Maintaining a loyal base of social media followers is key to your online authority, and it also helps bring in steady traffic to your website.
Moreover, when your audiences are happy with you, they'll be more likely to speak kindly of you with their own networks. That word-of-mouth system will help your business gain traction.
Unfortunately, it's all too easy to ruin the relationships you have with your social media followers. To prevent that sort of breakdown, use the three strategies discussed in this article.
1. Research your audience's needs and interests
You're trying to attract and retain a social media audience, so your first step is to get to know them. Start with your current following, if you have one, and establish a baseline for who they are and thus whom to target in the future.
When researching your audience, it'll help if you get to know them by common themes. Find the themes underpinning your audience's needs and interests. Knowing that will help you create relevant, personalized experiences on social media, similar to how you might in emails.
How do you do this research and find those themes? The simple answer: check the available analytics.
Platform Analytics
Most social media platforms offer their own analytics to help you get to know your audience. Some platform analytics are more thorough than others. You can see what content you share is getting the most engagement or the least. You can also usually find demographic data. All of this information can help you create content that appeals to your following and keeps them around.
Third-Party Tools
In addition to platform analytics, you can find plenty of third-party tools to get any information that may be missing from your initial research. Social Clout is an example of such a tool. It offers analytics and reporting features to help you see what you're doing that's effective and who your audience is.
Surveys
Another way to learn about your audience is to ask them directly. Create a survey or poll to ask your audience about their interests. Ideally, you want to ask questions that do not require your audience to leave the site. A Twitter poll is a great example of how to get information within a social platform. You can ask a multiple-choice question and even ask for replies to allow for more answers beyond the options listed.
If you have multiple questions though, you might want to create a Google Form that you link to in a post or tweet. Other survey tools, such as Survey Monkey, can make it easier to learn about your social audience with its sharing options and integrations.
When you're using a third-party survey tool that you have to link to in your social content, you'll have a better chance of participation if you offer a reward or turn it into a fun experience. People are always asking this key question: "What's in it for me?" Give them a reason to participate that benefits them.
2. Make social selling about being helpful