Starting a conversation in social media is the key to forming long lasting relationships with people that blossom into close knit communities. If you’ve been having trouble breaking the proverbial ice, then I have some great tips today that will help you overcome this obstacle. So, how exactly do you create conversation starters on your social pages?
Courtesy of thenewjew.files.com
The Art of The Conversation Starter
Properly defined, a conversation starter is simply something interesting that exists in space, or is mentioned in conversation that sparks a discussion. In social media, these discussions are invaluable if you want to build your brand and collect a large community of followers.
There are 4 basic types of conversation starter when dealing with social content.
- #1: The Bait and Hook Starter
- #2: The Response Starter
- #3: The Visual Starter
- #4: The Opinion Starter
People respond to all of these basic types. Let’s explore each below!
#1: The Bait and Hook Starter
Throw out a bit of information, a question, a discussion point – and wait for a bite. Once someone responds, they keep the conversation going by asking questions, adding insights, and purposefully forming a relationship with the other person.
#2: The Response Starter
Does some general search and research into who and what people are talking about. They look for conversations that are already happening, and join them. These conversations can only begin if the person has something new to add to the discussion.
#3: The Visual Starter
Media, images, video, and slideshows have a way of attracting conversation. Create yours and then set it adrift in the cybersea. Wait for insights, questions and comments on your media, and then give back – by beginning a unique and niche based conversation.
#4: The Opinion Starter
A person that uses opinions to form relationships must be very careful when sharing online. Picking up conversations or starting them based on a unique angle, or a controversial opinion is highly effective, but it can also be contentious.
10 Ideas To Get The Conversation Started
• Ask a niche related trivia question
• Post a meaningful quote
• Ask your readers something personal
• Share a video from your Youtube feed
• Share talking points, like graphs, charts and stats
• Share something of a fan’s, like an image, pin, video or post
• Get your readers to contribute captions to an image
• Create some how-to suggestions
• Be inspiring and humorous when you suggest sales
• Direct your fans to evidence that you’re active in your social community
Keeping The Conversation Going
Introductions are easy – it’s keeping the conversation alive that’s fairly difficult. Once you’ve met someone, chat with them for a while. Offer your opinions and insights, and when the conversation nears the end, make sure that you join all of their social networks as well. The fastest way to make a new friend, is to join their network first.
Once you’ve done that, doing the odd retweet, share, comment and like, will keep your dialogue open. From there, you can decide how close you want to become to that individual!
How do you spark conversations on your social pages? Leave me an example!
Thanks for this article. Really good summary (found it when researching a post that I’m doing on the subject).
I think asking personal questions when your following is great. It shows, as a brand, that you are more than just a corporate machine
Hi Jamie, you’re right there – the more personal you get with your community they more they trust you as a company. I’ve always found that it’s not about denying the fact that you’re selling something, it’s about making your community like you so much, they naturally want to know what it is you do or sell. Let me know when your post is done, I’ll pop over and read it