Audience retention: the best strategies for social media success

When it comes to mastering the art of social media advertising, whether you own a small e-commerce business, work freelance as a digital marketing whizz or manage a social media agency in London, everyone has one goal - audience retention.

With everyone on every platform fighting for the attention of users most likely to convert, what steps can you take to ensure your potential customers stay engaged and, ultimately, buy?

It's a challenge, but it's a challenge that can be overcome. Let's take a look at the strategies both small and large companies can introduce to their marketing efforts to improve audience retention and build that loyal community of customers.

Let's talk content

This will be the foundation upon which your social media presence is built. From the ideation stages and copywriting for captions to the videography and content editing processes, ensuring every piece of content you publish resonates with your audience is key.

Across your platforms, keep your audience engaged with a variation of posts, including imagery, graphics and video. These should relate back to educational pieces about your industry, entertainment showing the personality behind your brand and the promotion of your products/services.

If you scroll past your posts, your audience will, too, so don't hit publish on just anything and everything; truly think about the purpose behind your online presence. 

Staying consistent

With numerous scheduling platforms now available and the option to schedule within individual apps, preparing content in advance has never been easier. We want your brand to remain relevant on feeds, capturing the attention of potential and existing customers daily - be that on stories or the grid.

No, it isn't always essential to post every hour of every day; your schedule may see you post a few times a week if that's what you think works for your business; however, staying consistent is what truly matters. 

Who are you posting for?

With billions of people using social media platforms, we need to consider who it is specifically that you're trying to reach.

Conducting thorough audience research is an essential step towards achieving greater retention. With this, we can identify users' preferences, behaviours, and interests, which will enable us to tailor content that resonates and aligns with them.  

Real-time interactions

Now, I'm not saying you have to be glued to your mobile phone waiting for every comment, like or message to come through. What this means is using the immediacy of stories and live content.

With the likes of real-time interactions, we can build a sense of urgency for specific products or offers as well as improve exclusivity. With engaging behind-the-scenes content, product announcements, Q&A posts and more, we can keep the audience hooked on your business and the products/services you offer. 

Get your audience involved

There are many ways, across a number of platforms, that we can allow our users, followers and customers to engage with our brand and participate in our content.

Encouraging them to like, comment, and share is brilliant; however, asking questions, running polls, creating broadcast channels, and hosting competitions will spark conversation and help build a community. You may also opt to utilise user-generated content to improve your engagement and credibility. 

Become mobile friendly

How many people do you know to use social media on a laptop? Not many, if any at all.

Ensuring your content is accessible and effective on mobile devices is essential. A seamless mobile experience will prolong engagement time, improve customer satisfaction and future-proof your online presence. 

Start cross-promotion

Each and every single social media platform, be that TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or X, have its own rules, strengths, and audiences. Extending your reach by optimising content to work across more than one of these platforms will increase your visibility and diversify your audience.

Analytics and insights

Understanding the content that resonates the most with your target audience, the peak engagement times for posting on your channels, and the demographics we are promoting to are key.

Regularly analysing your social media insights to identify what works and what doesn't enables you to refine your strategy and deliver content tailored to your audience's preferences.

In conclusion, it's important to remember that having your brand on social media isn't just about gaining followers; it's about creating a community of individuals who love and support your products and services, as well as improving brand awareness and driving conversions.

By implementing the strategies discussed above, you can improve your audience retention for continued social media success in 2024.