Hello, again, dear Trendsists. Do you spend hours creating content and marketing materials to share on social media, but get little to no interaction or engagement? You are not alone. With billions of people on social media, including many other businesses similar to yours to compete against, it can be challenging.

Don't be discouraged! It is true what they say, "hard work pays off." As with anything else, you get out of your business what you put into it. That being said, there are multiple tips you can follow to improve your content, engage your audience, and better utilize the time and efforts that go into creating these materials.

These are the tips you should follow to encourage higher interaction and build your audience.

Social Media Platforms

There is no shortage of social media platforms out there and many are beneficial to your small business and building an audience. It can be overwhelming with all the options available, which is why it is best to choose the platforms that best support your business goals.

Facebook had over 2.7 billion active users and Instagram had over 1 billion active users as of 2020. With so many people on social media all day, every day, you have the capability of marketing your business with little or no cost to you. Many platforms like Instagram and Facebook allow you to create a business account, providing you with tools and resources, including detailed analytics. 

Understanding how a platform works, what methods of posting are available on that platform, and its algorithm will help you reach the audience you desire. Learn more about the Facebook algorithm with one of our previous blogs: Trendsi Tips: The "A" Word.

Make A Plan

After deciding which platforms best match your business model, you will want to make a plan for posting. Keep in mind the social media platforms you are using and the many methods you can use to share content. Consistency is key.

Creating and adhering to a consistent posting schedule will allow your audience to know what to expect and when and also broaden your chances of being discovered by potential new customers.

Part of your plan should also include the types of content and the method of sharing this content. As an online store, your content can include product spotlights, important updates, announcements, brand awareness, and more!! 

There are many methods available on each platform, ranging from posts, images, videos, stories, polls, and live streams. A best practice is to create a plan that utilizes multiple different types of content and methods of sharing.

Content Tips & Tricks

Just like people, each person's business is unique to them. It is important to not only provide content that represents your product but also that adds a personal touch and brings awareness to your brand. You can easily gauge what content works best for you by looking at the interactions each of your posts receive and providing similar content to ones that perform well. Here are some useful tips to follow in order to create and share content people will love.

1) Show more than telling.

When posting to social media, you want to be sure that you capture the attention of the user right away. People are visual creatures, so many times a post containing only text or mostly text can easily lose many people's interest. If you are creating a post with text, make sure to always try to include a graphic or image that stands out. Just as in life, first impressions are always important!

2) Share unique quality content.

Although "consistency is key", it is also significant to provide quality content that builds the value of your brand with a personal touch. Creating your own graphics and taking your own photos is a great way to personalize your brand. Make your content unique and personable by sharing pictures of yourself or your family and friends in your products, highlighting important updates, events or announcements, testimonials, and try-ons. Livestreaming is also a great way to connect and engage your audience, and on Facebook, you can save your lives for replay at a later time! 

3) Take your own photos. 

This tip goes hand-in-hand with the one above. 'Real' photos typically perform better than regular stock photos because they are more relatable and more real! Using your own stock photos will set you apart from other businesses and add that personal touch to your brand. You can use these photos for content and your own listings on your website!

4) Curated content.

Curated content is content that has already been created by someone else. To add to your personal touch, you can also share content that you come across online that is related to your brand, industry, and goals. Sharing curated content from reliable sources within the industry builds both your value and your credibility with your audience. An important tip to remember is that if you do share curated content, be sure to tag the original source. This will credit the original creator and can potentially encourage more traffic for you!

5) Stay on top of current trends.

You want to be mindful of marketing trends and clothing trends as well. Just like with clothing, there are popular image/graphic trends on social media. You can easily find out these trends by browsing through popular hashtags, trending now, and viral videos and posts. This will help you provide content that matches the most current trends and help the performance of your content. Utilizing a service like Canva or Luminar will help you easily create current types of content by utilizing the many templates they have available.

6) Call-to-action.

A call-to-action is a phrase that is used to encourage interaction and sharing and will make your posts stand out. You can also utilize call-to-action phrases using polls and stories to encourage interaction. Some examples of call-to-action phrases are:

• Share with someone this made you think of.
• Comment your current favorite winter trend!
• Like and follow for more content like this!
• Shop your favorite winter looks now!

7) Customer reviews and try-ons. 

Sharing your customer's photos and reviews (with their consent) is one of the best ways to build value in your brand and opens up the door for future loyal customers. Sharing other customers' positive experiences with your business boosts your credibility and encourages shoppers' confidence in purchasing from your business.

8) Hashtags. 

Love them or hate them, hashtags are a great way to get your posts discovered. When adding hashtags, you want to make sure you are using the most popular hashtags that relate to your business and the content you are sharing. Hashtags will help your posts find the audience you desire to connect with!

Social media is a great way to build brand awareness, grow an audience, and build value in your business. Remember, loyal customers return because they are invested in you and your business. Use these tips to your advantage to help you provide more engaging content.

With love, until next time Trendsists. And, as always, keep it classy.