Social media has changed exponentially since the days of MySpace. While there are elements of it that are still fun and exciting, the social media space has become a playground for business, networking, and growth. With massive changes like that, you need to get strategic with your approach if you’re using it for business purposes. These days, effectively engaging with your target audience on social media is crucial for real growth. Because if you’re not proactively engaging, you’re missing massive opportunities.
Here are our five proven tactics for outbound engagement that ACTUALLY drive results:
1. Always Start with Audience Research
Outbound engagement without a plan is essentially a waste of your time – it’s not going to garner persistent reach or help grow a following of loyal supporters. You can’t just comment generic messages under random posts.
What you really want to do is start digging into audience research to understand your ideal customers’ interests, language, and online communities. Scope out the content and profiles they currently engage with, find trending hashtags and communities, and don’t be afraid to check out who is following or interacting with your competitors. Knowing your audience is the first and maybe even most important step!
2. Personalize Your Outreach
Once you understand your audience, figure out how you can effectively personalize your outreach. Again, don’t waste time with the same generic messages because you will get ignored *no one likes getting ghosted*.
This could mean custom DMs, authentic comments under their recent posts, or responding to their stories. Personal touches really make a lasting impression because if you continue to interact with the same people, that is how you build relationships with the right people.
3. Provide Value-First Content
Please don’t spam with promotional sales content. You don’t want to see it on your personal socials and neither does your audience. Instead, lead with value that speaks to your audience’s interests and curiosities about your expertise. Post content that makes them think, “I gotta know more from this brand!”. This is a really great way to garner brand awareness and cultivate loyal fans because it shows them that you offer value and are listening to what they care about.
4. Balance Brand Presence with Natural Engagement
There’s a fine line between strategic outbound engagement and coming across as an annoying try-hard. You want to develop a distinct and consistent brand presence while still feeling like a real, likable entity worth following. Basically, humanize your brand as much as you can.
The trick? Make it a natural, two-way conversation! Don’t just lurk and like – ask questions, be playful, and get involved in discussions happening in your niche. This prevents you from feeling like a faceless promoter. Your audience will perceive you as a trusted source providing value and entertainment.
5. Play the Long Game
Unfortunately, this isn’t Bachelor in Paradise – you aren’t going to get engaged after a few weeks of talking. Effective outbound engagement takes consistent time and effort for the long haul.
Stick to the grind of showing up, providing value, and investing in these relationships. Over time, you’ll see steadily growing metrics and a captive audience showing up on your posts just like you did with them.
Easier said than done, right? Not everyone has time to engage on socials consistently. If you’re screaming for help, we’d be happy to lend a hand! Contact us to receive your personalized outbound engagement strategy.
The post 5 Proven Outbound Engagement Tactics to Grow Your Social Media Audience appeared first on MIX+SHINE | Marketing & Social PR.