10 easy ways to increase social media engagement as a small business - with examples
Size doesn’t matter.
At least it doesn’t matter if it’s the wrong fit.
Having hundreds or even thousands of followers but only a few likes, shares, and comments means something isn’t working. It’s time to reconsider your priorities because your business social media isn’t just for fun, it has a function: to help you sell.
Increased engagement means an increased chance of sales.
Finding your ideal audience
A social media account created to promote your business should attract and entertain your ideal audience. And your ideal audience should be potential:
customers: people who want to buy what you are selling.
collaborators: other businesses and people in the same industry.
community: pre-existing groups that might be interested in your business.
If you’re not sure exactly who your ideal audience is meant to be, look at your current Business Plan.
Who did you consider as potential customers and collaborators for your business?
Those are the people you are trying to attract online.
Content that builds connections
You need to focus on creating content that keeps your core ideal audience interested and engaged.
Over time, your continued presence will mean followers think of you first when they’re in the market to buy what you’re selling. Part of that engagement will include amplifying your business tone of voice. That means your style of communicating with your audience.
Are you witty and irreverent or dry and matter-of-fact?
Are there certain words you use regularly and others you’d avoid?
Here’s an example:
“Hey squad, it’s your boy, Poe”
“Greetings, ‘tis I, Mr Edgar Allan Poe”
“Hi, Edgar here”
Each of these lines delivers the same message but in a different tone of voice.
Once you know your tone of voice, it’s time to make those posts happen.
10 easy ways to increase social media engagement as a small business
It doesn’t have to be too complicated. You just need to understand who you are talking to, how you talk to them, and what you want to say.
Here are ten ways a small business can increase social media engagement, help build a mini-community of potential customers, and have fun.
1. Use relevant hashtags
Share relevant content directly with your wider community by using relevant hashtags.
It will take research to find the best ones for your business, but it’s a good time investment as it opens doors to potential customers. Over time, you’ll be able to spot which trending hashtags would be ideal to use too.
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: #HorrorCommunity 10% off selected books until #Friday13th Come visit Black Cat Books in person or hunt us down on bookshop.org I can’t guarentee that I’ll be here, but lots of #books will be
2. Share visual content
When people are scrolling through social media, an image will grab attention faster than a few lines of text. Make the image you share relevant to your business and your niche.
Luci of Black Cat Books is claiming their territory
3. Share a story
Your business is personal, so sharing personal stories can be beneficial. But you do not have to overshare.
Keep the stories relevant by sticking to what might interest your followers, like behind-the-scenes stories.
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: #BehindTheScenes #Bookshop I brought my human a treat. She screamed. I forgot that mice in her slippers make her sad. Please cheer her up by treating yourself to one of our books.
4. Answer FAQs
People will reach out and ask questions about your business, but also about you.
Pick a few you feel comfortable answering and answer them. Or answer a question that only one person has asked. Who’s going to know it’s not a Frequently Asked Question?
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: Some of you asked for my favourite short story. It’s The Cats of Ulthar. Respect cats. And each other.
5. Show your niche knowledge
You’re an expert in your business. Share your niche knowledge in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Ideally, in a way that also directs people to what you’re selling.
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: Do not talk to me about Cats (2019) You have betrayed Cat kind and we will remember. Related: My human Hela suggests reading T. S. Eliot’s poems.
6. Share the love
Sending a warm message to another account is just a nice thing to do.
It’s also one way to reach a wider community while also introducing content your audience may find interesting. Your contact doesn’t even have to be strictly in your niche. It’s ok to have fun.
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: Happy Birthday @Number10cat In your honour, I made Hela replace all the books in our Politics section with books about cats. Have a great day Larry. #WhoRunTheWorldCats
7. Post a photo
Sharing a selfie is still a good way to grab attention. No one knows why.
Just make sure you have the permission of those in the photo before you post them online.
A Black Cat Books post not by Luci the cat: Happy #Caturday Here’s Luci looking purrrfect. What are you reading this weekend?
8. Comment on your post
Add context by adding comments to your own posts.
Make a series of posts about a subject of interest. “Pin” a thread you plan to grow over time, so it’s the first post people see when they visit your profile.
Don’t forget to take part in conversations happening on other accounts. It’s called SOCIAL media, after all. Be sociable in a way that matches your business tone of voice.
People will see you. Some may want to follow you.
A Black Cat Books comment by Luci the cat under the other post: My human Hela posted that photo of me. I shall have my vengeance.
9. Quote your community
Give back to your followers and community by sharing their content.
Repost their posts or quote-post to add more context (and earn your own likes and shares).
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat quoting a post by Mary Wyrd: Mary Wyrd post: Enjoyed the #Eurovision2023 song “Who the Hell is Edgar?”Curious about Poe’s work? Here’s a handy #shortstory #readinglist The Tell-Tale Heart. The Fall of the House of Usher. The Murders in the Rue Morgue. The Black Cat. The Masque of the Red Death. Ligeia. Luci’s post: Edgar Allan POE POE POE POE. Thanks for the list @MaryWyrd I’m glad I got a mention.
10. Share news and updates
Not everyone is going to visit your website's news page every day.
If you have news worth sharing, share it on social media too. And not just once.
Repeat the same message in different ways at different times to improve the chances of the information being received and acted on.
A Black Cat Books post by Luci the cat: NEWS Black Cat Books is #hiring This is your chance to worship me every Saturday and help my human with the books. Tell my human, Hela, that Luci sent you.
Writing the right content for your business
The key to social media engagement is to create content that attracts and keeps the interest of your ideal followers while being sociable.
When you build a social media strategy, consider these three subjects to include in a successful social media strategy.
If you are starting a new account, there are five steps to starting a new social media account.
In the case of Black Cat Books, if your business personality is a powerful and intelligent black cat called Luci, make sure the cat in question has opposable thumbs. It’s harder to type on a smartphone without them.
Or you can hire a fellow human to do it all for you.
A social media manager or content creator will take the stress out of not knowing what to post by creating regular, optimized content in your tone of voice for you.
If you’re finding social media to be a time-sink that takes you away from your business for too long, a social media manager can step in and interact with followers for you.