Effectively Increasing Your Engagement on Social Media

By Joshua Simelton
Strategic Communications Specialist, NP Strategy

For companies with an online presence, there are several ways of executing a successful social media strategy. In this article, we’re going to discuss effective social media engagement. Engagement show how people are interacting with your content, and signifies that you’re dedicated to making an impact on the market. Through purposeful connections with current and future customers, social media engagement can help amplify your brand’s name.

How is Social Media Engagement Measured?

Most companies strive for a significant social media following, but maintaining an engaged audience is even more significant. Social media engagement can be measured through:

• Comments
• Likes
• Shares
• Number of followers
• Mentions
• Hashtag engagement

With so many elements to consider, it’s important to prioritize content quality as much as quantity.

Increasing Your Social Media Engagement

First, examine your current engagements. Take note of how many people like or follow your page, as well as how many of them typically engage with your posts (how many comments, reactions or shares per post). There are several other engagement metrics you can track as well, like the Applause Rate (the number of positive or approval actions on a post), or the Amplification Rate (the ratio of shares per post to your number of total followers).

Establish a plan to monitor these numbers, so you can accurately track your growth over time.

Now that you have your numbers, it’s time to get to know your audience and determine your content strategy. Your audience will determine the tone, language and resources you use to relate to them.

Last, create and share content your audience will find valuable. Interacting with your audience through engagement with their posts or responses will create a rapport among your followers. This is more likely to spark conversations, or leave followers proactively reaching out to your brand. If you only ever talk about how great your brand is, your followers will lose interest and quickly tune out.

Keep the Conversation Going

Once you’ve finally gotten your message out there, it’s imperative to keep the conversation going. Responding to your audience shows that you’re invested in what they have to say. Respond to direct messages and reply to mentions or comments. Proactively reach out to people who are talking about you but didn’t tag your account directly. Putting in a little bit of effort goes a long way in showing your audience you really care.

Joshua Simelton is a multi-dimensional communications professional, with experience in digital and social media. Including a background in media and digital marketing, he’s adept at writing, editing and shooting video.