Social Media Tips
Keeping Customers Engaged During Lockdown
Your customers are looking for ways to be social, to connect with others and to be distracted from the uncertainty and worry of COVID-19. Social media is the perfect platform for brands to engage with customers create opportunities for now and into the future.
Below are 6 ways to enhance customer engagement via your social platforms during lockdown.
1. Experiment with new types of content like video
The recording doesn’t have to be professionally produced. You can film a how-to video with a product of yours, host a live Q & A with your audience or even share your favourite recipes.
Click HERE for some ideas.
2. Create a poll on Instagram
Instagram story polls are a great way to get people to stop swiping past your story and engage with you. You can ask for opinions or just have a bit of fun. E.g. a gym could ask “what is your go-to workout – upper or lower body?” A fashion retailer could ask for opinions on two different styles or a restaurant could ask customer’s which meal they’re going to order once we’re out of lock down.
HERE is a helpful link to walk you through creating a poll and how to make the most out of this interactive feature.
3. Ask for user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC for short) is any form of content created by consumers -not brands – and posted to social media. Be clear about what you want to promote and ask your audience to create the content for you.
For example, if you sell coffee makers, you can ask your audience to submit a photo of themselves making their morning coffee.
You can find some great examples HERE.
4. Run a contest/giveaway
Contests motivate engagement and create excitement. Offer a prize relevant to your business and decide how you would like people to enter. E.g. would you like people to simply ‘mention’ a friend in the comments, answer a question or nominate someone to win the prize*.
HERE are some lock down specific ideas.
*Steer clear of asking people to ‘like, comment and share’ in order to enter. Facebook’s algorithm will spot this and class your post as spam, reducing the reach of the post.
5. Show your human side
Don’t be afraid to show your audience the person or team behind your social media account/business. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and more than ever, people want to feel connected! Give your audience a ‘behind the scenes’ look at what you’re doing during lockdown or use Facebook and Instagram stories to share 5 interesting facts about yourself.
6. Share articles you find interesting
You don’t have to limit yourself by only sharing your content. If you come across something that’s relevant to your industry and you know your audience will find it interesting, share away! This is a good way to provide quality content to your audience and keep your newsfeed diverse. You can even encourage more engagement by posing a question to your audience relating to the content of the post.
