Social… But not Social
Love it or hate it, Social Media is here to stay.
You see it everywhere. People buried in their phones on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. while they’re stopped at a red light, at the park with their kids, at dinner, in the waiting room at the dentist, even walking across the street. Our society has become consumed with documenting our lives through posting selfies and posting our opinions all over social media on an hourly basis.
If all of this makes you cringe…
I’m right there with you. Personally, I’d rather be outside, hanging with friends and family rather than constantly connected to social media.
However, as a business owner, I see Social Media sites for what they are…
A goldmine.
The best business owners learn to market where their consumer’s eyes are…
…and their eyes are all over social media. Social media can be one of the best ways to build a loyal following and create new streams of income for your business.
So when you’re starting to build your business and brand on social media, what’s the best way to build a loyal following and more importantly, how do you make money from social media sites?
Which Came First?
Have you ever heard the question “Which came first the chicken or the egg?”. When it comes to social media, the question is more like “Which came first advertising and monetization or building a following?”. This is where most marketers get it wrong. Most focus on how to advertise effectively and monetize on social media first. In my opinion and what’s worked best for our business, your focus should be on building a fan base and engaging your fans with value.
We call it social media for a reason…
… people want to socialize! They don’t want to feel like they are constantly being marketed to. There are definitely ways to monetize what you do on social media and we’ll talk about that in tomorrow’s post. But first, you need to learn how to engage your fans effectively so you can have raving fans AND raving customers long term.
My Top 6 Favorite Ways To Create More Engagement On Social Media
- Questions and Opinions – Naturally human beings are egocentric. We like to talk about ourselves and share our thoughts on certain topics. When you allow your fans a way to share their thoughts and opinions, they instantly feel connected and important to you. Some sample questions and sentence starters are:
- What do you think is the #1 thing most business owners struggle with?
- In your opinion, what makes a business successful?
- What’s your favorite way to consume content online? Video, Audio, Article, Other
- How can I help you?
- Which blog post would help you more: One on closing sales over the phone or One on closing sales using email follow up?
- Inspiration – With all the negativity and fear we’re surrounded by in the news, bringing a ray of sunshine and inspiration to your fans will feel like a breath of fresh air. You can share your inspiration through:
- Motivational Images
- Motivational Quotes from Leaders
- Inspiring Videos (Either done by you or someone that inspires you like Les Brown, Eric Thomas or TED Talks)
- Inspiring Audio
3. Vulnerability/Storytelling – While building your brand (especially if you’re branding yourself as a public figure), nothing is more important than putting yourself out there so your fans can relate to you. Some of my favorite ways are through sharing:
- Struggles and Failures
- Insecurities
- Share what motivates you
- Story of triumph
- Story of when you were at rock bottom
- Challenges you still face and how you overcome them
- Straight Talk – Everyone needs a little tough love every once and a while. Just make sure what you’re sharing relates to feedback your followers need (i.e.- if your business doesn’t revolve around politics, keep those opinions to your family/friends profile unless you can relate it to your business). These styles of posts will always tick off a few fans, but will also create a stronger bond with your truly loyal fans:
- Share your opinion
- Give tough love feedback
- Soapbox moments/Rant
- Fill In The Blank – These posts are a great way to give your fans free reign to express how they feel, have some fun and help you get to know your fans better!
- I’m feeling blank ______________
- ______________ inspires me
- I want to learn more about _______________ for my business
- Time freedom means _____________
- The first thing I do to kick off my morning is ______________
- Call To Action AND Interaction– Social media is all about being social! This is hands down the most important aspect of creating engagement with your fans. If you don’t tell them what to do next, which is your call to action, they won’t take action. If you’re asking your fans to engage on your page, make sure you interact back with them and respond to their comments. This helps you build rapport and create those close relationships when it’s time to start monetizing. Some ideas for creating viral call to actions are:
- Comment below with your thoughts
- Tag your friends or team if you got value
- Share this with your friends
- Like this post if you agree
- Click this link to go check out my latest blog post
- Comment below with one a YES if you agree
- What’s your favorite way to _________? Comment below with your answer
Engagement Doesn’t Pay The Bills
Building a loyal fan base for your business is a long term process. Don’t expect that your engagement will come out of nowhere. As long as you’re consistently posting value daily on whatever social media platform you choose to build your business on, the engagement will come.
What’s cool is, think of all the responses you get on social media from your fans as data. You’ll quickly learn about your fans pains and struggles, their strengths and weaknesses and how they like to consume content. This is where social media transforms into a goldmine for your business.
Sure, posting inspirational pictures are fun and it’s great to see tons of shares and positive comments, but engagement alone doesn’t pay the bills. If you want to know how to know how to quickly utilize the data you collect from responses you get on social media posts to help you create quality content and monetize your business…
But for now, make sure you share this post if you got value and I want to know…
What’s your #1 favorite way to engage your fans on Social Media? Comment below this post with your favorite!
Cecelia Morris
P.S. – If you’re struggling to build your business online and work with the right kind of people that produce results, this formula is exactly what you’ve been missing. It helped me bring in 104 “People Who Like To Win” kind of personalities into my home business in less than 2 months. Click here to learn how to sponsor more reps online with this formula.
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