Like most businesses, you're on social media to attract more customers. But to do that, you have to stand out. And in today's highly competitive marketplace, standing out means earning attention in a short amount of time.

That's where process and strategy come in. With the right plan in place, you can attract more leads, customers, and sales. In this week's episode of the Brand Authority podcast, I share 5 of the best ways to get started. Take a listen, and don't forget to subscribe!

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Highlights from episode 5

1. Stay engaged

Put a plan in place to engage with your followers on a daily basis. Show them that there's a real person behind the content and the brand. Prove that you're not just pushing out content for the sake of it, but actually working to build relationships.

That means keeping a close eye on your brand mentions. Responding to mentions gives you a chance to start conversations and get to know your audience. It also gives your audience the opportunity to learn more about you. Use tools like Sprout Social and Brand 24 to easily keep track of mentions.

2. Make your content ridiculously valuable

It should go without saying your content should be ridiculously valuable. But sadly we still see way too much wasted content. It's content that wastes:

Time
Money
Opportunity

Stop pumping out content for the sake of it. Ask yourself with each article and social post: is it relevant, relatable, inspirational, aspirational, or educational? If your answer isn't a resounding YES, ditch it.

You owe your audience more than random, uninspired drivel that they can find or read anywhere on the web. And don't think you need to reinvent the wheel each time. Share a tip from a popular post, answer a frequently asked question or show (don't tell) how to use your product. The key is to understand your audience, care about their needs, and show up consistently.

3. Get creative with visual content

People who read a piece of content only remember 10% of it 3 days later. But, if that same information is paired with an image, they remember 65% of it. Create and share visuals to catch attention, elicit engagement, and create a memorable moment. Not sure where to begin?

Take a well-performing article, grab a few important points, and turn it into a short infographic or a video. You can also create custom images that:

Asks an engaging and easy-to-answer question
Answers a frequently asked question
Shows an interesting way people are using your product
Shares what inspires you

Source: Uber Flip

4. Choose the right timing

On social media, timing is everything. If you're not sharing content when your target audience is online, it will get buried. Although there are some general statistics, there's no universal time that works for everyone. Look inside your analytics to determine when your audience is online and the most engaged. Facebook Insights is a great place to start. You can also use tools like Followerwonk or Tweriod.

Source: Kissmetrics

5. Be Data Driven

If you want to see real results, you can't "hope" something will work, you need to know that it will. That means being data-driven in all of your business decisions. Keep a constant eye on your data to determine how your marketing decisions are affecting your business. Use that information to adjust your strategies and make data-informed decisions about the future.

Here are a few great sources of data:

Google Analytics
Facebook Insights
Twitter Analytics
Social Dashboards (Datorama and Dasheroo are two great choices)

You can also create separate UTM parameters to track where the most traffic is coming from. Not sure how to do that? Listen to the podcast!

5 of The Best Ways to Attract More Customers to Your Business