"How many shares did you get for your new social media content?", the specific question would be the right question that can be raised after posting social media content, and the social media strategies listed below would help increase the number of shares, likes and comments on your social media content. In addition, social media strategies which are widely known as social media optimisation strategies developed by one of the well known social media strategists Rohit Bhargava, highlighted that by implementing these strategies, the organisation may be able to increase shares, likes and comments for specific social media content.

Develop shareable content

To develop shareable content, a content creator must identify the behaviour and characteristics of the intended audience. Stats such as this example, where 32% of Instagram users are between 18 and 24 years of age. Therefore, social media content creators need to develop content according to the behaviour of the particular social media audience, in particular, the 18-34 years age group that may be socially active, as well as extroverted. The social media content creator on Instagram should use teenage models in their social media content and through the specific process, social media content could easily achieve more likes, shares and comments.

To develop shareable content to gain more likes, shares and comments, content must be visually attractive with minimal text on social media content. A professional social media content developer might be able to develop attractive content that has more likes, shares and comments. A professional photographer might be able to take photos for social media content that steal more likes, shares and comments.

Entertaining and inspirational social media content might help achieve more likes, shares and comments which would help enable your brand to reach millions of social media followers around the world. Inspirational posts like engaging with good causes (cause marketing) that allows you to increase brand visibility on social media platforms and increase social media engagement, further increase shares, likes and comments.

People need to be inspired and entertained. Therefore, create a social media post according to the behavioural patterns of the followers, that allows the brand to increase brand visibility for millions of followers, and increased brand visibility could also help you attract more eyeballs.

One of the most well known social media strategists, Dave Evans noted that an organisation may be able to enhance social media engagement and additionally, help increase likes, shares and comments for a particular social media content by creating social media content on the basis of lifestyle, passion, and a cause. Evans further notes that lifestyle, such as personal identity, culture and lifestyle-based social objects, includes action sports that enhance social media engagement, with even more emphasis on likes, shares and comments, and that by developing social media content based on the above mentioned criteria, the organisation could be able to increase or attract engagement on their social media. By further explaining the particular concept, people enjoy sports events such as cricket, when there is an international cricket match between Sri Lanka and an international team, and hence it is wiser to develop social media content in the process while wishing the Sri Lankan cricket team for instance. Cultural events like the Kandy Esala Perahara is an ideal cultural event where the organisation can develop social media content which guarantees more engagement.

Evans emphasised that the organisation might be able to increase likes, shares and comments for social media content by creating it on the basis of "passions", which is another rich area when you are looking for existing social objects. Dell’s “Take Your Own Path” and Pepsi’s “Refresh” project are clear examples of the power of a natural alignment with passions. Social media content on the basis of passion creates an enthusiasm on the top of the minds of the customer which motivates them to like, share and comment on certain social media content.

Evans explains that by developing social media content based upon a "cause", it may be able to increase social media engagement for social media content, additionally, it might be able to increase likes, shares and comments for social media content. Cause related social media content touches the hearts of consumers, therefore, the softer feelings of consumers motivate them to like, comment and share cause related social media content.

Evans clarifies that "collaboration" would be able to increase likes, comments and shares for social media content. He further explained that collaboration is a sort of process through which the organisation creates and publishes content on social media to encourage social media followers of the organisation to blog about a specific topic, such as how to develop the organisation's products or processes. The respondent will be rewarded and social media followers would like to share, like and comment on certain social media content.

Use #hashtags

A hashtag (#) is one of the most effective social media strategies that can be used to get more traction for your content. A hashtag is also the most used social media strategy on Instagram to enhance these online visits. Using it is also unique to Instagram. Using a hashtag, you may be able to make your brand visible for millions of followers on Instagram and could be securing more shares, likes and comments for your content. Some of these examples include #love (used in 700 million posts), #instagood (used is 300 million posts), or #tbt (Throwback Thursday) or you can create your own hashtag according to your type of business, for instance, #realstate.

Bhargava points out that the number of hashtags improves social media optimisation, in other words, it increases the amount of likes, shares and comments for the social media content. The most suitable number of hashtags for an Instagram post would be 30 and by using more hashtags, one has the capacity to interact with millions of followers on Instagram and may be able to obtain more traction.

Hootsuite explains that the inclusion of hashtags in social media content prompts social media followers to initiate the conversation on the social media platform and specifically makes your social media content visible in that conversation. This process would lead to greater engagement with social media, where social media followers enhance engagement on social media by multiplying sharing, liking and commenting.

Rewarding

Bhargava highlights that the form of rewarding might help initiate a conversation on social media through more shares, more likes and comments. Rewarding encourages social media followers to share, like and comment on specific social media content and the process in particular would lead to more social media engagement. 

In practice, the organisation invites its social media followers to share a particular social media content and is rewarded with the highest number of shares of its followers. The particular process would gain massive publicity in offline media such as the press and television. The more people who are passionate about the brand, will reach out to the brand's social media platforms and like, share and comment on the social media content.

Creation or UGC 

Creation or user generated social media content, also known as UGC or consumer generated content.

Bhargava emphasised that "creating" would lead to greater engagement on social media via likes, shares and comments. Creation could enable the customising of social media content by creating its own content of social media followers. In addition, the organisation may ask social media followers to take a photo with the brand image or a special structure designed to take pictures and post these images on the organisation's official social media platforms.

The particular process would initiate more conversation on social media where social media followers share and like their own content created on social media and could be able to gain more engagement on social media with more likes, shares and comments.

Conclusion

The organisation may be able to increase social media engagement through more likes, shares and comments about specific content by using strategies such as developing shareable content on social media, using more hashtags, rewarding social media content and creating or generating user generated content.

The above mentioned social media strategies would lead to increased shares, likes and comments for specific social media content and could be in a position to meet the organisation's social media objectives.

(The writer is a marketing consultant)

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.