Steps to Start a Conversation on Social Media and Keep Followers Engaged

1. Listening is the first and most important step to starting engaging conversations with your followers. In order to know what your audience is interested in, you need to know who they are, what they want, and why they come to you. Pay attention to the conversation that’s already happening on your page and on competitor social media pages to learn about your customers.

Use information like this to choose the best way to start a conversation with your followers:

• What is your audience already talking about?
• What do they expect from you?
• What are current topics/events?
• What do they talk about with competitors?

2. You also need to know what your company’s personality is going to be online. Are you casual, funny, professional, or authoritative? Decide how do you want to be perceived and how you want to engage with your audience, then stick with the personality you've chosen to create a consistent brand image.

3. Post the content they want in the voice you've chosen.

• Share content from other sources
• Respond to conversation that are already happening
• Create your own conversations around topics that matter for your brand
• Ask questions that will interest your audience or improve your business
• Ask what your audience wants from you

Keep conversation going once you start it by responding to any comments, questions, and complaints that users post. If someone does have a negative comment, respond to it quickly and resolve the situation. Don’t allow it to get blown out of proportion. For positive comments, even if you don’t have something to say, reply with a thank you and tell the user how much you appreciate their feedback. This kind of response will cultivate loyalty and encourage more interaction from that customer.

Whatever information or content your post, make sure that it is relevant, and interesting or entertaining. As long as your audience sees you as a source of good information, they will keep coming back, and the conversation will keep going.

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