If your business’s social media presence is relatively new, sometimes it can seem like nothing you are doing is helping you get more engagement on Facebook and Twitter. You might feel like no one is even seeing all the hard work you are putting in to get more likes, shares or followers.

If you are trying to maintain an active presence on your business’s social media and you aren’t getting much in return, don’t get discouraged. These tips can help you jump-start your business’s Facebook and Twitter pages—and the best part? They won’t cost you a penny.

 

  1. Create content that people in your industry will be interested in.

If you want to get more engagement on Facebook and Twitter, the first step is creating content and posts that people will want to interact with. You are an expert in your industry. You have the ability to write great content that will be useful to other people, so don’t underestimate this. Creating and sharing even one really great blog post could be enough to send people scrambling to your website and social media to learn more.

If you don’t have the time or writing skills to put your expertise into words, you can hire someone to manage your blog for you Just make sure to read through and edit the content before it goes live. That way you can make sure all the information is accurate and your business is being portrayed in the way that you planned.

 

  1. Get that content shared.

We know what you’re thinking, “But no one is sharing my content! That’s why I’m reading this!” But wait! There are ways to start that ball rolling—and the most simple way happens to be free. Ask your family and friends to like or follow your business pages and encourage them to share any content that resonates with them. Their friends and followers will see this in their own newsfeeds and home feeds and might feel inclined to hit the “like” button, too. You never know which of your Facebook friends will have another Facebook friend who needs the service you provide.

You should also share some of your business’s content on your personal social media pages. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing on Facebook and Twitter, consider using LinkedIn to share your company content. Keep in mind that you don’t want to re-tweet, share or otherwise promote every new post on your business’s social media pages—that can get old really fast. But there is nothing wrong with sharing that great new post from your blog or your latest team photo. This method isn’t going to get you 10,000 followers in a week, but it is a free way to get people in your network to start seeing and talking about your posts, and that’s a good thing.

 

  1. Add a link to your website on all your social media pages

 If you don’t have a link to your website on each of your social media pages (including your personal pages!) you could be missing out on some major traffic. In addition to making it easy for people to navigate from your social media pages to your website to learn more about your company, this also creates a sense of uniformity. When potential clients go to your Facebook page and can’t find your website, they have to take the extra step to open up a new browser window and conduct a search for the website on their own. This might not seem like a big deal, but many people won’t do it. So if you’re trying to get more engagement on Facebook and Twitter and get more traffic to your site, give the people what they want. Add a link to your website on all of your social media pages.

 

  1. Make sure you are on the right social media platforms.

There are a ton of social media platforms out there. If you tried to create an account for your business on each one you might go crazy. While it’s a great idea to keep up with the latest social media platforms and implement the ones that make sense for your business, if you are just getting started, it’s a good idea to stick with no more than four. We recommend Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn for many of our clients. If you have visual elements that you want to share with your followers on a daily basis, you should implement Instagram, Snapchat and, if you’re feeling extra adventurous, Periscope.

 

  1. Post about current events.

More and more people are getting their news online, and they are often finding it on social media sites. Get more engagement on Facebook and Twitter by taking advantage of that. Look through your favorite news site, newspaper, or do a Google News search and jot down news stories that you can tie back to your industry. For example, if you are a tax attorney, the Panama Papers scandal held a treasure trove of blog content, tweets and Facebook posts just waiting to be written.

Facebook and Twitter each compile trending topics to make them easier for users to search, so if you are talking about a trending topic, people searching for that topic will see your content—and might just click that follow button so they can hear more from you in the coming days.

 

  1. Learn to hashtag correctly.

This goes hand in hand with my last point. Using hashtags—especially when posting about a current event—is the best way to make sure that people who are looking for specific information on a subject can find your post. And it’s not just for Twitter anymore. You can use hashtags on Facebook and Instagram to accomplish the same goal. Just don’t go too crazy. An excessive amount of hashtags on Facebook can actually damage your post’s searchability.

 

  1. Share the love.

Social media is just that—social. So if you aren’t taking the time to like, follow, retweet and share the content that your colleagues and like-minded business peers are posting, you are missing out on one of the best ways to get your own content shared and in front of the eyes of all their friends and followers as well. You would be surprised how many accounts follow you back after you favorite, re-tweet or share their content—especially on Twitter.

That being said, make sure the accounts that you are following are reputable and that you are actually reading the content that you plan to share. If you see an article with an interesting headline and decide to retweet it, for example, then the article turns out not to be related to your industry or it contradicts something that you have said before, then your followers who actually do take the time to read what you post will be miffed. They might even unfollow your account if they decide that the content you are sharing isn’t pertinent to them or that the information you share isn’t consistent. Always put yourself in your audience’s shoes. If they wouldn’t benefit from what you are about to share, don’t share it.

 

There are many more ways to get more engagement on Facebook and Twitter pages for free, but hopefully these few tips have inspired you to approach your company’s social media with a fresh perspective. Keep an eye out on the Sting Marketing blog and our own social media sites in the coming weeks for more helpful tips and tricks. Happy posting!