Patrick Danquah • June 29, 2022
How to maximize social media engagement and credibility
How often do you find yourself staring at your screen, wondering what to write on your social media posts? How often do you feel disconnected when writing, like you cannot put your thoughts to paper?
Do you struggle to maintain consistency and uniformity with your posts, so you end up throwing together some ideas and emojis and hope it is enough?
As entrepreneurs, we’re pulled in a million directions, and for many of us, writing content can be time-consuming and frustrating. Although we know social media is important, we’re often in a rush and create our content on the fly, without any purpose or intent.
Or, we simply can’t seem to find time, so we post sporadically. This can present a disconnect; if we lack consistency, we can’t engage our audience and we lose the know-like-trust factor.
Here are a few tips to maximize your engagement and credibility:
- PLAN - Create a weekly social media content schedule, where you have laid out what you will post for the week. This will include time blocking your day to ensure you have prioritized time to write your content.
- TRANSCRIBE - Instead of writing from scratch for each post, try transcribing your video or reel content and turn it into a written post
- REPURPOSE - You don’t want to reinvent the wheel; you want to take existing content and repurpose it in as many ways as possible across your platforms
Writing content that is consistent and resonates with you and your clients is paramount to forging the meaningful connections you need to grow your business.
In order to build credibility as a reliable thought leader, you have to maintain uniformity and post frequency in a consistent, authentic voice.
Your Why. Your story. Your way to connect with your audience. Have you ever read a book where the story sucked you in so deep you couldn't put the book down? Storytelling can be incredibly powerful for a business. Sharing your story not only differentiates your business from your competitors but also helps establish the Know, Like and Trust factor with your audience. Businesses know the importance of having a brand and messaging that supports this. But they can sometimes underestimate how imperative consistency and sharing their message in a way that connects with their audience is. For your audience to know you, like you and trust you, they must connect with you and your brand, feeling that you are the right service or product for them. Sharing your ‘WHY’ Storytelling is a great way to foster a deeper connection with your audience. Every single business started with an idea. And every single business has a story to share. Helping your audience understand your ‘why’ allows them to understand why they should invest in your product or service. Getting a bit vulnerable and sharing your story allows your audience to see a side they may not usually see from a business. And in turn, this creates a more meaningful relationship and develops trust in you and your brand. Just like the book you couldn’t put down, storytelling in a compelling way is what we want to try and replicate when it comes to our brand story. We want customers to be pulled in, hanging onto our every word and left wanting more. People also really appreciate a relatable brand; by sharing your story, you can evoke various emotions in your audience. Including information on why you formed your business, what problems you are trying to solve, and why you love what you do can help your audience connect with you on a more emotional level. Another great way to connect with your audience is by sharing client stories. For example, share how you helped a client get from A to Z or share client testimonials. This allows prospective clients to better understand how your business has helped other real people. Storytelling - beyond just facts For many business owners, especially those who aren’t writers, figuring out how to write a social media post or blog is like pulling teeth. And these business owners often default to ‘teachable’ content and ‘how-to’ posts, as these tend to be the easiest to write. And for the record - there is absolutely nothing wrong with how-to content. In fact, I suggest using it regularly. But in addition to more matter-of-fact posts, I suggest sharing ‘your why’ to further engage your audience. Stories can make a huge impact, while facts alone are not so memorable. But together, they paint a broader picture and allow your information to resonate and reach a broader client base. Ok great - but how do I do this? The key to any content you put out is writing it in a way that makes your audience feel as though you are speaking to them. So how do you do this? Take time to understand your ideal client. Read your reviews and the reviews of other competitors. See what types of posts you put out have the most engagement. Understand what your audience wants and what they need. By weaving your story with facts, you can spark curiosity and evoke emotion while strategically crafting your narrative. Ultimately, your goal is to persuade your audience to take some sort of action. Whether you are selling a product or service, you want your audience to want you and what your business has to offer. Speak to your clients' pain points. Show them how your product or service can benefit them. You want to connect to both the logical and emotional sides of your audience, which in turn will (hopefully) make them want to work with you. With prospects that feel they already know and trust you, your business has a better chance of converting them into customers. And the more you nurture these clients, continuing to share your story, the more likely they will become repeat customers happy to refer your business to others.
When creating your social media posts, do you feel like connecting with your audience is a struggle? During a brainstorming session, one of our clients mentioned they struggled with engagement on their posts. When we did an audit of their content, we discovered that their pages were full of teachable content but little to no personal content. We totally get it - content writing can be a big enough struggle, let alone worrying about the style you write in. And there is absolutely a place for teachable content. But in terms of engagement, your audience wants to get to know YOU. They want to hear your client testimonials, stories, your journey and the struggles you’ve encountered and feel that deeper level of connection with you. What resonates most to me is when I read a blog, testimonial or customer journey that speaks directly to me and my pain points. Or when I feel like the person is describing exactly how I feel in certain situations. That feeling is exactly what you want to elicit from your customers. Explaining how they will feel before, during and after they work with you, creates rapport and will have a tremendous impact in gaining your audience's trust. In fact, studies show that 71% of people prefer buying from companies that they align with. So while many appreciate teachable content for the mechanics and practical applications, in the end, people end up buying from those that they like. Creating that know, like, and trust factor will go a long way in building your client relationships. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and giving your audience a glimpse and insight into who you are will have a much more significant impact than you might imagine.