“I have ZERO time to come up with social media updates that reflect our business branding and soul purpose. Using an automated tool, well, feels automated and not ‘me’. I know I need to be on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter but what do I say when I’m on there that wouldn’t require me thinking about it and spending my limited time on it?”

“I have no idea what to post on social networks, like Facebook and when I go looking for ideas, I just get sucked into reading blogs or others’ posts and an hour later, I realize I haven’t posted anything and am just too irritated with myself to think of what to share.”

These are just two of the many responses I got to a question I posted in one of my Mastermind groups earlier this month. There were many more in the same vein and reflecting a common thread of frustration at:

a) not having the time to post on social media

b) posting erratically and ending up with no results and a page or profile that was all over the place.

c) posting but feeling like a fake doing so

 You feeling the same way? You’re not alone.

Today, let me share 7 simple ways to increase engagement AND make posting on social networks, easy, quick and most importantly, 100% genuine for you and your brand.

1. Talk about what excites you.

An upcoming project, a new product, an offering by a friend or peer.

For instance, yours truly is super excited about the Content Cookbook due for launch in June and can’t stop talking about it. So, I do the same on my social networks. When the excitement is genuine, it shines through. When it’s “put on” to merely stuff sales links, it’ll show. Just like in real life.

2. Share what inspires you.

A book. An article. A photo you took on your evening walk of the sunset. Pat Flynn is awesome at this and as the photo below shows, he isn’t always sharing tips on making passive income, which is his expertise, but is also sharing things that inspire him and resonate with him.

3. Give heartfelt advice MINUS the sales pitch.

Most business owners have TONS to share with their community about what they can do to lead a better/happier/stronger/more successful life. But for whatever reason, we tend to hold it back for when we’re selling something. How about you dish out advice from the heart, without the sales pitch. Help your community experience the amazing-ness that you hold inside you… for free?

Denise Duffield-Thomas does this generously and often with her “It’s Safe for Me…” series of photo posts. They come from the heart and don’t even have a link to her website. But they’re shared widely and resonate with her community. A. LOT.

4. Share your life with your community

We talk about our every day with our friends and family, right? So, why not take this common social practice online with our business community and invite them into our life. You don’t have to share every single meal with them, but small snippets of what your day is like or things you’re grateful for. Not only does this make you more real and approachable but people feel like they “know” you and THAT is so important for any relationship.

Leonie Dawson does it beautifully with photos of her and her gorgeous family, including her little baby.

5. Engage in a discussion

What do you feel strongly about? What would your community want to talk the most about? Spark a discussion. You don’t have to be controversial to be engaging. But you do have to ask and invite people in. you have to make the first move to put the “social” back into social media.

FB expert, Mari Smith, shows how it’s done on her page when she not only gives out some amazing tips but invites you to share your experience and views too.

6. Inspire your community to take action

Whether you’re on social media or writing a blog post, encouraging and inspiring your readers to take action is simple enough to do. You ask. You tell them that you’d love to hear from them and show them the best way to do it.

The folks at Copyblogger have started doing this in a pretty neat way by inviting people to “take the conversation further” and then asking them for their thoughts by directing them to the Google+ page or Twitter. Simple, easy, effective.

7. Share everything you can about your specialty

You know, we all have an aunt or uncle in the family who always knows where to find what in the local markets or the best tips on getting a great bargain. Now they may not necessarily be storeowners themselves, but they’ve collectd a wealth of wisdom from various sources and use it to be helpful.

Sometimes, as a business owner, you may not have all the answers and that’s okay. What you need to know is where to find those and then highlight those. Be the go-to expert in your niche by sharing your wealth of wisdom collected from various sources… with credit of course.

Kelly Lester, the amazing founder, creator and CEO of EasyLunchboxes is great at showcasing gorgeous, yummy lunches made by mums all over. Her Pinterest account is testimony to it with boards dedicated to different types of lunches and group boards as well. She isn’t making ALL the lunches herself, is she? But her board is a collection of TONS and TONS of lunches made and packed for school and work. Naturally, I want to follow her because I know I’ll find plenty of lunchbox inspiration in one handy place.

Do YOU struggle with posting on social networks or your blog? How can you take one of these 7 ways and go from feeling frustrated to being engaged with your audience? Join me in the comments and let’s talk!

Oh, and if you want to learn more easy recipes to create the perfect social media updates that resonate with your audience AND reflect your brand? Make sure you’re signed up to be the first to know when Content Cookbook hits the virtual shelves!!

Let’s talk, now!!