Businesses have long recognized the power that comes from social media. Millions of people all over the world are using social networks like Facebook and Twitter to connect with others, and businesses are taking advantage of these platforms to reach them. But it's not enough to simply be on social media. Engaging with fans and customers in the most effective manner requires a creative mind. Finding the right content that will capture people's attention, however, can be a real challenge. Here are just a few suggestions for helping you generate good ideas for your business on social media.
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What People Are Saying
Pay close attention to what your social media fans are saying. Maybe you post an update and get a number of comments from followers. What do they say about the products and services you put out? Do they ask certain questions more than others? From these comments, you may find a common thread that connects many of them. If there seems to be a particular topic your fans want to talk about, it might be a good idea to address it. Determining popular topics can help you generate many new ideas that could end up driving your social media strategy.
Ask Your Fans
Your followers can be a source of content in more ways than one. This strategy involves getting your social media fans more directly involved. When your ideas are running dry, why not simply ask your fans what they want to know more about? You may be surprised by what they say. Perhaps they have questions of their own about some of your business's products. Or maybe they want to know how recent news stories may be impacting your industry. If you're not into asking questions, putting up a poll can be another way to gauge their interests. Whatever they say, you'll know with certainty that the next time you address their topics of interest, you'll be engaging with them on something they want to hear.
Surf the Web
It might seem like a pretty basic strategy, but there are a lot of ideas you can generate just by surfing the internet. As personal care company Nu Skin puts it, "surfing the web helps you gather ideas from those not only physically around you but from around the globe." Getting information from such a large variety of people can prove to be very productive for coming up with new and fun ideas for social media. Just start with a random website and see where the links take you.
Inside Your Business
A lot of great ideas might be just waiting for you, but you have to go behind-the-scenes. Think about all the people that work for you or with you. Each person comes with their own life story and experiences. Reach out to them for help in generating ideas based off of what they've seen and done for themselves. Customers also like to see what a business is like in terms of its culture and lifestyle. Giving them a little peek at what goes on and what it takes to make everything run smoothly can drive engagement and keep fans coming back for more. Your entire business can be a major asset, so don't be afraid to use it.
Content Tools
There are plenty of tools out there designed to help you gather and filter content. Some tools, like Buffer and Mention, actually help you keep control of and monitor your brand while identifying content you could share with all of your followers. These tools also help you add content you find interesting from an easy-to-use interface. Other tools, like Bottlenose, can also keep you up to date with whatever is trending on the web and on social media.
These are just a handful of tips for generating content for your business on social media. The important thing is learning to connect with your audience. Once you've hit upon a winning formula, you'll have much more engagement and stronger customer loyalty.
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