1. Connect
2. Be Genuine
3. Invoke Emotion
Avoid making people feel guilt. Remember how much you hated those Sarah Mclachlan homeless pet commercials? You're not alone. Is it because we don't want to help pets? No, it's because invoking guilt makes people defensive. We assign negative association with things that make us feel guilty. Don't distance your followers with guilt!
On the flip side, if guilt is that powerful at dissociation, just think about how powerful positive associations are.
4. Fill a Need
One of my most popular personal blog posts to date was when I filled a need. I couldn't find the answer to a question, so I did some research and wrote about my findings. Simple but very effective!
Knowing your follower's needs will involved getting to know them. Pay attention to what they like and what they say. This goes back to connecting and being genuine. It might involve a little leg work, but filling a need is extremely powerful.
5. Posting The Right Thing in the Right Place
Also remember that those demographics change on occasion, so stay up to date. For example, Facebook used to be popular with teenagers, but Instagram is currently more popular.
What type of post (text, image, video, link) is most popular on your preferred social media platform? At the moment, image posts are popular on Facebook and Twitter, but that can change. Take a few minutes to look up popular posts types on your social media platform. Implementing this can make your posts more visible, thus more successful.
Failed Post Troubleshooting
Are you:
- Just selling?
- Being genuine?
- Invoking emotion or giving them something to care about?
- Filling a need?
- Posting promotional or sales posts too often?
- Sharing the same thing as everything else? It's alright to share popular content, but make sure the majority of your posts are original.
- Posting in the right thing in the right place?