Engagement on social media platforms can translate into any number of actions. Examples could include likes, shares, comments, check-ins, tags, retweets, direct messages etc.
Each action has a certain implication on the respective social media platform, though generally speaking, engagement builds customer-brand relationships, increases word of mouth promotion, and strengthens brand loyalty.
Over time, this will become a powerful conversion tool for your bus business and drive traffic to your website. Here are seven ideas to get your audience interacting across your social platforms.
Increase Social Media Engagement With These 7 Tips
1. Be Where Your Potential Customers Are
Step one is to figure out where your potential customers are, as ultimately, you want to be active on the platforms they are present on.
With 2.32 billion active monthly users, nearly 65% of whom check their account on a daily basis, you are sure to have an audience on Facebook. The sheer number of people present, make it an ideal platform for marketing and advertising as highly customizable ad formats see to it that you have a wide potential reach.
Facebook-owned Instagram appeals to a younger audience and has seen recent growth with the addition of Stories and IGTV. The platform has 500 million daily active users and is a brilliant place to incorporate your user-generated content or beautiful marketing imagery.
Twitter is a popular platform among users as a social customer service platform and is widely accessed by a young adult demographic. This channel could be suitably used for operational updates and to address your passenger’s queries.
2. Publish Content That Adds Value
Considering the saturated online environment, posting content that adds value for your audience is an absolute necessity. Whether it inspires, informs, teaches or entertains – the content needs to be noteworthy enough to grab your audience’s attention.
As a bus operator, you could launch a digital marketing promo campaign to drive awareness of underperforming or new routes by creating informative content on the topic. An example here could be a post on Top 5 Things To Do in the particular destination that the said route services.
Another example would be to include your take on the latest trending industry news to generate engagement. In the transport sphere, this could be an article offering insights into the topic of autonomous vehicles as an example.
3. Ask Interesting Questions, Launch a Contest, Or Use Polls To Engage
Asking a question which prompts interaction will encourage your audience to respond and subsequently increase social media engagement on your profile.
Ideas here could include asking your audience for their opinions on your services. You could then use the feedback to address any areas of concern should a recurring theme arise out of the responses you receive.
Another idea would be to set up a poll on Facebook asking passengers which of your transport route destinations is their favourite, offering a selection of four or five to choose from. You could then use a CTA in the same post to direct them to the latest specials you offer on that particular route.
4. Be Responsive
Remember that there are two sides to a relationship. So, to increase social media engagement, your company needs to show that it is willing to put in the time too.
Ultimately, people want to be heard. For you, this means responding to comments and questions as genuinely as possible. Because social media is now a prominent marketing tool, reciprocal engagement serves as an indicator of your interest in your audience’s needs.
5. Images and Video Are Important
Statistics agree that, on most social platforms, visual content sees much higher engagement than text. What this means is, video and images are an ideal medium for posting on your profile. You could include content that markets your in-transit services, showcases route highlights, or provides information on the destinations your company reaches.
While posting natively on Facebook works better for the newsfeed algorithm and extending your organic reach, it does mean that images and videos cannot be hyperlinked to your website to drive traffic. You can simply include a URL to your website in the caption, but a link with an eye-catching preview image has proven to be way more effective when it comes to click-through rate.
There are tools available, ShareKit being an example, which allow you to customize how your link is previewed on Facebook. By using them, you will be able to put together an attractive link that will send people to your website.
Similarly, Twitter cards drive more engagement by allowing you to attach image and videos to your tweet. Also, using them means you can extend your character count over the 280 limit imposed on the platform.
6. Use A Call To Action (CTA)
Incorporating a CTA into your posts which adds a clear directive of what your audience can expect when performing a click, will see higher engagement and website traffic. This is because it provides an easy path to an audience who have a purpose in mind.
For your bus operator business, the CTA could include a Book Now button, Get a Quote, Visit our Website, or Contact via Messenger etc.
7. Leverage User Generated Content
Do you have happy passengers posting Instagram optimized images of their fabulous bus tour and then tagging you on the platform? Leverage this to your advantage and regram the content to your own profile. Not only will they love the recognition and possibly share your post themselves, but you will be visible to their own personal networks too.
Nothing speaks quite as loud as a personal endorsement of your brand to help raise your overall image and trust factor.
Summary
Ultimately, building relationships takes time. So, do not be discouraged if engagement and conversions progress slowly too. Remember that your key objective is to use your social media platforms as they were intended, that is as a social tool to build lasting relationships with your audience.