With so many social media users out there – in fact there are more than 1.82 billion users across platforms worldwide – if your business isn’t getting social, it’s missing a huge opportunity. But many businesses are intimidated by the idea of social media because they’re not sure how to create engagement and not sold on using costly services to do it for them.

Increase Your Social Media Engagement: 5 Ways

What those businesses may not know is that there are a lot of great – and free – ways out there to boost engagement. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Use Free Monitoring Tools

If you’re trying to guess what is trending on social media, you’re wasting your time. There are a lot of good – and free – ways to monitor what people are saying about your brand and your industry. These include Google Alerts, and TweetDeck – just to name a few.

2. Use Photos and Videos

Visual content always performs better on social media than plain text. Creating videos, infographics or supplementing text with rich photography can be the best way to boost engagement. We recommend using aerial photography and videography, which always makes a big social impact – our photography services can help.

3. Make it a Game

Your customers will engage when they have motivation to do so. A contest or giveaway is the perfect way to build this motivation. Okay, so it might not be totally free, but a discount or low-cost prize might be all it takes to get people talking – and engaging.

4. Participate in Conversations

Don’t just talk at your customers; talk with them. Engage in social conversations that are applicable to your industry or product line. This requires you to hear the “buzz” out there, which is why social monitoring is so important.

5. Don’t be Stuffy

People want to know that there’s a personality behind that “business.” Social media is the perfect way to show some flair and let people get to know your company as people. Highlight employees and tell the story of your brand – but do this sparingly. All that talk about yourself isn’t what social is all about.

Need some social help? We’ve got your back!