imagine that you are walking down a noisy street with thousands of people passing by next to you who are talking at the same time.
A logo of a store flashes in front of you for a few seconds and then you move on. You are trying to be noticed because you have something to say, but in the noise of the street you just realized that no more than 5 people around you are listening. Now imagine that street is your very own social media feed.
There are a few ways to get heard, seen and followed on social media that you should keep in mind when creating a strategy. We will go on with the analogy until our street turns into a group of people willing to listen and follow us. Here are the steps any person or brand should take into account when building their audience.
Who do you want to listen to you?
The street is full of men, women, children, pensioners, businessmen or housewives. Do you want to talk to everyone or do you have a preference in the type of people you talk to? In social media it can be called targeting but we will use this term to define a group of people who would be more willing to listen to us. Once you’ve made that decision, your efforts to get seen narrow down to a certain type of person, and the noise of the street begins to quieten down. Suddenly, there are only women around you, passionate about travel, who want to visit the world and rediscover themselves. They might as well be men into rock music. The point is to know who you want to reach out to.
What you say?
It is clear that when you want to have a social conversation, the first rule is to find common points of discussion with your interlocutor. Have you ever witnessed a conversation where the narrator seems to be boring everyone? That’s what happens when you promote a brand on social media by talking exclusively about its amazing performances. Let’s not forget that the name of social networks comes from their purpose to facilitate communication and this has at least two interlocutors. Treat your audience like a group of people you want to meet, start a conversation with, and tell them things that are important to them too. Create a post strategy where you put all your effort into captivating your audience with unique stories, beautiful pictures, or funny stories. Remind yourself every day that those people have a choice to walk past you without seeing you but the only thing stopping them is how interesting what you are saying is.
when do you speak
When you walk down the street every day and see the same store in your path, it’s almost inevitable that you don’t stop at least once to see what’s inside. But if that store only shows up once a week and you happen to not be there when it does, your chances of meeting are slim to none. Why would you think it’s different in social media? Your communication must be constant, even daily, without boring and without repeating yourself. If you can get people on the street to look at you for even three seconds every day, your message has reached them.
where are you talking from
On the busy streets, the ones that make people stop are the acrobats, musicians, beggars and moving statues. Not only do they stop people but they also manage to collect money. How you dress up your social media content to get people to stay longer on your page is based on the same principles. You’re not a musician, but you can make an original jingle for the brand you’re promoting. Let people see beyond Photoshopped pictures. Let them enter your home, get to know you, learn more about the characters in your story, and then you will gain their trust. A live during an activity within the company or a video about how a product was made will bring you more engagement than a video spot processed with very large budgets.