Business owners, social media managers, and marketers of all stripes spend an abundant amount of time trying to figure out why exactly people follow them. It would feel great if it were because they loved the content you were putting out. Perhaps they wanted to make sure all of their friends saw that they’re a fan of your brand. That isn’t the case. Understanding your audience is a continuing task, and it’s not just about finding out what content your audience likes. It’s time to take a look at why users, in general, follow brands, and what they might be looking for that you’re missing.
Deals, Deals, and Deals
Around 37% of Facebook users, and over 43% of Twitter users follow brands in order to keep up with deals and special offers. And more importantly, 70% of users have used social media to participate in a contest. Your audience might enjoy what you have to say. Chances are, they are hoping to see a sweet deal pop up on their feed. The biggest takeaway is how excited users are to take part in contests. Running something as simple as a “like and retweet” campaign will renew your audience and get them engaged.
Talking Back Works
This number is staggering and should be eye-opening to every brand and social media marketer out there: 97% of users report that an online experience has influenced their decision to buy from, or avoid, a brand.
You know that using social will help your brand awareness, and helps you tell your story, but the way you’re interacting with users can be what makes or breaks your brand. Make sure you are responding to every tweet, to every Facebook comment, and particularly to every message. Setting up an auto-responder through Facebook can help bridge the gap between shifts, but make sure you are still following up. Yes, your social media is a way to broadcast, but if you aren’t thinking about the person-to-person communication, you’re harming yourself.
Knowledge Is Power
The information a user looks for will always vary from person to person, even if there are overarching commonalities. One thing that is true across the board is that users have a strong motivation behind following or unfollowing your brand. Whether they are looking for deals, hours of operation, or trying to understand your product better, users are looking for information, and once they’ve found it, they will always put it to use.
All of this provides you with a filter, a way to put yourself in your audiences’ shoes, and ask yourself what each piece of information you put out says to them. What do you want them to see first? What information is vital to any potential customer? If I saw this on my timeline, would it annoy me? Putting your content through that filter will help give your overall social presence a boost, and help keep the audience you’ve worked hard to build.
Almost 70% of your social media audience will use your posts to get a feeling for your brand and decide whether to support you. Making the most of each post can make or break your brand.
Do you need to start marketing your company on social media, but aren’t sure how to get started? Or maybe you’ve been posting content, but can’t seem to get the results you want.
CLICK HERE to schedule a complimentary 30-minute digital marketing audit.
