Conversational Content: How To Get People Talking About Your Brand On Social Media

Social media promotion in the 21st century is a minefield. With more brands online than ever before, it’s no surprise that most of us get buried under the endless sweep of content, never to be heard of, never to be seen.The time for unsuccessful social media exposure is over. As more smart marketers move towards creating conversational content, it’s time to learn how you can raise brand awareness with a simple change to your social media strategy.Read on to find out about the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and why creating content that starts a conversation could be the key to success.

World Of Mouth Marketing: Why Is It Vital?

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Image Source: Art+Marketing[/caption]Word of mouth marketing may be the oldest form of brand promotion, but it still exists to this day for a reason. It is effective and is likely one of the most common reasons a sales lead will become a checkout conversion.The question is, what exactly does it mean? Simply put, word of mouth does exactly what it says on the tin. Anytime someone starts a conversation about your brand, whether it is in person or on social media, it boosts brand awareness and influences those who are listening to engage with the products or services the particular brand has to offer.With studies showing that over 90% of customers still rely on word of mouth when making their decisions about a brand, it’s no surprise that smart marketers are working hard to improve their reputation across social media for ultimate conversational success.

How To Create A Conversational Content Strategy 

Creating a conversational content strategy has never been more simple. The key here is to produce posts that encourage engagement and in turn conversation about your brand and its services.Whether this is in the form of product reviews, word of mouth or simply sharing a post, these forms of consumer engagement are the key to bossing your social media strategy.Read on to find out our most successful content tactics that will leave your brand sparkling at the top of your demographic’s social platforms.

Utilize That User Generated Content 

User-generated content (UGC) is not hard to find on modern-day social media platforms. With over 69% of social platform users not only engaging with content online but also actively contributing to it, it’s no surprise that online brands now face enormous competition when trying to stand out.User-generated content tends to be more shareable and organically engaged with by peers and other members of the platform’s key demographic. For example, a TikTok video created by an unaffiliated consumer is much more likely to go viral than a paid advertisement promoting a business.[caption id="attachment_48634" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Image Source: GrowSurf[/caption]In fact, consumers are 83% more likely to trust and engage with their peers over a brand itself, making UGC vital if you want to see success.If you’re looking to improve your conversational content strategy, it’s time to start incorporating UGC into your brand’s content plan. Search for UGC that positively mentions your brand or its services and share it for your audience to engage with.

Incentivize Consumer Word Of Mouth

As much as we want our content alone to generate brand engagement and encourage consumer conversation, sometimes it simply takes a small push to get the ball rolling.Enter consumer incentive. Whether it is a discount code, giveaway or a bundle deal, there is nothing that attracts a customer more than a freebie. Why not provide an incentive for those customers who leave product reviews or share your social content on their own profiles?[caption id="attachment_48635" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Image Source: Marcelle Cosmetics[/caption]A great way to do this on social platforms is in the form of giveaways. As demonstrated above, creating a giveaway post that encourages people to share your content for a chance to win a product is a great way to increase word of mouth and in turn brand awareness.

Use Your ‘Super Customers’ To Your Advantage 

If you’re looking to take customer incentive one step further, utilizing your ‘super customers’ could be a great way to increase your brand awareness.Simply pick out the customers that are most loyal to your brand and offer them an exclusive incentive to actively talk about their thoughts on their own social channels. As we know, UGC is more likely to be engaged with and, most importantly, trusted.Using your brand insiders to your advantage could improve their online shopping experience with your company and your brand recognition, engagement and conversions.

Create Shareable Content 

Whether it is a video, image, status or blog post, every piece of content you create needs to have a ‘sharability factor.’When aiming to improve your content marketing skills you need to consider a number of factors:

• Current online trends within your demographic. Is there a chance to go viral?
• Your copywriting skills. Is that copy shareable?
• Knowledge of current events. Could this impact your content? Could you newsjack?
• Your desired platform. What type of content do you want to post to see success?
• What will trigger your audience to share your content?

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Image Source: Referral Rock[/caption]Making use of these sharable factors when crafting your content will make it much more likely to go viral within the online realm. Creating content that is built for provoking conversation gets people talking about your brand and improving your online authority.

Know What Gets Your Audience Talking 

The key to word-of-mouth success is to know what actually gets your audience talking. Whether that is a demographic trend or a cause that they are passionate about, knowing your audience inside out is vital if you want to see your post engagement climb.Start taking an audit of your audience engagement and see what post formats and topics gather the most attention amongst your consumers. What content has sparked the most conversation? What topics are your demographic most likely to respond to?Using analytic tools such as Google Trends and Finteza will give you a wider insight into your demographic characteristics and, most importantly, the things that make them tick. Taking time with this analytical stage builds a great conversational foundation that will encourage a strong connection between brand and consumer.

The Demands Of Gen Z 

Chances are, your online audience is predominantly Gen Z/Millenial driven, which will mean that your work is cut out for you if you want to get your demographic’s attention. With over 98% of Gen Z on social media, it comes as no surprise that this demographic is extremely active and also extremely critical. Their opinions, however, mean everything to brands that want to make it big. With more collective followers than any other online generation, word of mouth from this group of consumers has the potential to see your brand soaring.[caption id="attachment_48637" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Image Source: CampaignLive[/caption]As you can see here, over 50% of Gen Z want to see more diversity within branded content. Speaking to their personalities directly and promoting the causes they believe in is vital here if you want to encourage them to share and talk about your content.

Start Showcasing your Customer Feedback 

Last but certainly not least, it’s time to start showcasing the word of mouth you have already received!Showcasing your customer feedback on your socials is a great way to gain audience trust while promoting the best aspects of your products through the words of previous customers.[caption id="attachment_48638" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Image Source: Google My Business[/caption]Google is one step ahead here, with their custom review stickers that can be crafted for your Instagram, Twitter or Facebook feeds. These handy content fillers, make a great source of word-of-mouth marketing and continue to inspire conversation amongst both new and loyal customers.