I can understand why some small business owners throw their hands in the air and give up on social media. In the grand scheme of running your business social media may feel irrelevant as you are one small fish in a MASSIVE pond, right?  You are insanely busy as it is and you think, I only got 2 likes last time I posted, so who cares.

Well, the people who liked your post care…and maybe the ones who saw it, but didn’t quite feel motivated in that moment to engage.

According to a super savvy – obviously – survey I found online, 81% of shoppers are taking to the internet before making a purchase.

Creating consistent and engaging content is important to increase brand awareness and show your current and future customers that you care about them. Here are 5 tips to help you create content that will enourage your followers to interact with you online.

Show some personality

Don’t be afraid to be yourself! You are unique and when you are genuine, people feel it. If you think you need to be like everyone else online, think again. You need to be YOU! People love your brand and want to feel like they’re engaging with another human being, not a robot.

Post often and keep it relevant

Do your best to keep the content relevant to your page. If you have a pet grooming business, for instance, share cute puppies for sure, but remember to also share tips and how to’s. And post often! Posting once a month does not encourage readers to keep up with your page…find a scheduler to help you or hire someone to manage it for you if you lack the time.

Use Visuals

Interesting visuals increase engagement. Pictures grab people’s attention faster as our brains can compute a photo much faster than words – the visual will encourage followers to read on. A good visual will also increase the chances of a post getting shared.

Be Social! If someone comments on a post or shares it with their network, chime in! It IS social media, after all.

Post Quotes

Quotes are huge on social media. People love them, they’re easy to share and mostly they make people feel good. Again, try to keep it relevant to your page and brand, but have fun with it. Play around with design and use a photo or interesting background.