A recent Facebook post:
"Are you struggling with what to post, consistent content ideas or is it tumble weed on your page? If so, I am after a massive favour. 🙏
Please could you pop a link to your page below so I can have a nosey. I will leave you a comment or two while I am visiting, it might help give the algorithm a kick in the right direction. It certainly will not do any harm though the best solution is posting the right content.
I am asking because my clients are seeing a massive growth in engagement and sales right now. With a few tweaks their engagement is actually better than ever right now as more people are spending more time on social (And more people are buying too!)
I am putting this process and system into an easy to use workbook, but I want to confirm my theories - and to do that I need to look at a few more pages.
It will mean a lot to me, and I'll be able to come back and share what I learn as well.
Thank you so much
Nicola x"
I posted this on Facebook to help with research for a workbook I am busy creating (which will be available to buy soon) helps creative business owners talk about their products and services online in ways which resonate with customers, get great engagement and lead to sales.
I had so many responses, which is absolutely brilliant for my research and confirming my system. But it also really sad as too many small creative business owners are struggling to get engagement and interaction on their social media pages.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Jane, using this strategy recently was getting over one hundred long comments on a single post on her page. In my own group I can get over 450 comments on a post.
Disclaimer – if I forget my own process I can easily post and get crickets too… it all comes down to what and how you are posting.
There is no magic or trickery. It is about applying the right simple strategy and thinking about what and how to post. It is that easy!
During my research I realised that there are patterns in the posts which aren’t being seen, and just disappearing into a big black hole.
I’ve broken these don’t into 8 ‘things’ which will make the world of difference to your social media.
(Caveat, these only work if you have the right audience to start with!)
The 8 things which will help your social engagement skyrocket are:
1. Always make your posts about them not you!
Ok, of course they are ways about you, you are posting on your own social media pages. But they need to be relevant and capture your audience’s attention, they need to talk to your audience, so you need to be smarter about how you post.
For example, one of the page posts I saw in my research was by an amazing pet portrait artist. She had a post comparing one of her paintings with the pet photo. Sadly, despite the incredible artwork, it hadn’t got the engagement it deserved.
The post started with 'Here's the painting vs photo of my latest commission!'
The words are more about the artist than it is about the audience.
The thing is, on the whole audiences are more interested in themselves on social media. If the words don’t call out to them, they will scroll on by.
Same post, same purpose instead ask a question that your audience can answer, which will draw their attention in, for example ‘Can you spot the difference?’
Or this cat in the painting had the most amazing green eyes
Always make the post about your audience first.
2. Make sure your posts are easy to respond too and answer
Posts which announce something or broadcast something can be really hard to respond too. It can get the ‘so what’ response which means ‘bye bye’ audience as they scroll on by. Or sometimes your audiences want to reply but they don’t know how. Or they might simply say ‘congratulations’.
Now it’s good here to know a little about how the algorithms work. Basically, the algorithms have a ranking system of importance. On Facebook a love heart reaction is worth more than a like, a comment is worth more than a reaction, but a longer comment is worth a lot more than a one-word response. Essentially the more time someone takes to engage with your post, the more valuable the social media platform thinks that post is to other people and that means it gets shared to more people; it increases your reach. So ideally you want people to be commenting, and ideally commenting with more than 5 words.
A lovely page I looked at had a post featuring the most gorgeous handmade Christmas wreath which should have done the rounds and had a big response, in part because it was posted on the page in April.
It got a few likes, but it didn’t get a single comment because it was written as a broadcast post which is really hard to reply too.
‘'Finished my personal Christmas wreath! It's never too early to get holiday wreath orders in! ....'’
The post is talking at the audience not to or with the audience. The posts that get the best results are really easy for someone to respond to and actively encourage people to respond.
This post could have tried: 'Is it too early to start getting ready for Christmas?
I’ve finished my own Christmas wreath and I have a special offer on for anyone else who likes to avoid the last minute rush!'
It is exactly the same information, just worded to encourage people to answer with a comment, which will help increase the reach so more people see the post.
3. Keep your page about you and your business 80% of the time
It is really easy to go down a rabbit hole with content, to think that people will get bored of seeing your work, or struggle to know what to post and end up talking about everything but your own business. Sharing relevant content is a really good thing but not when it means your own work gets hidden away.
The whole point of managing your own social media business pages is to get your audience seeing and wanting and buying your products and services. If you don’t talk about your own work, you miss the mark completely.
A good rule to apply is the 80% rule. For every ten posts 8 are about your business (but in a way which is relevant and meaningful to the audience) and 2 are about something else.
On one of the pages I looked at during this research I had to go back through a lot of posts, and over a week to find a mention of the gorgeous handmade jewellery. And that pattern was repeated.
The jewellery was stunning, but I had to go hunt for it. Audiences are lazy, they only see what is in front of them in the newsfeed most of the time, so make sure they are seeing you for the right reasons.
4. Keep it simple and focused
Sometimes you have nothing to say and other times you have everything to say and you cram it into a single post. The trouble is it gets confusing ad your audience can easily miss the main point of your message. You are best to always keep it simple and on point.
A lovely lady runs craft sessions locally, at the moment because of Corona virus lock down everything has had to move online, so it is all very different to normal.
In a bid to get attention she has thrown the kitchen sink at the post, using a funny image, with a comment and asking for suggestion about what to make, and asking what her audience is planning on making and saying ‘see you there’.
There is way too much going on.
It is such an easy trap to fall into as naturally many small business owners always over give. By keeping it simple you make it easy for people to respond and to have better conversations – after all this is a social platform. There is nothing wrong except it needs to be separated out.
1. The funny image and comment.
2. “I need your help! Tomorrow is our Tuesday night zoom craft and chat and I don't know what to make. Any suggestions?’
3. ‘What are you going to be making in our Tuesday night craft session on zoom?’
4. ‘Who is coming to our craft zoom session tomorrow at X? If you haven’t booked your place yet, you still can, always room for more to craft’
Each post is specific, easy to answer and there are now four opportunities to engage with your audience instead of one. Oh and don’t forget to answer each and every comment if you can, stay social on social!
5. Appeal to all the senses
I love selling online BUT it does have its limitations. You can’t pick an item up and handle it, you can’t smell it, you can’t get the feel of the fabric… I could go on but I am sure you know what I mean. To get past this, you have to compensate with your images, words and descriptions. One of the best ways is to link to stories or experiences.
If you have a product which is all about the feel of the fabric, describe that fabric clearly, link it to a story. Being wrapped up and cosy in a blanket staying warm on a cold night.
In my research one of the pages features gorgeous wax melts. Now this is all about the scent, you have to compensate and get your audience imagining the aroma, by taking them to a place where they remember it from.
The latest post on the page talked about laundry scented wax melts. It didn’t transport to a place. I didn’t feel the fresh laundry smell.
I don’t know about you, but one of my favourite experiences which links to laundry is getting into a freshly made bed, the fresh laundry smell of the sheets…. It’s bliss. It’s relaxing.
By selling that story, you get the people who go ‘oh yes, you can’t beat a freshly laundered bed’ and they are there with you. In that same place. They are experiencing that scent without leaving their seat.
It could be posted as ‘Is there anything better than a freshly laundered bed, clean, sweet smelling bed sheets?
Now you don’t have to wait till laundry day.’
6. Warm your audience up first
Out of the blue random posts will usually be ignored, especially if they are telling people about something. A broadcast about saying ‘buy this umbrella’ in the middle of a heatwave for example. It just won’t fly. It is irrelevant.
Instead it can be useful to warm your audience up, to get them thinking about what it is you want to talk about.
For example, I am writing this at the beginning of May, I’ve just looked at a page reminding me Father’s Day in on 21st June. The cards she has for Dad’s are gorgeous but Father’s Day is not at all on my radar yet. It’s a whole six weeks away, most people have other things they need to sort out first.
Instead of going straight in for the sale of Father’s Day cards, now is the perfect time to start having conversations about how Dad’s can be difficult to buy for, get them thinking about it and then present the solution.
‘On a scale of 1 – 10 how hard do you find it to buy for your dad? ‘Then “ 'With all the craziness going on, had you remember Father’s Day is coming up in June”
Then ‘Did you know you can already order your Father’s day cards from us.... you can't go wrong with a personalised card. And even better you don't need to leave your house to buy it!’
It works a treat.
7. Avoid jargon, make it easily understandable
We are experts at what we do. You know and understand your skill and you understand all the jargon and terms that come with that. Because it is so natural to us, it is easy to assume our audience understands too. Sometimes they will, but often they won’t. So avoid using technical terms or industry jargon. It comes back to talking about the benefits not the features.
A page I looked at had some really exciting news to share in a post saying,
'EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!
I just ordered my sublimation machine! It is shipping from California so it may be a minute, but it will be here soon! I can not wait to bring you all the amazing graphic tees, mugs, caps (and I could even do plates)!'
It is really exciting for that business but will the audience understand what sublimation is or what it means? Or will they just think ‘that’s nice’ before they have finished reading the post and scrolled on by?
Instead lead the post with the information which is relevant to the audience
'Who loves a cuppa in their own gorgeous personalised mug? A mug which is all yours and no-one else can borrow.
EXCITING NEWS! Very soon I'll be able to make you your own perfect mug, and even a matching t-shirt and cap too. Imagine how co-ordinated you could be... or maybe that isn't a good look!?
Anyway I'm just waiting for my clever new machine to travel all the way from California, and then we will get started.'
Then another day post asking what people would have on their mug... you could even respond by mocking up a few visual prompts....
Then when it arrives... 'who wants a new mug?' next day who wants a t-shirt, next day who wants a cap
Don’t assume your audience understand the tech side. Keep everything as simple and relatable for them as possible. You can’t get much more relatable than a cuppa!
8. Don’t go straight for the sale
When you have finished creating a new product or service it is tempting to simply post the name and it’s prices. You are getting it out there and putting out the basic information. But social media is the wrong place for that. Social is all about being social a post like this one, from a fabulous page with brilliant handpainted bags said:
'💃Zumba bag💃
👜small ~ £10
👜medium ~ £12
👜large ~ £15'
This post did have a gorgeous picture with it too, which did help, but it needs more to get the reach it deserves.
Like this it gets zero interaction because no-one really knows how to respond. Instead the best way is to focus on starting a conversation to get people thinking about Zumba and responding with comments that will improve your reach and get the bags seen by more people, ask something like ‘Do you love Zumba? I can't keep up and end up in a tangled sweaty mess!' (that is sadly true!)
The biggest thing to remember is:
Social Media posts are all about being social and having a conversation.
Before you hit the publish button read our post through – is it a conversation starter?
Is it clear and easy to respond to? Is your intention clear?
If it is post away, and if not, go for a rewrite.
It is possible to get good interaction and results from social media, so don’t give up!
