How (and why) to approach engagement on social media
Posting is only one part of the strategy
The first rule of social media is that it’s social – so be social!
Most businesses know they need to tweet, post on Facebook, LI or Instagram, or send Snaps to their legions of fans. They know their content needs to cover the 4 pillars, and they do it well.
But where they fall down is knowing how to engage with their audience.
As a social media manager, it’s my job to help you post things your audience will love, react to and engage with. I help bring your audience to you and serve them to you on a golden platter.
But occasionally, I do need your input to create posts that your audience will engage with rather than just react to (e.g. competitions or giveaways). And I always encourage my clients to personally respond to DMs and comments to remain the voice (and face) of their business.
So, what do I mean by social media engagement?
The term engagement refers to comments, likes and shares – how your audience is engaging with you and reacting to your content.
As you’ve heard me say before, social media is more than a numbers game. Your social media strategy is only successful if you have an engaged audience; not a huge following. Think of it as a concert. Hundreds of people show up. But if everyone sits there silently, and the musicians sit quietly on the stage, you would say it was a flop!
You can measure your engagement through:
Post shares or retweets
Comments or likes, love, care etc.
Audience growth
Click-throughs on your poss
Mentions from others
Hashtags
Also, keep an eye on your messages (on Messenger and DMs). If people have contacted you, make sure you’re responding to them, because if someone has taken the time to message you personally, you’ve made an impact on them in some way.
The top 4 ways to evoke engagement on social media
1. Ask a question
Asking a question is always a sure-fire way to start a convo. But the standard, ‘how are you’ won’t cut it on social media as it does at a checkout! One of the best questions you can ask on social media is ‘What do you think?’. People love sharing their thoughts.
Other great examples of using questions for engagement are on all those online quizzes you see people doing and sharing. For example, ‘What personality type are you based on your facial features’. You can also run polls which not only encourage engagement but give you an insight into your audience.
2. Encourage expression and sharing
Another way to evoke engagement is by getting your audience involved with your brand. Encourage them to create content that features your brand, for example, by sharing posts using your branded hashtag.
If you sell a product, you can encourage your buyers to take a selfie and upload it to Facebook or Instagram with your hashtag and can even make it into a competition to get more engagement (everyone loves the thought of winning something for nothing). You can also ask your customers to leave you reviews online, something that most of us read now before we make a purchase.
3. Give incentives for interaction
Interactive content should always be high on your priority list when it comes to making your social media strategy. And the best way to create interactive content is to give your audience a reason to respond to you.
Competitions are one of the best ways to do this. And you don’t need to offer a huge reward. People love to play games online, and more importantly, they love to win! So hold the occasional contest. You would have all seen companies doing this. Things like, like this page, share this post and tag 3 friends for your chance to win this necklace. It’s a great way to increase your followers too.
4. Create offers they can’t refuse
Creating offers is Marketing 101 – it’s something you should be doing all the time. Give your audience a reason to exchange their details, to share your content, and to engage with you.
Offers are things like, discount coupons, exclusive membership clubs, free shipping, pick your discount promotions (have you seen those spinning wheel pop-ups?) and so on. For offers to work well, they need to be seen to be substantial. Using engaging images and setting expiration dates help, along with having discounts of 20% or more.
Want to chat about your social media strategy and engagement?
As a social media manager, I spent my days creating posts that lift the levels of engagement for my clients. If you’d like to have a chat about how this could work for your business too, please get in touch.
Have you created a super engaging post, or seen a post that got your attention and made you react? I’d love for you to share your examples or links in the comments below.