negative comments or abuse, and report on social activity so you’re always up-to-date with what your followers are saying.

As part of the package, we also seed and respond to Google Questions. Click here to find out more.