Increasing Engagement on Your Social Media Channels

We sat down with our Social Community Manager, Alicia C., to discuss the importance of boosting social media engagement for your brand. As an expert in social media, Alicia knows the best ways to create meaningful content that drives engagement. 

We asked Alicia to give us the secret sauce when it comes to driving engagement on social media. Join us for this informative interview as we navigate the ever-changing world of social.

Question: To get started, can you explain the difference between social media marketing and advertising?

Answer: The easiest way to think of it is that marketing starts out unpaid, and advertising starts out paid. Marketing is looking to build driver awareness, build a sense of community, and build the brand. The advertising approach is a targeted strategy for lead generation. I like to say social advertising is the invitation to the party, and your social pages are the party. The content on your social channels will determine whether the partygoers stick around and hang out with your brand.

Question: Is engagement more important to marketing or advertising, or is it equally important to both?

Answer: I would say, it is more important on the marketing side, but it’s important to both. The main goal of marketing is gaining engagement by getting people to like and share on social media channels. Advertising engagement is important, but the goal is to get conversions. Ultimately, we measure the success of an ad based on how it performs from a lead and conversion standpoint more than engagement.

Question: When a client is struggling with engagement and getting more eyes on their social media channels, what is your go-to solution to help them gain more attention?

Answer: The go-to solution for helping a client who is struggling with eyes on their page is boosted content. It is one of the primary strategies that has worked best for clients looking to engage with more drivers on their social channels.

Question: Let’s talk about memes, GIFs, and video content. In your experience, do you see this type of content outperforming others?

Answer: Humor always plays a big factor in producing high engagement on social media posts, so people expect to see funny things on social media through memes and GIFs. However, often brands are hesitant to use humor through memes since there is a possibility it could turn negative. Humor can (and should) have a place in your brand guidelines and be beneficial for your social media channels.

Question: How long would you say it takes a struggling client to boost engagement?

Answer: It can take a few months, and it can be through a combination of strategies. One of them is adding boosted content and seeing how content can be more personalized. Content that feels authentic is another strategy used to boost engagement because using personalized content always attracts more eyes to the post.

Question: Since we are in the driver recruiting space, what is your stance on heavily posting your job openings organically on your social media channels?

Answer: Absolute NO. Posting your job openings runs the risk of alienating the employees that are already a part of your audience. You can kill your page by overloading it with jobs. It’s fine to use some, but it should be more based on building your brand, and not overkilling your content with job postings.

Question: How would you recommend helping clients, or anyone who needs to gain more followers or attract those who are just joining social media?

Answer: A page link campaign for someone just joining social media is a good investment to build a following. Send a message out to drivers or people who already know who you are to get more eyes on the page. Have a goal and know why you are there and what your purpose is.

Question: Can you describe your biggest success with one of your clients when managing their social media channels?

Answer: We got a new client, and it was important that their advertising ran right to the job. At first glance there wasn’t a good way to do it, so we started running every one of their jobs as an ad, and the performance wasn’t where we needed it to be. This was discouraging, but ultimately, we figured out a solution to route their ads to a different campaign. It was encouraging that a better way was found, which led to boosted leads, more hires, and a growing fleet.

Question: What do you love most about working in the social media field?

Answer: The best aspect of working with social media is there is always something new to try, and the field is always changing. As a social content creator for clients, you get to be on the front line for these brands, and seeing drivers engage with the content you create is so rewarding.

Question: What is the biggest challenge you face when trying to create content in the trucking industry since it is so different from just regular social media posts?

Answer: Getting into that driver’s frame of mind. I enjoy the trucking industry the most because it’s so different from what you see on personal social media. The challenge with this industry is trying to diversify every client’s social media and make it their own by bringing their values to life on their page.

Question: When a new client kicks off with Conversion Interactive Agency, what are some results they can expect to see?

Answer: On the marketing side, increase in engagement, a more consistent posting schedule, and content that both engages and targets, but also tells their story as a brand. On the advertising side, the results they expect to see are quality leads and broadening their reach to hit passive driver candidates.

Question: Would you recommend, or have you tried talking your clients into using TikTok?

Answer: Yes, recommend getting on TikTok. Clients need an understanding of what works on TikTok, and It needs to be TikTok focused strategy for it to work. Now is a good time to start researching and playing around with the app since there is no sign of this app ever slowing down. The biggest signal that TikTok is beneficial for clients to join is because Facebook and Instagram are starting to change to be like TikTok.

It’s clear that the world of social media is an opportunity to engage the truck driver community online. If you need help navigating your social media strategy, we really need to chat. Visit our website to get started today!