Social platforms create an opportunity to connect with prospects but only if your efforts align with customer preferences. Here’s how brands can focus on creating content that customers actually want.

In 2018 social media platforms have made a concerted effort to keep their platforms, well, social. User experience is the top priority, and many brands and businesses feel like they’ve been pushed to the back burner.

Businesses aiming to increase brand awareness must think long-term when it comes to social media. Social media marketers need to engage with users, not simply disrupt the user’s experience. This means that content shared by a brand needs to be relevant, useful, and let’s face it, visually engaging.

The overlap between brands and users

In the 2018 Social Sprout Index, researchers found that 61% of marketers create posts that teach readers something. But that’s not all, 59% of consumers reported wanting to read posts that teach something. The connection is obvious.

Businesses looking to increase user engagement on social platforms need to focus on providing users with what they want. Users want you to teach them. So, showcase why your brand is a leader in your industry or highlight how your products or services can be the solution to a problem.

Most social media users are still using platforms to connect with friends and family, so it’s imperative for businesses to focus on authentic engagement. This can only be accomplished by connecting readers to useful and informative information.

“The most enlightened social marketing strategy integrates awareness and consideration stage content — opening the door with entertainment and inspiration, then carrying audiences across the threshold with education, information about new product offerings and discounts and sales.” Social Sprout Index 2018

And while 80% of marketers report increasing brand awareness as their primary social media goal, it’s not always easy to know how to get started creating relevant content that will resonate with users. Here is Kettie Laky, Social Media Director, to explain how businesses can be helpful to users on social platforms.

Video: How businesses can be helpful on social platforms

Takeaway: Focus on what’s important

It’s time for marketers to stop wasting time and resources on content that doesn’t resonate with users. Aligning priorities between what users want and what marketers are producing is key to creating long-lasting relationships with prospects. Brands who are actually helpful, not intrusive, will reap the benefits of their hard work.

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