Social media has taken over the world, with 31.25 million Facebook messages and 347,222 Tweets written every minute. These platforms provide businesses with a golden opportunity to reach their target audience.

One in four social media users say they are following brands from which they may make a purchase, meaning that customer engagement can make a big difference to your sales figures.

However, there are lots of other businesses vying for your customers’ attention. Fortunately, you can cut through the noise and help your brand stand out, as long as you understand how to devise a social media strategy that engages your audience.

Here are a few general principles to follow:

1. Ask for your customers’ input or opinions

Social media should never be a one-way street; think of social media platforms as a means of starting a conversation. Ask your customer base a question, perhaps by setting up a survey. Alternatively, give them an open-ended question.

Quizzes also drive engagement. Make them quick and useful, or at least fun. For instance, if you sell purses, you could include a link on your social media feed to a “What Kind Of Purse Are You?” quiz. Be sure to include lots of promotional images.

2. Include a visual element in most of your content

Most people skim through social media feeds, focusing on photos, gifs, and short video clips rather than long blocks of text. Be generous in sharing visual content.

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to make the most of images, but it’s worth taking time to learn the basics. For instance, it’s usually best to take photos in natural light if possible, and to use the rule of thirds when composing your shot.

Editing apps and filters are so readily available that taking and posting a photo can be done in minutes. However, be choosy in what you share. Overloading your followers’ feeds with mundane pictures will drive them away.

3. Include content illustrating how people enjoy or benefit from your products and services

User generated content makes your brand relatable, and helps your target market imagine how they would use your products. Encourage your fan base to upload their own photos or videos. People like to buy products recommended by their peers, and this kind of content inspires more trust than your official product descriptions.

4. Localize your content to suit the needs of your audience

If you are marketing to people in multiple regions or to those who speak other languages, you will need to make sure that your content is a good fit for their culture and consumer needs.

Note that you need a professional translation service for this task; relying on machine translation will end in embarrassment. For example, The Word Point helps businesses of all sizes to localize on-site and off-site content.

5. Organize a contest

Contests encourage interaction, and can significantly grow your fan base. Research suggests that competitions boost the number of people engaging with your brand by thirty-four percent.

Follow these tips:

• Choose a prize that is both attractive and relevant to your brand.
• Set up your contest so that people have to do more than merely follow you or share your content. For instance, you could invite them to submit a photo around a specified theme, or answer a few quiz questions.
• Set a realistic deadline. Remember, you need time to promote your contest, but you don’t want to allow too much time to elapse, or people will forget about it.
• Set out the rules clearly, and include a link to the full terms and conditions on your website.

6. Share content, and tag its creators

Sharing other peoples’ content is a win-win strategy. It saves you having to create your own material, and it also helps you connect with others. Smart content creators appreciate having their content shared, because they know it will earn them more exposure.

If you see that someone has featured your product in some way within their post, tag and thank them. This will get you even more exposure, because the creator will want their followers to know that they were recognized.

7. Capitalize on current events and trends

You need to proceed with caution – causing offence will alienate your fan base – but, when properly executed, this strategy can help build your brand’s reputation as modern and fast-moving. A reference to current affairs or a major celebrity can intrigue and engage your audience.

You should also use hashtags to share your content. However, keep it relevant to your brand; superfluous hashtags will drive your audience away.

8. Schedule your posts carefully

According to Sprout Social, you are likely to engage customers if you post at the following times:

• Thursday is the most productive day to post on Facebook, whereas Saturday is least likely to reach customers.
• The 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. window on weekdays tends to work well.
• For Instagram, the best times to post are Thursday at 5 a.m. 3 to 4 p.m., and 11 a.m., Wednesday at 3 p.m., and Friday at 5 a.m.
• The most effective times to post on Twitter are Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday should be your preferred day.

However, these rules aren’t guaranteed to work in every case. Experiment by publishing posts at different times of day or different days of the week.

9. Keep your branding consistent

Use templates for your content, and make sure everyone who creates material uses them. Your followers should be able to recognize your posts immediately when scrolling through their feed. For example, you should use similar layouts and color schemes where possible. You need to strike a balance between consistency on one hand, and originality on the other.

Social media management is evolving

Social media trends come and go. Always monitor what your competitors are doing, and keep up with industry best practices. It should never be an afterthought; consumers expect businesses to engage with them online. The better you become at grabbing and holding their attention, the more likely they are to become your fans and ambassadors.