Whether you are a local business owner, an international company, or a lifestyle blogger you thrive thanks to your customers.
Or shall we say followers?
By now you probably know that you cannot afford not to have a strong social media presence.
Enthusiastic marketing strategists have been shouting it from the rooftops for years.
No matter if you have just dipped your toes in the wild waters of square images and tweets or if social media is your bread and butter. Building a social media presence is time-consuming.
I could tell you that there´s a way to fast track the process and to build a responsive community overnight. Yet you´d be sitting in front of your screen a week from now typing the words “how to gain Instagram followers” in your search engine and still wondering what it is that you´re doing wrong.
So now that we had some reality check we can really get to work on outstanding content that will help you to gain your audience´s attention.
Getting to Know Your Customer
Customers want to connect with your brand, but they want to do it in a personal way.
To connect with your customer you have to know them.
And if you think that you already know your audience, think twice.
I mean, do you really know them?
Not in a 30-year-old-female-who-prefers-to-shop-on-Sundays-at-4-p.m. way.
Why does your customer wake up in the morning? What are their problems and their dreams? Who are the people they spend their free time with and where do they spend it?
Every copywriter will tell you that the magic of powerful copy is to write it directly for your customer. The one who is reading your content. And when they do, they have to feel like they are the only one you´ve been writing it for.
Easy, right? Just kidding.
It´s obvious that these are somewhat high aspirations, but I know who I am writing for and you, my friend, are not here to scratch the surface. You are here to be the best at what you do and you want to do it in the smartest way possible.
In the year 2019 the Instagram gained an additional 2% of users in the US only with currently 1 billion users worldwide. Instagram claims that 90% of accounts follow at least one business and your current and potential customers spend 53 minutes of their precious time a day browsing the app. While 2,49 billion Facebook users spend as much as 58 minutes on average on the platform a day.
Are they going to spare a minute or two on your content?
A research carried out by Facebook sheds a light on the behavior of their users according to gender.
Even though there is an exception to every rule, understanding the general differences in ways female and male users interact with social media platforms can save you a lot of time and sleepless nights.
The study shows that women share more content oriented on relationships and personal details, like family fun, birthday, or anticipation. Men tend to write about sports and abstract concepts, such as politics and religion.
Not only men and women like to talk about different topics, but their platform of choice varies, as well. Women, for the most part, prefer visual mediums, while men are more attracted to text-oriented platforms.
If your customers are mostly women, consider signing up for Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest while men are more likely to engage with your tweets.
Still not clear on what kind of content your community appreciates?
As the wise men say, if you don´t ask for it, you don´t get it.
For instance, Instagram recently offers a poll feature in their stories, which is an effective and easy way to ask about customer´s opinion on new service, what kind of content they want to see more often, their favorite kind of deals and product packaging, or even the type of products they are missing in your offer.
Don´t be afraid to ask. People love to give their opinions. You don´t have to be a psychologist to figure out that interpersonal relationships form an undeniable part of the human needs. According to Maslow´s theory friendship, trust, acceptance, and receiving and giving affection and love all fall under this category.
Asking your customers for their opinion is a great way to establish trust, receive some tough love from their feedback, and accept them as a part of your community.
Finding Your Authentic Brand Voice
Relationships are the building blocks behind every like, every comment, and every purchase.
If I don´t know you, why would I purchase a dress from your store when I can buy it from Rachel who has two adorable kids, lives in Utah countryside, has her own clothing line, and gracefully provides me with her favorite brownie recipes in the Insta stories?
In fact, her sister has worn the exact same outfit I want to buy, last Sunday to church!
It also brings me to my point. What is the link between the number of recipes you share on your social media account and the profits you generate this season? The answer is authenticity and interactivity.
Rachel Parcell, a founder of the blog Pink Peonies and the clothing line, Rachel Parcell, Inc., leverages these two attributes on her social media to build a community of dedicated women who are going to clear her stocks just a few minutes after she clicks on the launch button.
Rach knows very well who her customer is, what she dreams about, and what kind of problems she faces every day. The conversational style she uses in her posts and stories makes them entertaining and easy to read.
As for the authenticity part, she shares with her followers the content of her bag, videos from trainings of her kids, and a lot of birthday party photos.
When it comes down to the interactivity piece, Rachel has nailed it down. Do you want to know where the candle holder is from? No problem. Are you saying you would like to see more casual pieces in? Indeed, in August.
To sum up our little case study, the intention is not to persuade you to post the photos of your kids on social platforms, but to help you reflect on what does authenticity mean for you and your brand. How can you engage more with people who decided to follow you?
If you don´t have 1 million followers, don´t call it a day too soon.
Even though in this case the size matters, the engagement rate actually lowers with the size of the community. Smaller Instagram accounts know their followers more personally and gain more comments and likes. According to Instagram´s statistics, the ideal community with a good engagement rate is within the 10,000 to 100,000 followers.
Creating a Hero of the Story
People go on social media to unwind, to be entertained and inspired, to learn new things, to connect with others, and to get more information about brands, including yours.
The majority of online users rely on social media before they make a purchase.
For instance, thanks to your brand´s presence on Instagram it´s perceived as more popular, creative, entertaining, and relevant.
Great copy is what makes your posts engaging and relevant. The anatomy of a great copy is made out of a compelling story.
Every social network has its perks and limitations, but keep in mind that facts tell, but stories sell.
A promising story entertains your reader, creates a long-term relationship with your brand, maybe leads to break-through or two, but most importantly calls the reader to action.
Powerful storytelling is seductive, because it does not speak to our rational brain, instead it pulls us right into the plot of the story and makes us feel. If you are wondering how a short story can move your customers to action, emotions are the answer. They easily influence our decision-making process.
Storytelling serves your brand in two ways; it humanizes its tone and at the same time differentiates your brand from the competition by posting authentic content and genuine human faces.
We´re coming full circle now.
All along the way, our goal was to know your customer better, so we can either make them a hero of your story or tell a story they can relate to.
You want to make your customer the protagonist of your story and you want to make them succeed.
Your job is to come up with a story you know will help your customer achieve their desires and solve their problems.
What is your customer´s motivation behind buying your products or service?
Are they looking for transformation?
Is their goal to become an exceptional leader?
Are they seeking adventure and connection?
Living Happily Ever After
Of course, having a happy ending would make for a great story.
Imagine how much easier it will be to sell your products. Imagine your customer opting-in your offer and recommending your product to everyone they know after reading your story. Imagine people passing your story on, sharing it with others, and receiving hundreds of testimonials.
I´ve just created one version of Happily Ever After above, with the future pacing method. It´s one of the many tools you can use for invoking positive feelings in the reader.
What happens after you´ve posted your fair share of happy-endings?
The ultimate goal is then to turn your customer into the next storyteller.
As a business, you can find real-life customers and make them a hero of your story.
By sharing other people´s successes Kayla Itsines unintentionally started her own Sweat fitness empire. It took her a while to realize that by uploading before-and-after photos of the clients she trained on Instagram, she had been gaining followers all over the world. At first, Kayla used her account as storage for her clients´ transformational photos. Now she has over 12,5 million followers sharing their transformational stories with her daily.
When an interviewer asked her what was the secret behind her international success her reply was: the combination of a solid program, focusing the business around fitness and not about “Kayla” and, of course, having a good social media game plan.
Sweat app users can add several hashtags to their Instagram posts when they share something related to her fitness program, including: #bbg #bbgprogress #sweatwithkayla #bbgvideos
Using hashtags is an effective strategy to include your brand in larger conversations on social.
The majority of the posts that we find under these hashtags haven´t been created by Kayla, but by her Instagram followers. That is a lot of content she can work with.
The secret recipe behind writing a captivating copy doesn´t have to be complicated. Know who you are writing for, use quality ingredients like well-thought content that is authentic to your brand, and wrap it in an engaging story.
Don´t forget to regularly check in with your hero. Do they have a story to share?
Now that we have forever changed your role from a copywriter to a storyteller you are well-equipped to write your own happy ending.
social media marketing concept -DepositPhotos
