What makes you stop scrolling? More importantly, what causes you to double-tap, or better yet share, the post that made you stop? Unfortunately for marketers, the answers to these questions are constantly changing as your market and niche evolve with trends. Defining the purpose and intent behind your audience’s likes, comments, and shares is critical to boosting post engagement.
Why is post engagement so critical? For one, high engagement shows that you’re creating content that intrigues your audience. Intriguing your audience with killer content is one of the best ways to enter prospects into the sales funnel. A high engagement rate on social media is also essential because it tells the algorithms that people enjoy your content. Therefore, when content performs well, the algorithm begins to show it to more people. A higher engagement rate means more brand awareness and eventually more prospective customers.
Simply put, if your business wants to achieve success and sales from social media marketing, you need a proper social media engagement strategy. Learn more about social media engagement and explore the five keys to boosting your social media engagement in 2022.
What is Social Media Engagement?
Defining successful post engagement begins with setting SMART goals. In other words, what purpose does your business have for posting on specific platforms? Once you nail down the answer to this question, you can begin to understand the meaning behind organic social media interaction. According to Hootsuite, strong engagement is a sign that you’re making an impact in the market.
“Engagement” is fundamentally the “social” half of social media. The general intention of a social media presence is to cultivate connections with your audience. Establishing and fostering genuine relationships within your niche will be different for every brand. Still, overall, your engagement rate measures how people interact with your content.
Social media engagement tells business owners that their posts have meaning. When users take the time to engage with your content through actions such as likes, shares, and comments, you have measurable proof that your post is valuable. These interactions tell social media algorithms that your content has authority, consequently presenting it to more viewers. For this reason, higher engagement directly leads to higher sales.
If you’re looking to enhance your profile’s organic engagement, refer to the following fundamentals for strengthening your strategy.
1. Strong Imagery and Purpose
Focus on Making Posts Highly Visual…
When it comes to social media, make sure to equally focus on the “media” aspect. The best methodology for creating more visual posts is to show, not tell. How can you express sentiment visually for your audience instead of spelling it out for them?
For the most captivating content, aim to compose and promote high-quality videos on your pages. According to Wyzowl Research, over 80% of marketers say videos have helped increase traffic, dwell time, and sales. For this reason, perfecting your brand’s videos is likely the key to higher engagement in 2022. When putting together your content strategy, prioritize post-production editing and targeted curation to ensure your video relays a strong and accurate message.
Forge Apollo has a professional video production team dedicated to generating the highest quality video content for our clients, repeatedly delivering results and leads. In the past six months alone, Forge’s team received the Best Video Award from DesignRush twice (November 2021 and February 2022) to recognize our superior videos created for Main Line Health and Train Like Legends. Check them out below!
Main Line Health
Train Like Legends
…Or Interactive!
Making posts more interactive is another versatile way to increase organic engagement on your posts. There are several ways to go about this, depending on your market. Recently, AR/VR experiences and realistic immersion have become increasingly popular functionalities on social media to make posts more participative. Additionally, many companies use branded hashtags to organize and promote aspects of their campaigns reliant on user-generated content.
Lastly, clear CTAs are a timeless, consistent way to engage your market – asking questions directly, concise instructions, and simple prompts can go a long way in beginning your customer’s journey. Examples include: “Double-tap if you can relate!” or “Click the link in our bio to learn more!” Despite relatively common usage, these requests give the viewer a clear understanding of what to do next.
2. Consistent, Scheduled Posting
Post Frequently, Regularly, and at the Right Time.
Consistency in your social media posting schedule is a dependable way to remain relevant and at the front of users’ minds. The frequency of your posts is a huge factor in whether or not you’ll receive engagement on certain platforms or from specific audiences. Knowing when to post is the first step in understanding what to post. Naturally, this research process requires some trial and error. However, it’s always best to publish high quality content, even if you’re doing it less frequently.
The best way to stay on top of consistent social media posting is by employing a social media scheduling tool such as Later.com or Hubspot. These resources effectively schedule posts for multiple social media platforms in one spot.
Not only is it important to post consistently and regularly, but at the right time. It doesn’t make sense to post content when your audience isn’t online. That’s why it’s important to research when your audience and niche are most active on different social media platforms. Most social media platforms have an analytics tool that shows when your audience is online. Note these days and times and plan your content schedule accordingly.
Remember, every market behaves differently, so users’ times on social media will vary depending on your audience and objectives. There’s no specific day or time ideal for every business; that’s why audience research is essential.
3. Productive Reactions
Request Honest Reviews.
Customer reviews and testimonials hold some of the highest authority on search engines, making them an excellent opportunity to increase conversions. Not only do they help to establish a foothold within your niche, but they also give a clear idea of the overall client satisfaction of your brand. These valuable assessments allow potential partners, current customers, and business owners to understand the company’s noticeable strengths and weaknesses.
Reviews from clients establish social proof among an audience, which refers to the psychological tendency to copy the actions of others in certain situations in an attempt to imitate behavior. Sprout Social puts it simply: social proof gets your business more sales.
Currently, Facebook is the only social media platform that allows users to publish their opinions. Both positive and negative feedback can generate high engagement levels and attract more people to your business page. Although other platforms don’t employ an official rating functionality, followers and critics still have ample opportunity to review companies on social media. Public comments, mentions, and user-generated content can all give you (and others) insights into users’ opinions of your brand.
While favorable evaluations and five-star reviews will undoubtedly boost your online presence, it’s unlikely they will all be positive.
Embrace Criticism.
Many business owners believe that ignoring nasty comments and reviews will make those words disappear. It’s best to avoid deleting these rude comments and instead respond to them publicly. Now more than ever, buyers believe in businesses owning up to corporate mistakes and making an effort to correct them. Media managers will find that responding to public criticism in a productive, composed manner is their best bet to alleviate dissatisfaction amongst their audience constructively.
4. Responsive Reciprocity
Make it Mutual – Engage Back!
You receive what you give – if you’re looking for engagement, make sure you’re engaging with your audience members as well as other brands and influencers in your niche. Comments, likes, and shares from your business page can help establish a rapport and familiarity among a variety of target individuals, so be sure you’re using your engagement time on social media wisely.
Make an effort to share others’ content, given it’s valuable and relevant to your market’s needs. Remember that you don’t have to stick to leveraging your posts for diversifying your profiles. As marketers are aware, there’s a lot of helpful information already available, and experts establish themselves by imparting this wisdom to their customers.
Be Mindful of Response Time.
Rendering efficient responses means more than keeping a close eye on your inbox. Although it’s vital to respond to direct messages promptly, it’s also essential to engage with your followers by responding to comments, mentions, and tags too. Something as simple as liking their comment can make the reader feel heard.
While monitoring follower correspondence, also oversee your business’s online reviews and testimonials. As mentioned earlier, it’s best practice to acknowledge every review with a public response, whether it’s positive or negative. Make sure to respond promptly and make an effort to correct any unfavorable remarks. Realistically, business owners can’t be proactive with every issue they face, so it’s vital to be enthusiastically reactive to unpredictable problems.
5. Expert Collaboration
Collaborate with Seasoned Professionals.
The last key to increasing social media engagement is partnering with influencers and brands that have established authority within your niche. This allows you to access a dual audience, subsequently reaching consumer bases you may not have considered in the past.
Influencers and other known personalities can be a successful avenue in raising brand awareness and gaining trust within your target audience. However, be sure to do substantial research on the individual or business before reaching out for collaboration. Controversial actions or opinions held by a direct collaborator can potentially present your brand in a bad light. Negative media attention is commonplace in the digital age, and information travels quickly across outlets. Should your chosen business partner face some lousy publicity, refer to Forbes’ guide for handling a dive in your influencer’s reputation.
Contact Forge Apollo For Social Media Marketing in Philadelphia.
Is your business struggling to create engaging social media content? If so, you’re not alone. At Forge Apollo, we’ve helped countless businesses revamp their social media presence with creative content creation and a cutthroat social media strategy. For example, look at this video we filmed that went viral on social media.
At Forge Apollo, we know what businesses need to succeed on social media. That’s why we offer video production and digital marketing strategy. Contact our Philadelphia marketing agency today to learn more about our social media marketing services designed to boost engagement and increase sales.
