Engaging directly with customers includes responding to individual inquiries as well as replying to emails and direct messages on your full range of social media accounts.  This effort can be time consuming and tedious, and more often than not, your attention is focused on a few, loud, high-maintenance customers.  Too much attention risks diverting resources away from development of fresh and original social media posts.  Too little time risks alienating key customers. 

Nonetheless, as search engine algorithms increase in complexity, and marketing budgets from larger competitors increases, small business owners still have leverage.  Small scale remains a blessing on social media, and search engines are increasingly taking note of your response.  Facebook already publishes a response time on your website, so that customers who send in inquiries can now approximately how long it will take for them to receive a reply.  Fortunately their calculation weighs recent activity stronger than previous performance, therefore this metric is one which is well within your control to improve upon. 

Facebook also started (in 2018) tracking the content of responses, rating higher those with characteristics of genuine interaction.  The precise metrics (or words and phrases) they look for remain a secret, but it underscores the importance of ensuring your online content remains authentic, conversational, and in natural language. 

Search engines are also using comment performance data to rank your website.  Key words and diverse content are not enough to rank well on organic searches.  Comments and quick responses to comments are also tracked on major social media platforms, as well as your own online website. 

While replies to comments – as always – must be unique, the good news is that they do not need to be lengthy.  A short comment which addresses the user’s question or comment (likely by repeating key words in a meaningful context) will be seen as more relevant. 

The real challenge is to invoke user responses without specifically asking for it.  In other words, asking your followers to respond by liking, sharing the post, or adding views to the “comments below” are being de-prioritized.  Social media platforms are aiming to discourage the use of customer baiting as a way to artificially inflate their engagement numbers (there is some doubt as to whether or not these methods work in any case). 

The important thing to remember is that for search engines and social media platforms, the fundamental goal is, as always, to reward original and high quality content.  Social media consultants always try to get around these rules by streamlining content creation and development and by using little tricks to encourage people to engage more in their platforms.  Such tactics can produce short-term results, but the more they are used, the more the major online platforms tend to focus on ways to cut down their effectiveness. 

Online content which attracts attention is informative, interesting, and engaging.  Fortunately, each online posting does not need to be an Ivy League level research paper (that wouldn’t be very engaging anyway).  It does require that content providers raise their level of art, and that content continue to be fresh and original. Fresh and original content requires research, practice and consistency. 

In order to continue engaging your customers effectively and efficiently, we recommend the following steps be incorporated into your social media strategy:

• Focus on the purpose:  every social media or blog posting has a purpose.  Usually, the actual purpose is to attract customer attention in a way that converts to sales.  As a posting, that is not very interesting, but some businesses may take the approach that any content is good content.  We would agree that often times any original and new content is better than no content (although not always), for only a little additional effort, businesses can research trends or interesting topics relevant to their line of work, and develop themes around that.  The benefit of a theme-driven development plan is that it naturally lends itself to numerous new blogs and social media postings, as in a series of articles, which can then build customer interest and interaction over time (think, 3-part movie series).  A purpose-driven approach to content development is then the first step in truly engaging customers.
• Keep it crisp:  classic instruction to public speakers goes something like, “get up, speak up, then shut up.”  Customers are much more drawn to savor your content when it is presented straight and to the point.
• Develop key motivators:  you know your customers and what motivates them.  Is your business emotionally driven?  Fill your content with stories and images of excitement, hope, dreams and other emotional themes.  Are your customers seeking assurances of competence?  Particularly true for healthcare and legal professionals, fill your content with themes of strength and leadership.  Whatever is most appropriate for your specific business, there are key motivators which you can weave into your social media messaging.

All of these activities can be done within your current social media strategy, and over time will help to increase engagement of customers and interest in your business offer.