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Engagement is such a key part of social media platforms, and it really is something we’re all working towards.
Whether it’s a like on our post, a quick comment from a friend, or someone sharing our heartfelt piece, it all means something.
Engagement is the essence of social media networks.
It’s the interactions we have among one another that actually make social media work, and allows us to connect, share our thoughts and support others.
Algorithms are also eager for engagement, as it’s a good indication to the platforms we use as to what the best content is to show others.
If more people have liked, commented, tagged, shared, or just interacted with it, then it must be a worthy post of giving better exposure.
As you are likely a business owner, engagement seems kind of pointless I’m sure.
It’s not a solid metric and doesn’t directly correspond to sales or enquiries. We can’t just cash in all those likes we’ve built up for a paycheck.
Instead, we need to look at what engagement really means to you and your business.
Engagement is interaction. It’s someone showing a level of interest in what you have to say or what your business does.
For you, engagement should be an indication of you building and nurturing better customer relationships online. The plus side is doing this leads to stronger connections with potential customers, and a greater chance they end up buying from you.
Posts with more engagement also mean that you’re likely to build more awareness. If more people are sharing your content with others then you’re getting your name out there.
It’s also beneficial because it’s what the majority of algorithms want to show others. Great content that gets engagement.
That isn’t to say engagement is the end all or be all of your social media marketing. However, you should be aiming to increase your engagement for those reasons.
Let’s talk about how we can start getting more engagement on your posts, with a simple starting point.
Asking people questions in your posts is a great way to spark that engagement and encourage people to share their thoughts or opinions.
If you’re putting out content and sharing informative, entertaining or personal posts, you can throw it back to your followers to get involved.
Create conversation by asking them to share their thoughts about what you’ve just posted, or to give their own experiences or knowledge on a subject.
An example for a coffee shop could be, “What’s your Monday morning coffee order?”
Or, a home improvement company could ask, “If you could instantly renovate any part of your home, what would you pick?”
These simple questions can be tied into any post and create another level of interaction with your followers. This then allows you to continue conversations with these followers in the comments and build a deeper connection with them.
This is really an extension of asking people questions, but a great way to encourage engagement on your post is by asking people to vote, rate or decide.
Voting simply means asking your followers to make a choice between different options.
For a bar it could be asking your followers to vote between a few of your favourite cocktails, or which theme you should host for your next event.
Rating is quite straightforward also. It involves getting engagement by getting followers to rate a particular thing you’ve posted about.
For a home improvement company, you might post a before and after shot of a renovation and ask your followers to rate how well you did.
The final one is to get a decision. You might ask them to decide on something specific to your business, so it helps them feel more involved and connected to you.
For a restaurant, it may be asking your followers to name your latest dish. Or, a real estate agent may ask their followers to decide on the name of an open house event they’re hosting.
Each of these is another level of interaction you can get from your online community.
Get Their Friends Involved
Now we’re getting to the heart of social media, where people aren’t just interacting and engaging with you, but also with their friends.
This is all about asking your followers to help get their friends involved, whether it’s asking them to tag someone or share with someone they know.
A really easy way to do this is to ask them to tag someone who may benefit from your post, or who your post relates to.
If you were a travel agent, you could ask your followers to “Tag your travel buddy and comment where you’re travelling together next!”
If it was an interior designer, you could say “Tag that one friend whose house is always picture perfect.”
It’s important to think about creative ways you can ask people to tag someone. Sure enough you can just say tag a friend, but it’s always more engaging if you can make it more specific and relatable, like in the examples above.
It also doesn’t just need to involve tagging. You can ask your followers to share your posts with someone it may be meaningful to or someone who would enjoy it.
It’s all about trying to encourage people to bring others into the post and engage with it, whether that’s a comment, a tag, or a share.
Now we’re getting to the heart of social media, where people aren’t just interacting and engaging with you, but also with their friends.
This is all about asking your followers to help get their friends involved, whether it’s asking them to tag someone or share with someone they know.
A really easy way to do this is to ask them to tag someone who may benefit from your post, or who your post relates to.
If you were a travel agent, you could ask your followers to “Tag your travel buddy and comment where you’re travelling together next!”
If it was an interior designer, you could say “Tag that one friend whose house is always picture perfect.”
It’s important to think about creative ways you can ask people to tag someone. Sure enough you can just say tag a friend, but it’s always more engaging if you can make it more specific and relatable, like in the examples above.
It also doesn’t just need to involve tagging. You can ask your followers to share your posts with someone it may be meaningful to or someone who would enjoy it.
It’s all about trying to encourage people to bring others into the post and engage with it, whether that’s a comment, a tag, or a share.
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