Social media isn’t really about the posts – it’s about connections. You can post 50 times a day, but unless you promote two-way conversations, it won’t give you the results you’re looking for.

Vanity Metrics Aren’t Enough

Comments, likes, saves & shares are great metrics to measure social media audience interest in you, but they don’t show that you’re interested in your audience. Post mentions and actual messages in your inbox give you a real chance to reply and become a part of the conversation. Responding to your messages quickly and being able to actively reciprocate where you’re tagged is crucial to increasing not only metrics like follower count but more importantly – sales.

83% of users use Instagram to discover new products and services, with 87% taking a specific action, such as making a purchase, after seeing product information (Facebook for Business)

What do clients actually value?

Your clients don’t pay for you to just post. That might be what’s on the task list, but it isn’t what clients care about. Clients care about results, and they’re willing to pay more for it. If you’re interested in increasing your client revenues, then you need to produce tangible results.  Their customers are willing to pay more for a responsive customer experience.

86% of consumers will pay up to 25% more for a better customer experience (RightNow Technologies)

Clients pay for increased brand (and customer) loyalty.

Social channels are where the brand-loyalty magic happens. Followers are more likely to buy from your brand than others that they are less exposed to, and less invested in. Those same people are also more likely to share your content within their networks and recommend you to others.

A personal recommendation, versus anonymous reviews online, is 10x more valuable to a brand as far as return on investment. When these users tag you in a post, you must speak up. That lets the new prospect(s) know that you’re responsive and gives them insight into your brand’s personality. In fact, 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend that brand to friends and family, according to one study.

Clients pay for sales.

It doesn’t matter if they’re selling a product or service, their end goal is sales, sign-ups – or some other action. Customers sometimes have complaints or questions. Those things end up in your inbox. The faster you respond, the more likely that the person with the inquiry will turn into a customer – or the person with a resolved complaint will become a repeat customer. Almost a third of customers turn to social media channels to make pre-sales inquiries, so it’s worthwhile to provide assistance when and where it’s needed.

Managing Your Inbox(es) to Success

It can be difficult to keep track of social media messages across every platform, especially if you’re managing multiple social media inboxes.

Create Automated Responses

When it comes to social media marketing, it’s not always possible to respond to users in real-time. You can rely on customized, automated inbox messages to fill in the gap until you can get back with a response.

Respond Promptly – What Does “Prompt” Mean to Users?

For messages, try to respond within 24 hours on business days, and on Monday aim to spend extra time catching up on any weekend messages. Set this expectation in any auto-reply messages you have.

For comments, consider the context of a comment. If it’s a recommendation or asking a product question – try to hop on those as soon as you possibly can.

Users will often tag their friends and family in the comments on posts. You don’t need to respond to any message directed to others unless it’s relevant to your brand.

Invest In The Best Social Media Management Tools

The best social media management tools allow you to do everything, on one platform – saving you time and aggravation. For example, Sked Social is an all-in-one social media management tool, offering everything from in-depth competitor analysis to scheduling, file storage, and opportunities to collaborate with your team on content creation and amendments. And, if your social inbox engagement is important to you, Sked’s Inbox tool lets you manage all your Instagram and Facebook Messages (and mentions!) – in one place, across your entire team.

Now that you’re a social media engagement insider, you can start using these tips right away. Create your content in batches, then schedule your posts with Sked Social. You’ll never miss a post, or a chance to engage with your audience. Sked even gives you performance metrics and analytics to benchmark and track your goals. Try Sked Social free for 7 days and up-level your social media engagement game