What Social Media Engagement is and Why it's Important

Have you heard marketers talking about your “Social Media Engagement?” Believe it or not, this is THE magic key to success for your business on social media!

So let’s dive in and learn WHAT social media engagement means, WHY it’s important, and HOW to improve the engagement on your business’s pages.

What is Engagement?

Put simply, engagement is any interaction between your audience and your page.

That’s right – All of the likes, comments and shares that you receive are “engagement.”

Now, keep in mind that it’s the back and forth with YOU, the business, that is key to building conversation!

Rarely will your audience just hop on your pages and converse back and forth with each other. Perhaps once in a while, but it needs to involve you commenting and responding along the way.

This means you are on your page answering people’s questions, making recommendations to your audience, bantering with people, and handling their concerns.

Why is Engagement important?

Think of this: In the past how did people get in contact with a company to voice their comments and concerns?

Whether it was through email, letters, or comment cards placed in the “suggestions” box – it required much more effort than it does today!

Now, people can quickly send a message or tweet to your company. They can immediately get directly to the company and be heard.

That is, as long as that brand is paying attention!

This is where engagement with your audience comes in.

You, the company, are regularly monitoring what people are saying and responding quickly, handling questions and concerns through your pages.

Also, engaging with your audience is how you achieve reach and visibility for your posts.

All social media platforms will serve your posts to more people if the posts have engagement. This means a LOT of likes, comments and shares.

In the end, ask yourself this question – What kind of brand do YOU want to follow on social media? One that is actively on their pages interacting with you? Or one that posts and then ignores the audience?

Here’s a real-life example for me personally.

I am a part of several Facebook groups for a clothing brand that I enjoy. It’s a brand that sells through consultants, so Facebook groups are just kind of the game.

I bought several items from one seller who was building a large following. But here’s what happened – my orders arrived as incorrect and the ordering process became chaotic as they grew. But, I liked them personally because I had been following them for a while. So I tried to get one order straightened out.

I messaged them. I commented on posts. I emailed them. No response.

I just decided to leave their Facebook group (and therefore stop buying from them) and make my purchases from a seller that had a smaller following, assuming that they could keep up with their audience a little better.

Here’s the truth – even though my orders were messed up, I had grace for them because I felt like I had a relationship with them.

I didn’t quit being their customer until they quit being responsive.

People enjoy feeling that they are in relationship with the brands they like. This is the whole reason your brand is ON social media! To interact with your people, be personable, and build relationships and trust.

Engagement with your audience truly is THE key to success on social media.

How to Improve Engagement on Your Pages

Want to know a secret?

It’s not really difficult to improve engagement, but it does require time and effort.

Tip #1: Post in a way that starts conversations.

Rather than just making a statement, draw a response out of your audience.

Ask them a question, ask for an idea, or ask for their opinion on something.

Tip #2: Involve yourself in current trends, subjects or hashtags.

Find a conversation that is already going on among your audience, and join in.

If your audience would be interested in a sports tournament that is currently on, start using the relevant hashtags join in the discussions. You can apply this to any topic, TV show, trend, etc.

Tip #3: Be attentive – pay attention and respond.

The truth is, especially with customer service concerns, people expect a response from a business within a couple of hours.

Build routines into your day where you check your pages and posts. Set certain times each day, put reminders on your phone or computer to check in and respond to everything as needed.

Also, as your business grows, this is a great area to outsource. You could hire someone who is monitoring your pages regularly and is empowered with the information needed to converse on your page.

Tip #4: Post about your whole TOPIC, not just your products.

You do not ONLY have to post about your own products! This can make your pages feel “sales-y.”

If you are a photographer, you could post about the entire field of photography – lighting, editing photos, cameras and equipment, clothing tips for photo shoots, a “how-to” series, etc.

People will be much more engaged if you give them a variety of posts in your area to respond to.

Tip #5: Use emojis.

Seriously. Though it can feel silly on your business page, emojis catch people’s eye as they are scrolling and add a fun vibe to your posts.

Also, rumor is that some social media platforms will give your post more reach if there are emojis. Give it a try!

Tip #6: Use hashtags on certain social platforms.

If you are on Instagram and Twitter – use great hashtags! This is an easy way to be found, searchable, and join in conversations already happening.

Tip #7: Incorporate great visuals.

Great photos and video catch people’s eye. People scroll quickly through their feed. You need be posting quality visuals in order to make them stop and see your content.

Tip #8: Do contests and giveaways.

This is a fun way to get some engagement on your pages! But, make your audience work for it. (Not so hard that they won’t participate…)

You could have them comment with an answer to a question, or post a photo in order to win something.

Tip #9: Post consistently.

This is an obvious one, but true anyway! Posting consistently allows your audience to know that you are there and are actively involved in your page.

Now that you know what social media engagement is, and why it’s so important on your pages – try incorporating a few of these tips and see what happens on your own pages!