What is Social Media Engagement?

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT, AND WHY SHOULD IT MATTER TO YOU?

Essentially, it’s the number of times people have interacted with your post. The larger number of interactions, the larger the audience pool will be. Types of engagement vary across platforms but don’t worry; we’ll break this down for you.

Instagram

We’re starting with what engagement means on Instagram because they are ever-changing the weight of what each type of engagement means. When Instagram announced they were testing removing the visibility of the number of likes on a post, companies were scrambling to understand the impact that would have on engagement. This is where the save button comes in.

This save feature has always existed, but now your position in the news feed, and the possibility of landing on the explore page, will rely heavily on this. It’s basically a “super-like”. The more people who save your post, the more people will see it.

Other types of engagement on Instagram are shares, which hold a similar weight to saves, likes, and comments.

Quick tips on how to increase engagement:

• Continuously analyze your content and post more of what is receiving the most engagement.
  Ask your followers using stories what type of content they enjoy seeing.
  Do a giveaway! This is a great way to gain more followers and leads people to explore what your business has to offer.
  Don’t be afraid to get creative and try some new things – you never know what will work until you try!

Facebook

I know Facebook feels like it’s just for people with kids and pets, but I promise you it’s a great marketing tool. With over a billion daily active users, Facebook has managed to grab people’s attention, which offers the perfect opportunity for your brand to see good engagement.

You can measure engagement on your posts in a number of ways: reactions, shares, comments, and clicks. A simple calculation you can use is: total number of engagements divided by reach multiplied by 100

Don’t be too worried if the number comes out way lower than expected; the average engagement rate is between 2-3%.

Quick tips on increasing engagement on Facebook:

• Keep it short. 98% of Facebook users actively scroll via the app on their phones, which means loner content comes off as just that, longer.
  Make it informative. If you have a FAQ page or a fun fact about your business, this could be a good way to give followers an insight into your business or the answer to a question a lot of them might have.
  Be consistent. If you’re not posting, then you’re not bringing in engagement.
  Ask a question. This is an excellent way to create immediate interaction and create a dialogue with your base.

Twitter

Twitter is a great place to build your brand’s voice. Just think of Wendy’s. But it is an entirely different platform when compared to Facebook and Instagram. Because of the nature of Twitter, constant content, and feeds with thousands of tweets, engagement rates seem small. A reasonable engagement rate is 0.02% to 0.09%. This includes likes, replies, retweets, and clicks (if your tweet has a link).

Quick tips on increasing engagement on Twitter:

• Add a poll. There is nothing quite like immediate engagement a poll gets. Plus, sometimes people click on polls just to see the results (it might not give you accuracy, but it will definitely give you engagement).
  Tweet a picture. You’ll likely see your engagement increase three times as much with an image.
  Stay active. This one is SO important. You have to be tweeting, at minimum, daily. This will increase your relevancy and let the algorithm gods know that you mean business. Plus, it gives followers a more significant opportunity to understand your brand.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great way to reach out to other businesses and future employees, but it can seem challenging to increase your engagement. Understanding the purpose of your account is the first step.

Quick tips on increasing your LinkedIn engagement:

• Know your audience. Is your goal to connect with other businesses or find clients?
  Teach people something. Whether an infographic or an educational video, this is a great social media to use as a learning space.
  Hype yourself up. Are you launching a new product, post a new blog or hire a great employee? Use this as content to share your wins and let people celebrate with you.
  Engage with others. Like and comment on other posts and let yourself be known to the community. This will lead to others doing the same for you.