How to Create Ultra-Engaging Posts in 2018

When In Doubt

ASK! Truly! Ask your customers what they’re looking for from you, and you might be surprised at their willingness to be totally honest. Some might ask for too much, there are always a few – but for the most part, you’ll have your finger on the pulse of what really makes your audience sit up and pay attention.

To give some idea of what we mean by how much this matters…consider Google. Even Google is imperfect, however, and they don’t always deliver exactly what someone is looking for. While this might also come down to the searching ability of the person seeking their answer, Google’s also not flawless.

When people don’t find what they’re looking for, they’re fond of giving up on it entirely. These days, as rapidly as life moves, people have multitasking down to an art form. Their minds flit about from one thing to the next unsettled, until they find what they’re looking for.

The reason Google can’t ever be completely perfect is that it would be nearly impossible to figure out what every single person in their vast audience wants, or searches for by term and term strings. They cross every country nearly, and every culture. There would be no way to ever be able to do that, though it’s certain that they’ll try. That’s their whole point is to be able to guess what we want next. It’s small wonder that marketers have the same issues. Google has the benefit of having big data behind them through gathering, search terms, location and PLENTY more, which most of the marketing world cannot afford to do without being wealthy first.

There is nothing better than going straight to the source and asking your potential clients what they’d like to see from you and work on making it happen. Hardly anyone has the edge Google does, so if you can optimize your site and your posts to gain instant engagement – based off what you know your clients want – you win!

Do Your Homework

Google’s Analytics is a strong tool which can help you find the topics your visitors are looking for most, to help you gain an edge using the right terms or even hashtags.  One of the best things you can check is your available analytics from every place your company has a presence to find out what you’re not doing or could do better.

You’ll need to be able to interpret the data as well because sometimes numbers which appear positive could be the result of something done prior that isn’t understood so it’s important to learn what you’re looking at before trying to plan around it.

Facebook has an analytics tool as well as almost every social media platform that you can utilize to compare against one another – some social media platforms require different content based on what their own client base is like. Take Pinterest for example, which was previously only thought of for stay-at-home parents and DIY’ers has become one of the most powerful marketing sites there is today and is predicted to grow even more. Pinterest has gone beyond the initial DIY fancy phase and has moved into people’s hearts and homes with everyone having their own Board full of dreams, ideas, plans, and data. Marketers use this as well to help substantiate their authority on a subject by proving what they know and sharing helpful tools and tips. They became something of a content engine where people can go for a ‘one-stop-shop’ and even potentially buy what they’re looking at!

Instagram however – is more about expression by abstract design, where photo layouts and design choices make a brand shine. The people who primarily use Instagram are looking for far different things than the people who are haunting sites like Facebook or Twitter. What works on one platform will not unilaterally work across them all due to the varying client base who visits each. Using the analytical tools available on each site will help you understand just how different those site’s visitors really are from one another, and the unique things they want when they visit YOU.

Go Ahead – Get Trendy!

It might be boring to just do what everyone else is doing, and maybe you want to carve out a name for yourself for being unique and one-of-a-kind – but that’s such a huge risk and if you stick to just that – you must know that there’s a better chance you’ll fail entirely. People tend to like things they feel a kinship toward or are familiar with. It is this very bit of human psychology that makes people go to a restaurant and order the same thing off the menu every time. If you’re too different, or too extreme, or even too anything for the ‘Average Joe’ they’ll abandon you for the familiar and popular.

Following trends to stay on top of what really matters to people right now can only help you as a marketer, and you should try to cater to what is trendy especially in your niche if you’re looking to get great engagement. Memes are hugely popular and a great way to connect with your public. The best part is that they’re everywhere and about nearly any subject. Also trending and continuing is the YouTube star or other influencers. Sharing things from popular vloggers/bloggers or other internet famous folks will definitely gain traction.

**BONUS** This pro tip is so often overlooked, but the moment you read it you’ll realize how accurate it is. Here is one subject that is timeless and classic in terms of engagement.

Be Intuitive

It’s not enough to just look at data, and nice short answers to ‘what do you want from our company’. At some point, marketers need to tap straight into the vein of what really grabs loyalty and KEEPS it. The ability for your clients to feel you understand them and empathize with them. If you can create a real human connection with someone, it’s going to last.

This is why you want it to be a favorable one because it’s going to be there for a very long time bad or good.

Pay attention to what your audience reacts to the most, and try to find commonality between what your company offers and stands for and that person’s basic personality traits which you can glean from just what is posted, said, or asked of you from them.

Selected images created with Freepik