6 Tips to Engage Prospects & Clients
By David W. B. Parker, CEO
PTC Computer Solutions
8/11/2015

Do you struggle to get your fans to engage? Are you interested in ideas to get people talking? Simple content ideas can give you something to talk about, even if you feel like you don’t have anything new or original to say. In this article, PTC Computer Solutions has summarized some of the best ideas with the help of our friends at Social Media Examiner and their SEO blog.

Creating social media is not the end of the marketing vine. You must be able to engage your prospects and clients. Developing a relationship is as much a part of marketing as any other piece. Read on and you’ll discover six ways to create social media conversations with content with some tips to engage your prospects and clients.

1 Question Your Audience

Everyone wants to be heard, so consider asking questions in your social media posts. This gives your audience the opportunity to chime in with their opinions, tips and wisdom. Inviting people to join the conversation makes them feel like your company cares about what they have to say. Hopefully, you do care about what they say! It also provides insights into your audience that can inform your marketing decisions.

For instance, ask your Facebook followers to guess where a new location will be and post a photo of a landmark they might know. Or, if you have a specific interest group, ask the audience a question from a conference or convention they likely attended. It might be useful to pose a question to not only engage audiences, but also create a sense of community among members who are planning to attend the same conference.

If you are a company who provides expert information, flip the script and ask the audience to share their tips. Or, ask a simple question like “where in the world are you?” is an easy way to connect with people and find out more about them. It also helps understand some of your demographic, if not your psychographic. Engaging also improves your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for better Search Engine Awareness (SEA) raising your Search Engine Ranking (SER).

2 Keep It Lighthearted

If you’re having a rough day, lighthearted or humorous social content can lighten your mood a bit. You can be that ray of sunshine for your followers, and at the same time, develop meaningful relationships.

Be an honest company and empower people to live happy and healthy lives. Utilize lively, lighthearted and amusing graphics. The brand implies a certain amount of lightheartedness, so an amusing post ties in perfectly.

If you see content that makes you smile, it will probably make your followers smile as well. Content that makes people smile is more likely to be shared with others. Tagging friends and sharing posts on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Plus, Tumblr, VK, Flickr, Vine, MeetUp, Tagged, Ask.fm, MeetMe, ClassMates, Reddit and other social media are ways to propagate your message.

3 Show Your Personal Side

The more people connect with you on a personal level, the more likely they are to do business with you. If you’re a business owner, give people a glimpse into your personal life. If you’re a marketer, show what it’s like behind the scenes of your company.

Make your posts more about you and what you are doing. Try a post reminding people that you, too, are a normal human being juggling a family life and career. By sharing a personal post, you can connect other like minded people in the business. If your company, for example, focuses on helping people starts businesses, post behind-the-scenes photos of your staff spending time together, which will help connect with your audience.

4 Share Inspirational Quotes

We all love to be inspired. That’s why posts with quotes are so popular on social media. When choosing quotes, keep in mind the perspective of your customers and what they hope to achieve.

As an example, a personal finance site might share quotes from successful people and quotes about money. Photos and graphics are of particular use in all of your social media but are especially functional when combined with personal quotes or inspirational graphics and text.

Inspirational posts combined with graphics or photos with meaning are often shared or tagged by the audience. Think carefully before posting and see if there are any synergies you can explore with your audience through the use of topical or pertinent graphics.

PTC-Computer-Solutions-Process Flow Diagram employed by PTC Computer Solutions and REMA

5 Repost “Evergreen” Content

Social media is the fastest moving content on the web. Something posted can be lost in the mix of other posts within minutes. “Evergreen” content is content that might always have relevance. Keep a list of evergreen content to go to periodically.

Social media moves fast, so if you’re sharing your evergreen content only when it’s new, most people won’t see it. If you have relevant content sitting in your archives, schedule social posts to promote it to a new audience. As one of our many expertises, PTC Computer Solutions are Facebook ads experts. PTC posts evergreen content that addresses common questions from our client audience about Facebook ads. An opt-in offer can be another type of evergreen content that’s helpful to your audience.

6 Curate Relevant Content

Curating content that your audience will love is an effective way to complement your own social content. Content that sits without any audience is stagnant to the world. Adding your own curating can help keep it fresh and dynamic.

Think about what blogs your ideal customer or prospect reads. Then share posts from those blogs or their social accounts. This way you’re providing your audience with valuable content and building relationships with people who cater to your ideal client.

When you see posts that you know will resonate with your audience, share them. Share relevant online marketing articles with your fans. There are lots of businesses that offer products and services that complement your brand. Share similar business or complementary business offerings to your audience.

If you’re not an expert on a particular topic, you can link to other people’s content to provide information that your audience might benefit from. Or, if you are an expert, share your expertise in your own blog, as PTC Computer Solutions does here.

Conclusion

Sometimes you may feel like you don’t have anything new or original to contribute on social media, and that can leave you feeling stuck. If you’re not sure what to post, use the post ideas outlined in this article for inspiration.

What do you think? What do you do when you have no idea what to post on social media and need good social media content? Have you tried some of these types of posts? What has worked best for you? Let us know in the comments below!

By David W. B. Parker
President
PTC Computer Solutions
8/11/2015