It may be hard to believe that social media isn’t even 20 years old yet, especially when considering that by 2018, nearly 97 percent of all Fortune 500 companies were using social media to improve themselves. The theme of this three-part article is that you really should be using social media to improve your organization, and if you’re already doing that, you could be doing better.

In the first part, we discussed six nifty ways to boost your social media results. In this second part, we’ve got nine more tips to engage on social media and improve your company or organization.

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7. Engage with your engagement.

From social media marketing firm Socialinsider comes some very meta advice: understanding what engagement looks like so you can increase your engagement. Engagement looks different on every platform. For instance, on Instagram, likes, comments, and saves are how users engage with your content. On Facebook, it’s clicks, reactions (likes and others), comments, and shares. TikTok engagement consists of views, likes, comments, and shares. Also, each platform has different ways of examining and analyzing engagement. Dig into each of your platform’s analytics. See how you’re doing. Then decide how to improve engagement and how to translate that engagement into performance improvement of your company or organization.

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8. Stay on top of trends.

This tip also comes from Socialinsider, and it may go by many catchy, techy, and board-room terms such as “being a leader in the thought space,” but it basically means being aware of what your peers, competitors, and customers are thinking about, talking about, and interested in right now—and posting about those topics (right now). This requires a certain level of social media activity and use. Once you’re keeping up with the trends, try starting some!

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9. Reward your super-followers.

As you develop your following and post valuable content, certain customers and users will emerge as super-followers. These users can boost your engagement and attract more followers to your brand, so reward them with exclusive ranks (e.g, make them admins on your page or group), content (e.g., pro-tip videos or product sneak-peeks), and perhaps more-concrete incentives such as coupons and discounts. 

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10. Adopt new features early.

Social media platforms are constantly rolling out new ways to present and curate content. Notable examples include live videos on Facebook and Stories on Instagram. When these new features appear, get there first and start generating content using the new tech. Not all new social media gadgets will take off, but if and when they do, you’ll enjoy the benefits of the early adopter.

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11. Use emojis (maybe?)

Okay, this one may seem quirky, but Socialinsider says emojis are no longer just a jokey little way to add fun to your online text—emojis are now part of the social media lingua franca. This is especially true for young people. People of about age 40 and older grew up without the communication methods where emojis were born—texting and e-mail. Younger people, however, learned emoji use right alongside the alphabet. They use emojis and expect to see them, and for good reason: emojis can indeed be very useful in conveying context, subtext, and subtlety. And it’s no longer just smiley-face, frowny-face, and winky-face—there’s an entire language of emojis you can use. Just be careful—if your customers and clients are predominantly older or tech-averse, maybe experiment a little before going full-on emoji-enabled.

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12. Either become an expert or hire one.

Although experts may disagree with this, there was probably a time when a casual user could easily grasp everything there is to know about using social media for business or organizational promotion. Social media platforms in the early days were positively primitive compared to what they have become. Even if you really are a thoughtspace leader, you might not have the inclination to be an expert in the intricacies of TikTok, the artistry of Instagram, or pithiness of Twitter. And yet, that is what your followers are looking for—high-quality, innovative, and next-level content. If you can’t provide that yourself, find someone who can. 

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13. Keep an eye on the competition (and do what they do). 

If you are the absolute social media leader in your field or area, it’s unlikely that you’re scanning the Internet for tips like this, so this tip assumes you’d like to do better. Social media content generator Hootsuite says it’s very simple: look at the best social media user among all of your competitors, and do what they do. You can’t copy their content or steal their graphics, obviously, but follow them, watch them, learn from them, and post the way they post.

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14. Use humor.

Online content booster eClincher advises that your social media should evoke strong emotional responses from your followers—laughter is one of those strong reactions. Promoting your brand is serious business, but it needn’t be somber. According to a 2021 article by Tatler Magazine, the number-one reason people use social media is to keep up on current events, but the number-two reason is to find something to laugh at. 

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15. Conduct social media audits.

A final tip from Hootsuite: give your social media a thorough examination and schedule future audits. This might sound complicated or esoteric, but it basically consists of looking at each of your social media accounts and identifying your best-performing content. Here’s Hootsuite’s full prescription:

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1. Create a list of all your social media accounts

2. Check in on your branding

3. Identify your top-performing social media content

4. Evaluate each channel’s performance

5. Understand your audience on each platform

6. Take action: update your social media marketing strategy

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We’re now well beyond the halfway point to giving 25 solid tips for improving the social media performance of your business or organization. We’ll finish strong in the final part of this three-part article by delivering up a fresh batch of ten more tips.

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Sources:

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https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/97-of-fortune-500-companies-rely-on-social-media-heres/

https://www.socialinsider.io/blog/social-media-engagement/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-tips-for-small-business-owners/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-audit-template/

https://www.tatlerasia.com/culture/arts/ph-top-10-reasons-people-use-social-media

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