We hear this a lot from all of the social media ‘gurus’ out there don’t we? But what does it actually mean? It more or less simply means publishing content that drives engagement. So let’s look at my top 7 of what to post and when to get your audience engaging with you as often as possible.
- Motivational quotes. Definitely be doing these often. But not the same old quotes we all hear regurgitated over and over and over. Pick someone that resonates with you whether that be Tony Robbins or Albert Einstein or Jim Rohn. It doesn’t really matter. Consistency really is key. Once a day on Linked In, Facebook and Instagram. We want to demonstrate our positive attitude to life to our audience.
- Go Live from your personal profile once a week. The best days are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday anytime from 1 – 7pm. Make sure you are consistently doing this at the same day and time every week so your audience knows precisely when they will be hearing from you. I would definitely leave your business out of these and just share something about your life and lifestyle. Could be something simple like having a coffee at your fave café and sharing something you learned that week. Or if you’re at an event. Or catching up with friends’. It’s just something to demonstrate lifestyle and come from the point of view of portraying yourself living a life that others would also like to live. Be the demonstration of a lifestyle solutionist – which is what you are.
- Post something on your personal profile and your business page (if you have one) showing lifestyle as well. Could be going for a walk somewhere picturesque. Walking your dogs. Doing something with your kids’. Playing sport. Visiting a friend. Going out for lunch. Family time. As with your Lives, make sure it’s something that looks attractive to your audience and makes them want what you’ve got. That’s the whole point of it.
- If you have a business page on either Linked In or Facebook, share a good quality article on something that relates to your target market/niche. For instance, if you market weight loss products, you might like to share a blog or article on something around weight management. If your business focusses on legal services, share an article related to legal services. You get the idea. You are wanting to share value with your audience. Something that they wouldn’t already know or be able to find easily.
- Check in wherever you go. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it demonstrates lifestyle. You’re not someone who is just home all the time – you have an interesting life. Secondly, it expands your audience. On occasion the owner of the business you check in to may acknowledge your check in and tag you meaning your reach just grew exponentially. Thirdly, if you regularly check in to the same restaurant or beautician or masseuse, people will start to wonder how on earth do you afford to go to all of these places so regularly which will in turn create curiosity around what you do. And lastly, you are giving the business you are going to free promotion so it’s a great win/win for everyone really. Who knows, they might start following you as well so yet another potential new customer and/or team member!
- Engagement posts every third or fourth day asking people a question using bright colours and emojis. For instance, you could ask people to post the third picture on their camera roll. PC or Mac? Where were you when a big event happened. Name a food you refuse to eat. Spell your name using emojis. You get the idea. This quite literally hacks the FB algorithm because a lot of people will react and comment. Facebook notices this and will then in turn make your posts more visible to more people (doing regular FB Lives will do this too). You want to engage as many people on your friends list as possible. After all, what’s the point of having 5,000 friends’ if none of them actually engage with you?
- Curiosity posts regarding your business should only EVER be done 3 times a month and no more. Consider your FB profile as a TV channel. If you were watching your favourite show, would you continue watching it if most of the program was made up of ads? Of course you wouldn’t! And the same goes for posting about your business. If people feel they are being marketed to all the time, they will unfriend and unfollow you – and let’s face it, they could be your target market! Don’t burn people off unnecessarily. But you do want to create some curiosity around what you do. If you are away for the weekend with your family and your business paid for it, post something along the lines of “everyone laughed at me when I got started in my business and now I get to take the family away for sneaky weekends away. I love what I do!” That’s it. If your pictures look attractive enough, people will ask what you do eventually.
So that’s it really. Super, super simple. Consistency really is key. Good quality images – check out pexels.com, pixabay.com or Unsplash.com for royalty free pictures. Make sure your phone has a good camera that takes great shots. Set a timer each day to get your posting done and be prepared to be patient. This is a marathon and not a sprint. You will not get people clamouring to know what you do after one month of posting. It has to be regular and consistent. If you have branding colours, use them in as many of your posts as possible. And on Instagram, alternate between a quote post on a white background with a lifestyle picture. It will create a ‘checkerboard’ effect and look so much easier on the eye and way more attractive too. Have fun with this! And remember also to always react to every comment and reply and use emojis as much as possible. And NEVER use the like button or sad button or angry button. EVER! ONLY use love, care, haha or wow. Facebook will notice this too.