6 Tips for Increasing Social Media Engagement

If you’ve ever talked to a marketer, we’ve probably brought up the word “engagement.” Now we know what you’re thinking, “What does the ring look like?” 

Not quite the same thing. The engagement we’re talking about is engagement on social media, or in other words, likes, comments, shares, follows, clicks, impressions, and the list goes on. Basically, how (and how many) people are interacting with what you’re sharing. 

Tracking your engagement rate is how you can gauge who is paying attention to your brand. It’s how you make meaningful connections with your followers and make them customers for life. But it’s not always easy to accomplish. That’s where we come in. Here are 6 quick tips for improving your social media engagement. 

1. Get everyone involved

Getting customers or clients involved and excited about your content is the ultimate goal, but it starts by getting your employees involved and engaged. After all,  how can you expect other people to care about your content if people at your own company don’t? Social media isn’t a one-man (or woman) job. It takes a village. But getting the village to rally behind you often takes more than asking nicely. Think of ways to get your people talking. Maybe it’s a social media contest within your company to create buzz. Maybe you have a different person take your followers through a day in their life. No matter what, the buzz starts with you.

2. Create meaningful content

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but if you aren’t creating content that people want to see, they aren’t going to engage with it. First, don’t be afraid to be broad. Posting just about your brand all of the time can get boring (and a bit narcissistic). Odds are you aren’t the only one doing what you’re doing, so don’t be afraid to talk about your industry at large. Also, understand what questions people are asking and give them the answers they need. That’s the quickest way to earn someone’s trust and make them a follower and customer for life. 

3. Know your audience

Knowing your audience is just as important as creating meaningful content. You need to know who is following you and where. For example, if your main audience is college students, you don’t want to be posting at 8pm on a Friday night on Facebook because they likely won’t see it. The better strategy is an Instagram story in the middle of the day that they’ll see during lunch or Sunday afternoon when they’re procrastinating their four-page biology essay (not that we speak from experience). And not only do you have to create engaging posts and schedule them at the right time and in the right place, but you also need to use a tone that will resonate and encourage your audience to interact. Whew. Who knew social media would be this much work? (We did.)

4. Interact

How can you expect people to engage with your content if you don’t engage with them? If someone tags you in something, share their content for your followers to see. If not sharing, at least respond to make them feel seen. Not only does engaging with their content make them feel important, but it also shows other followers or potential followers that you care about them and their experiences with your brand. 

5. Pay attention to analytics

Analytics is the key to continuing to grow your engagement and your brand at large. Pay attention to which posts do well and which posts don’t, which times you get the most likes and comments, which types of content elicit a response. (We’ve got a rundown of 3 key social metrics to watch here.) You can also track new followers, lost followers, clicks, and impressions. This way, you can keep doing what is working and try new things to replace the content that might not be resonating as well.

6. Be patient

“Patience is a virtue” might be a cliche, but it’s been repeated over and over again for all time for a reason. Building a content strategy that resonates takes time. You can’t expect your following to increase overnight. It takes persistence. You can’t just go out and run a marathon, you have to work at it.

Need help with your content strategy or increasing engagement? Contact us today!