How Leveraging Interactive Content can Boost your Social Media Marketing By Elle Birrell King
Elle is a Digital Marketing Alumna at Tortoise Media writing for the Community Blogging Team
OK everyone, listen up - I am fed up with the stereotype that Business to Business (B2B) social media marketing is the lesser creative sibling of Business to Client (B2C)- this is so far from the truth!
The main culprit of this stereotype is perhaps most likely to be that most B2B companies tend to have a more formal and restricted tone of voice. However, I have always found that the times where you might have a tighter brief or brand guidelines are when you can be the most innovative and creative. So, here is my guide on how you can leverage interactive content to boost engagement even when you are working within restrictive on-brand guidelines…
Polls
One of the most prominent forms of interactive content is polls, as they are an incredibly effective and effortless way of getting your audience's opinion. A poll is when you pose either a question or statement, and the audience has a limited and finite set of answers to choose from.
One of the most critical elements of polls is listening, as they provide essential information about what your consumers want from your company. This will enable you to put this information into action and curate your content around their needs.
I have found that the polls with shorter and simpler questions and fewer answers tend to receive more responses; therefore, make sure not to overcomplicate your questions and answers. In addition, it is vital that you share and react to the result with your audience once the poll is complete. Therefore a poll will create at least two pieces of content; the first is the poll itself, and the second is the result!
Question and Answer
It's not all about what information you can get from your audience; it's also about what information you can give to your audience. A fantastic way to do this is through a Q&A, allowing the audience to talk directly to the business. Q&A’s are an excellent way to listen to the wants and concerns of your consumers but also a fantastic way to demonstrate that your brand is genuinely listening!
A Q&A can take a variety of forms - for example, you could do a live Q&A where your audience asks questions in real-time, a Q&A in the comment section of a post or even ask your audience to fill out a form with their queries.
Although live Q&A’s can feel more direct and personable to your audience, they can be less polished, so answering your customer's questions in the comment section is a good alternative that allows your company to respond in a more considered way with a little more thought.
Ask questions
Similar to Q&A’s and polls, asking your customers questions is a fantastic way to find out more about what your customers want to see from your brand (as well as increase the size of your comment section!).
You simply ask your audience a question and then ask them to reply in the comment section. This can be an excellent opportunity to create an open dialogue between the company and consumers, especially around any areas for improvement - enabling your brand to change, adapt, and progress.
So, get creative with your B2B content! You might have a bit of a straightjacket to work within but sometimes it's those very constraints that spark the imagination. It is clear that interactive content has become an extremely effective method for businesses to help with this and to gauge insights and opinions from their consumers.
Understanding the customer is one of the most critical elements of any digital marketer; therefore, get creative and include interactive content in your social media strategy - digital marketing apprentices, why not give it a go?
As always, don't hesitate to connect on the Community Hub or LinkedIn if you have any questions; I am always open to any follow-up conversation.
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