Are your social media followers engaged? If your firm is using Twitter, they may not be. According to comScore, the average Twitter user spends less than three minutes a day using the platform’s mobile app—and that number is only continuing to fall. Mobile users are spending their time on Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and, above all, Facebook. The average Facebook mobile user spends 30.3 minutes on the app per day, more than the next five apps combined. It seems as if Twitter has lost its intrigue for investors and tech insiders as well: the company’s valuation decreased by an astounding $20 billion in the last year.
So what does shrinking mobile engagement mean for your marketing plan? Below are three tips to guide your strategy, regardless of the changing social media landscape.
•Reevaluate the social media you use. If you’ve relied on Twitter as a main marketing tool, now may be the time to put resources into a more engaging platform, like Facebook or YouTube. Along with engagement, consider which platforms attract your target audience and what makes sense for your brand. For example, Snapchat and Pinterest may be engaging, but it’s unlikely that many potential clients are avid users or that those platforms can convey your services successfully.
•Refine your messaging. Even Facebook, far and away the most engaging social media platform, only attracts users for 30 minutes. Once your posts are mixed in with everyone else’s, you have seconds to grab a follower’s attention. Skip posting dense walls of text and industry jargon in favor of photos, videos and short, snappy headlines. Get to the heart of what you want to say and remove any unnecessary details or fluff—you can always link to a longer blog post or article.
•Don’t just post: engage. It’s a great idea to share your latest blog post on your social media platforms, but if that’s all your firm is doing, you’re missing out on huge opportunities. The benefit of social media is that it allows for two-way communication. Make your profile more “human” by interacting with followers, asking questions, commenting on current events and posting photos. No matter how long the average follower spends on a particular platform, developing engaging posts will increase your number of followers and help your firm get the most out of your social media platforms.
