How to be seen, not just heard, on social media

(Posted on 28/04/21)


How to be seen, not just heard, on social media

Social media can seem like a beast. For some its daunting, if not terrifying. For others, it feels like it is a constantly demanding presence. One that needs to be fed with new content, requires daily checking that it's happy and performing, and that people are engaging with it. 

However, social media has a lot to offer. Rather than a beast, it should be seen as brands' best friend. We’ll reveal some of the top ways to help make social media content work and deliver for you and your business:

 

Content is key

It goes without saying that social media is a busy place. Across every platform, be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more, there are people and companies all vying for attention and conversions. There is therefore a lot of competition, and creative content is the key to standing out and cutting through the noise.

Fresh content, which is engaging and enriching for your audience, is important across all social media platforms. This is not just for keeping your followers up to date with your news and offers, but also because some platforms actively promote it. Facebook and Instagram use algorithms to prioritise the best content in people’s feeds, especially when users utilise the different features and posting options which these accounts offer. In fact, not using these extra posting features can actually be harmful to a social media strategy.

 

Share your Story

Using Stories, Carousels and Reels across Instagram will help a brand to deliver a full social media experience for the user, who will be expecting it. More than two-thirds of people (68%) think brands don’t share interesting content, so it is vital for companies not to play into this statistic.

 

It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it

Experimentation and innovation are the best ways to creatively capture attention and engage with the audience, fitting into conversations, not just trying to lead them.

Interactive and digestible content, which gives value to the audience, and doesn’t always try to direct them away from the social network to a website, will also keep your followers engaged for longer and increase trust. This rich story-telling across your platform will stop your audience from getting bored, and provide them with everything they need to know before they make a conversion/purchase decision.

LinkedIn videos drive five times more engagement than any other styles of posts on this platform, and can provide vital information in a quick yet effective manner. Videos are attention grabbing for the audience, but should always be created with sound-off viewing in mind. 85% of social users never watch videos with the sound on, so useful captions are key to emphasise a positive brand experience.

 

Reinvent the wheel

However, one key element which many brands forget is that you don’t always have to create new content all of the time. Pre-existing content can be repurposed and reinvented into different formats to make it seem new. For example, resharing information from blogs as a post, as a Story, as a summary video, etc. can provide snapshots to your audience who might have missed it going live the first time.

This will drive new excitement and interest, and play into the social platform’s algorithm, increasing the chances of content being, not just heard, but seen and engaged with on social media. Building connections and making a difference to your business.

 

Speak to our team of experts to help advise you on your social media content and strategy.