5. Social Media Engagement

In order to be able to understand the influence of social networks, as well as how your company can benefit from them, you have to understand the term social media engagement. 

What is social media engagement?

This term refers to the possibility of user taking part in a certain activity, such as liking, commenting, clicking or sharing as a result of your encouragement. As you represent a business on social media, your goal is to be active and engaging, in order to inspire your social media followers to do a certain action. The plan of activity on social network should be created in such a way that it engages and inspires the audience which will help you reach them in a way that it is available on the specific social network.

If a post is engaging, it means that users find it interesting, helpful, insightful, unique, etc. Having in mind that these kinds of characteristics define high quality content, it is obvious that people are more likely to respond if they see value in a post. Furthermore, users are known to respond when they can identify themselves with a certain topic or situation, when they can get something in return, etc. There are numerous reasons why people react on social media, thus increasing the level of engagement.

How to increase social media engagement?

There are various approaches to social media activity, which can help with increasing engagement. However, regardless of the approach you are using or the type of business you are promoting through social networks, here are some general tips on how to increase social media engagement.

Choose the perfect timing

Choosing the perfect timing is a very important task, as it might influence the fact if the post you publish is going to be seen by your target audience. If you publish a status update while your followers are online, you are more likely to increase engagement of this status update. This is especially the case with networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as the status updates are published frequently, and they quickly replace the older status updates. Latest updates to the algorithms of these networks try to evaluate the importance of a post, in order to prevent the important ones slip away.

In general, it is advisable that you publish status updates when you assume your social followers are online. Based on your target audience and the location, you should be able to determine when your social followers are more likely to see your post. You could also use social insights if they are available on the specific social network to find out this information.

For example, if your target audience is a group of people who work from nine to five, you should try to reach them in the morning or in the afternoon, as they go to or get back from work. Since most of commuters spend the time on the internet using their phones, while they are on their way to work, this period might be perfect for posting. On the other hand, posting during the work hours will reduce the level of engagement, as people are usually not allowed to use social networks during the time they spend at work.

Address to your target audience

It is not possible to increase engagement without identifying your target audience. You must be aware who you address to in order to create a successful approach that will be interesting to your audience. If you address people directly using the language and phrases they are familiar with, you will create an atmosphere where users can feel comfortable and confident, which is why they are more likely to interact, regardless if they choose to share or comment.

Besides finding the perfect language to communicate your message, determining target audience will help you with choosing the perfect time to post on social networks, as you will be able to learn about the habits of your target audience which will help you figure out when they are most likely to be online.

Be genuine

You should try to be genuine and sincere when addressing to your target audience. This kind of approach guarantees you establish a connection with your audience which has mutual benefits. Your audience will find you reliable and trustworthy if they find your communication to be sincere and real. Try to avoid generic posts or sharing only links, as this posting activity is often considered superficial and uninterested, which reduced the chances of engaging your target audience.

Since establishing a bond with your social followers helps you create loyal relationship, as well as recommendation from them, you should prioritize the task of increasing engagement as one being able to help you to measure the effect of your social media strategy. If you are unable to increase engagement and get followers to respond, it is unlikely that you will be able to convert them into your customers. While these tips are some of the general rules to help you work on increasing engagement, we will focus on this topic in details in one of the following chapters, where you will see even more tips on how to increase engagement and to improve your position on social media.