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Are your brand’s social media accounts starting to feel like a ghost town?
If so, you might be seeing some telltale signs:
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Followers going eerily quiet, or departing entirely
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Hauntingly few click-throughs on links
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Engagement vanishing into thin air (even on posts with clear CTAs)
If this sounds familiar, your social strategy may need a revamp.
Social accounts can go lifeless for numerous reasons, from content fatigue to lack of relevance to inconsistent posting. Algorithm updates are another common friction point, with over half of marketers pointing to platform changes as their biggest roadblock in 2024.
But you don’t need a miracle to bring life back to your social accounts; you just need some solid social media marketing tactics. Try these six tips to stop losing social followers and start reviving your social engagement.
Optimize Your Bio
“If your bio and your profile are not set up for success to attract followers, we’re not going to see the growth that we want,” says Shelby Leigh, bestselling author and marketing expert with 500K followers, in a video on how to revive a dead social account. This insight is especially true if you’re a startup or an up-and-coming brand.
To solve this, Leigh recommends looking at your bio and asking:
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Does this [bio] speak to my audience?
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What can they expect from me [based on my bio]?
Adjust and optimize accordingly. A solid example is MOO, an online print and design company whose Instagram bio includes a clear mission statement and invites followers to join.
studioID Tip
Include a link in your bio to drive engagement outside the platform. Brands like REI and publishers like Forbes use their bio links to make all content clickable, extending engagement points.
💬 Related Reading: 7 Proven Content Engagement Strategies for 2024
Perform an Audit To Fine-Tune Your Content
Avoid a “pray and spray” mentality when reviving your social accounts. Review analytics to assess the qualities of top and low performers. Consider formats, themes, caption content, hashtags used, time of day, etc. If you have content that does well or even goes viral, try recreating content that feels similar, says Leigh.
studioID Tip
Flip it. Take a look at others in your industry:
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Review your competitors’ best-performing content.
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Look for patterns and themes and compile a list of actionable insights.
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Experiment by incorporating these findings into your content.
📸 Related Reading: New Report Highlights Key 2024 Video Content Trends
Focus on Engaging First, Selling Later
Reconnect by refocusing your content. Sometimes, accounts go cold when the focus is too heavily on selling and too little on engaging.
Sales posts are likely to get less engagement than other types of posts,
— Shelby Leigh
Thankfully, according to a studioID survey, the top content priority for 56% of marketers is to tell more engaging stories. To be more engaging, Leigh suggests focusing on educational, inspirational, funny, or relatable content—before diving into your sales.
studioID Tip
Consider one more content theme: celebration. For example, celebrate (and tag!) your employees during major milestones (especially on LinkedIn). If you’re a B2B brand, consider engaging your clients during a launch. And if you’re a B2C brand, tap consumers like Glossier does, a breakout brand we think is rocking it with its content on platforms like reddit and Instagram.
🤝 Related reading: B2B Influencer Marketing: 3 Essential Steps to Build a Strong Strategy
Diversify Your Formats to Increase Reach
Play with different formats to see what resonates with your audience (and drives a new one). Platform research tells us that Polls lead on LinkedIn. Reels (followed closely by carousels) lead on Instagram. When looking at paid media on Pinterest, video ads between 6 and 12 seconds see the best results. Research what’s trending on the platform you’re looking to revive and test your formats.
studioID Tip
Consider creating more video content, especially if your static posts are getting lackluster results. Our research shows that 96% of consumers prefer to watch short-form videos to learn about a product or service.
Need inspo? See Adobe’s video content that won Gold at The Shorty Awards:
📱Related Reading: 5 Short-Form Video Trends for Share-Worthy Content in 2024
Engage Actively to Build Brand Loyalty
Too often, marketers forget this step. To stop losing followers, start engaging with followers. Doing so helps form connections and create the basis for future collaborations, says Leigh.“It’s a social platform…it’s called social media for a reason,” she adds. Take a look at Starbucks’ simple, yet human interaction with a customer.
📱Related Reading: What’s Human-to-Human Marketing? And How Can Today’s Brands Achieve it?
studioID Tip
Remember that customer service is a key part of social media engagement.
76% of consumers value how quickly a brand can respond to their needs, and nearly 70% expect a response within 24 hours or less.
— Sprout Social
Use Giveaways to Rekindle Excitement
Providing timely, exclusive content or incentives is a great way to revive followers (and revive cold leads).
Instagram accounts that hold contests experience a 70% faster follower growth over three months than those that don’t.
Yet only 2% of marketers on Instagram run regular contests, making giveaways a major opportunity.
Check out Marriott Bonvoy’s “One Point Drops” campaign, which addressed young customer’s lack of awareness for the experiences they could access with loyalty points. Marriott Bonvoy activated its audience by offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences—for just one point, including a day with Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul.
studioID Tip
What kind of contest should you run? Some popular ideas include user-generated content, hashtags, tag-a-friend, comment-to-win and follow-to-win contests.
❄️ Related Reading: 8 Strategies to Re-engage Cold Leads
Once You Decide to Revive, Decide to Be Consistent
Across the board—platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok—prioritize accounts that post consistently, rewarding consistency with increased visibility and reach. Regular posting won’t just feed algorithms, though; it’ll also help you form deeper connections with your followers and keep your brand top of mind.
So, once you start, keep going (and don’t be dismayed if it takes a while to regain momentum).
Our final tip? Save yourself time by repurposing your content for social media. Optimize for each channel, but consider using content from your emails, blogs, or videos for a steadier stream of content.
❤️ Related Reading: How to Go Viral: 10 Trending Marketing Campaigns & the Science Behind Them
