As a business owner, you probably know how important social media is to your overall marketing strategy. Prospective customers often use social media to research products, services, and companies that will help them solve a problem. That's why it's important to post helpful, informative content on your page and build relationships with your followers. But what happens when your followers aren't engaging with your posts? Try these tips to help improve your engagement rates:

Social Media Isn't About Sales — It's About Relationships

Your followers can tell when you're only posting to sell your product or service. That's why we recommend following the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts should be audience-centric, and 20% should promote your business. Types of posts that fall under the 80% include:

• How-to blogs or videos
• Infographics
• Polls and contests
• Inspirational quotes

Audience-centric posts generally garner more likes, comments, and shares than promotional posts. You can still use social media to promote sales, coupons, or customer testimonials, but do so sparingly. Click here to learn more about different types of social media posts to incorporate into your strategy.

Take Followers Behind-the-Scenes

Social media users love to see the face behind the profile. Show them the personal side of your brand by posting behind-the-scenes photos, like photos of your office or your team members. These posts typically have higher rates of engagement than graphic, templated posts. They also help with relationship building which is at the heart of social media. 

Don't Understimate the Power of Video

Video posts are, by nature, more engaging than traditional posts. Social media algorithms love video, meaning these posts are more likely to appear in your followers' feeds. Consider livestreaming an event you're attending, or taking snippets of longer videos you've produced and posting them to your profile. We even have an entire blog post about how video content can play into your marketing strategy. 

It's important to optimize your social media posts for engagement so your efforts aren't wasted. As always, Addison Clark is here to help you with all of your social media needs!