What would happen if you focused on writing for more reader engagement, rather than more followers?

It has been something that media writers have known for a long time, social media is about networking and engagement, not advertising. I will say that again it is about being SOCIAL!

Yet, I still have clients asking me how to sell to their audience. Truth be told you are selling to your audience every time they see a post from you, you are just doing it in a very indirect way.

The KNOW, LIKE, TRUST factor = KLT is a big factor in building a following on social media AND gaining clients.

In face to face networking, we first get to know a person, then once we learn more about them we either develop a relationship (business or personal or both) and we start to trust them enough to buy from them. Simple enough, right?

KLT = KNOW LIKE TRUST

Building your audience on Social Media needs to be based around this! This is how you create a ready, engaged, & eager audience. With an audience like this, your chances of getting more sales or getting more clients will go significantly up!

For a customer to buy from you or a client to hire you on, they want to know you first, like what you offer & trust that they will get what they are looking for.

KNOW:

The more your audience knows you, appreciates what you have to offer PLUS knows that you know what you are talking about, you will position yourself as an expert in your field.

LIKE:

Your audience needs to like what you are sharing on Social Media & what you have to offer. Do you ever follow people (I mean really follow, not just follow because they followed you), that you don’t care for what they have to offer? You might be “following” them, but you aren’t really paying attention because you don’t relate, or you aren’t interested. Make sure you are attracting the right audience. The ones who will like what you have to offer!

TRUST:

This is the final key to the KLT method. You must prove to your audience that they can trust you. That you do know what you are talking about. That your products & services are something that you are 100% behind. Let them trust that you are there to help them with their pain points or help them receive what they are looking for.

Consistency is Key

For your customer to get to KNOW you, you need visibility and with that is consistency. Social media offers just that, but you need to be committed to it. Posting here and there doesn’t do it. You need to post regularly if for you that means once a day, or 3 times a week, that’s fine just don’t stop.

Communicate

For them to LIKE you, you will need to build meaningful relationships. Are you responding to your messages? Remarking back when a customer leaves a comment? Other ways to interact are to jump online and comment in forums/groups, comment on other business pages as your page, and share your page to groups. These are just a few suggestions of ways to engage on social.

The Six C’s of Social Media

Now that they have come to KNOW and LIKE you but having them TRUST you needs a few more steps. Here are some suggestions from Stephanie Pollack:

• Consistency – be consistent with everything you do. Your users/subscribers/visitors/ perspective should have a similar experience with you every single time (think Starbucks)

• Congruency – make it all work together. If your website is pink, frilly, and girly but in person you’re uber-conservative, people are going to say, “WTF? This doesn’t make sense – I don’t trust this.”

• Clarity – when people meet you (in-person, online, etc.) they should immediately get a sense of what you’re all about and what business you’re in. If not, you’ll lose them fast.

• Communicate – this goes back to the “know” factor. You have to communicate, communicate, communicate. Don’t worry about the word “marketing” if this makes you uneasy (although it shouldn’t). Just focus on letting people know what you do. Strive to find at least 1-3 people a day that you can tell about your business.

• Compelling – make your message really interesting, informative, and inspiring and you’re gold.

• Constant – you can’t build the know, like, and trust factor if you are around one minute and gone the next. Strive for regular, ongoing communication vs. short bursts. If your message is valuable, it’s not spamming.

5 Ways to Build your Social Media

I challenge you to give these tips a try, the results may surprise you.

1. Know your community. Give them the content they want. How do you know?

   • Answer their frequently asked questions in a post/blog/video

   • comment, on what they say, and

   • hang out where they do.

   • Offer advice, hints, and tips they will not only read but share.

2. Join the conversation. Social media allows your messages to spread far and wide, but this isn’t a one-way street. You need to be part of the conversation, and not just on your own page. Comment as your business, ask questions, like, and share. Doing your part to encourage engagement through action will encourage others to do the same.

3. Create surveys and polls. People love to be asked what they think. Ask questions or use polls to encourage engagement. For longer surveys offer an incentive, such as a cheat sheet, handout, or free information. You’ve heard of opt-ins; this is a good time to use those freebies to encourage your followers to engage with more than just a comment.

4. Use images strategically. A picture is often worth a thousand words. Use images to support your content and grab attention in a way that a headline might not. The image could also encourage comments and other forms of engagement.

5. Express interest in your followers, use their first name when responding to everything from a public post to a private message. 

Social media is the next best thing to traditional communication like phone calls and emails for a business. Not only is quick and convenient, but it is also direct and in most cases responsive. What are some other ways to generate conversations on social media? Share your strategies with me by commenting below.