5 Not-So-Obvious Tips to Reach High Quality Social Media Engagement

For digitally savvy brands, having a strong social media presence and engagement is a sign that they have an influential voice in their industry. If you want to reach a wide audience, especially amongst millennials and Gen Z, nurturing your social media network and creating meaningful connections with current and future followers is essential.

And it’s not all about numbers. Brands can have thousands of followers but only receive a few hundred likes and a handful of comments, and don’t even bother replying or engaging in the conversation. Activity and engagement – measured by likes, comments and shares – are part of building a true brand experience. People remember a party not by the number of people that attended but by the host's warmth and the genuine conversations they had with the guests.

So growing your Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account starts by engaging with your community but also by constantly connecting with your niche, influencers and potential customers. Posting valuable content and inspiring visuals is only one part of the job. If you aren’t reaching out and making yourself heard, all your efforts will seem like a drop in the ocean.

Here are a few tactics to become a highly engaging social media pro:

Know your audience.

Before you start posting or sharing any type of content on social media, you have to really get to know who you’re talking to. What do they like doing, what do they strive for, what are they interested in, what are they passionate about? The type of content as well as language and tone used have to resonate with your target audience so that they feel personally concerned by your posts as if they're talking to a friend.

Conducting a thorough audience research will also help knowing which social media sites to focus on as well as when, what and how to publish content that will generate quality response from a wide number of people.

Create and share original, meaningful content.

Now that you know who is following you, the next step is to find out what to tell them to keep them hooked and part of the conversation. Whatever the type of content, it needs to be helpful to your audience by addressing their needs and pain points. Don’t only talk about your brand and products, however great they are, but provide valuable lifestyle content that will better their lives.

If you’re a cosmetic brand, bragging about your new miracle face mask isn’t going to make that much of an impact, but providing tips on how to use the cream as part of a healthy skincare routine for glowing skin is way more helpful and a unique service provided to your customers.

Don’t hesitate to also show the real humans and personalities behind the brand. Photos and videos of your team and what they do will encourage your audience to engage with your posts when they feel like they already know you. Get personal by starting a conversation with warmth and humour, and people will automatically respond in a natural way.

Ask questions or include a call to action.

If you want people to comment on your posts, you have to ask for it. Don’t be scared of not getting a response even with a small following. You might have to encourage your audience to reply at first but the more you do it, the more you will get feedback and valuable engagement. Be specific and pertinent in what you’re asking (don’t just ask what people had for dinner) but make your question easy enough so that people can reply without having to think too much about it.

Similarly, a compelling CTA will inspire your prospects to take action by reading an article, signing up for an event or tagging a friend. The list is endless but get in the habit of telling people what to do and don’t be afraid of being too authoritative or they just won’t do anything. And this means no engagement at all.

Put yourself out there.

I already mentioned that good content is only one piece of the puzzle. To really grow your audience and your engagement, you have to connect with your ideal customers by liking and commenting on their photos. Find out what hashtags they use and start going through different accounts, sprinkling likes and engaging in conversations that are relevant to your business. You’ll see people usually return the favour, and if they find your page interesting, they will end up following you.

When you’re out and about on social media, only leave genuine, constructive feedback or skip the comment completely. There’s nothing worse than someone using a generic comment on ALL the posts they come across, which, let’s be honest, looks really obvious. The more meaningful your engagement is, the more you will get in return.

Keep the conversation going.

Once you start seeing a real engagement from your audience, it isn’t time to sit back on your laurels. You need to constantly be reactive and continue responding to all comments and direct messages. If you don’t, people will get frustrated and it will trickle down to your whole community. Take the time to personally reply to everyone and try to use their name in your response so that, again, they feel like you’re a good friend they can talk to.

Similar to real life situations, connect people together and share links to other accounts if you think it will be valuable to your audience. Supporting your industry and spreading the love by showing a genuine interest for other businesses is a great way to grow your community and get the results you want.

With all these tactics, the best way to figure out what works and what doesn’t is to experiment and observe. Start implementing a few engagement activities and measure your success by crunching some numbers and using good social media analytics. Learn from your mistakes, tweak accordingly and repeat!

Thanks for reading! Share and leave comments if this has been helpful to you.