The Rules of Engagement for a Winning Social Media Strategy

Make your list (and, check it twice!)

The first thing you want to do is build of individuals and organizations you want to engage with.  (Maybe even multiple lists if you are feeling fancy!) This list should be very easy to put together. Simply ask yourself, “Whose content will benefit my customers and me, and who will benefit from seeing my content?”

Some ideas on who to add to your list include:

• Prospects
• Industry News Organizations
• Stakeholders
• Industry Thought Leaders
• Community Organizations

Like it like that

Once you have your list(s) built, spend time each day reviewing the content those on your list are producing.  Show their accounts some love by liking or loving their posts.  It will get noticed.  It will also make sure that YOUR content shows up in THEIR feeds more often.

Share and share alike

Share one to two posts each day from someone on your list.  These accounts get notifications when you share their content. These notifications make them more likely to interact with your content.  Also, your content will show up in the news feeds of those that like those pages.

We will also recommend saying a thing or two as you share…but make sure you say something of value.

Celebrate good times, come on

Celebrate the successes of those on your list!  Comment on their posts when they share exciting news about their organization. Even if the success is small, a kind comment goes a long way.

Be sure to congratulate them, and when possible and appropriate, share your own story about their organization related to this success. For example, if one of your clients lands a new client of their own, you can post a comment like, “Congratulations on your new client! This takes me back to when we started working together – such an exciting start to what has proven to be a great partnership!”

Commenting helps their content be seen by your follows, therefore increasing their reach and earning you some good will points. (Win!) And, your comment will be seen by those that follow their accounts, increasing your reach.  (Win-Win!)

Play a game of tag

Tagging those on your list is another way to get the attention of the followers of those on your list.  But please, only tag when appropriate.

Sharing their content?  …Yes, tag.

Talking about your partnership and a program that you are collaborating on? …Yes, tag.

Sharing your sale that has nothing to do with them? …Don’t tag — That’s just annoying!

Mind your P’s and Q’s and thank you’s

If other accounts engage with your account using any of the above suggested engagement tactics, please make sure to thank them.  If they share your posts, like the share and comment as your account with a simple “Thank you for sharing!”  This actually helps their share get seen more in the news feed.  If they comment on your posts, make sure to like the comment and reply back.

Let’s be honest, none of the suggestions above require a rocket scientist to execute. However, that doesn’t mean you should assign them to your intern either.  And, if you are really serious about taking your social media engagement to the next level, you need to engage the help of professionals.

Check out some additional tips we’ve compiled that can make your social media program easier to manage, or call us to arrange a free social media engagement audit, which includes social media engagement strategies specifically tailored for your organization.