Wondering how to increase your engagement on social media? Well, you’re not alone.
There is a tonne of competition for audience attention out there as well as highly complicated algorithms to wrap your head around. All of this makes grabbing your followers attention a daunting task to tackle, but don’t panic, we are here to help you out!
As you know social media is still a powerful marketing tool and the more engaged your followers are the better your content will perform. But not just that, more engaged followers are more likely to convert into paying customers because they’ve built a stronger relationship and trust with the brand they’re engaging with.
First up, it’s time to rethink what engagement looks like. In 2019, engagement is no longer just likes and comments but extends to saves, sends, clicks and with the added options of buttons on ads, so much more.
We hear you, that all sounds great, but how do you actually stay relevant?!
Well, here are our top 5 tips for boosting engagement…
- Reply to your DMs.
This might seem like a no brainer, but it’s one of the easiest ways to build a following. So many brands fail at this first step and even worse, commit the cardinal sin of turning off messaging and comments completely!
Instagram is built on the foundation of building relationships and communities, and that isn’t looking like it will change anytime soon. No matter how huge your account gets, remember the people who got you there and nurture them.
People love to be listened to, and by showing your followers that you value them encourages them to engage more and more. Comments, likes, reshares and clicks will get Instagram’s algorithm to kick in and qualify your content as quality and worthy of being shown to more people and even appearing to a wider audience through the Explore page.
Social Media advertising is competitive, we get it, but this is a simple way of getting ahead that you are in direct control of so go on, slide into those DM’s!
- Encourage them to engage!
Social media channels have tried to make easy to encourage your followers to engage. Instagram stories have things like polls, question boxes and emoji sliders that all make it easier than ever for followers to start conversations with you, share their opinions, and just enjoy taking part in engaging with your content. Most successful influencers and brands are huge fans of the Instagram question, poll and vote sticker features. These tools offer great opportunities to bring some personality to your brand, encourage your audience to get involved and learn more about your products and values.
You can encourage your followers to engage by asking questions or encouraging them to comment. This can be as easy as posting a winter recipe and asking them what their favourite recipes are or sharing a story and asking them to share similar stories of their own in a message or a comment.
Another great one that works is to directly ask your followers what they want to see from you. Asking them what they want to see more of or what their thoughts are on a new product concept are, can easily gather valuable insight for your brand. Your followers’ opinions matter and these tools make it easy to find out what they are.
Facebook and Instagram ads also include CTA buttons which encourage people to engage with your ads in a super easy way that aligns with your objectives. Make sure you include CTA buttons on all of your ads to ensure you’re doing everything you can to encourage that engagement.
- Be open.
People don’t want to engage with a dull person, business or brand that they barely know anything about. They need a bit of depth and something to relate to. Sharing stories about yourself, your origins, your people and your day-to-day activities gives your followers a chance to connect with you!
Australian influencer Zoë Foster Blake’s company Go-To Skincare do an awesome job of opening up and making the brand relatable and open on Instagram. They share things like posts with Zoë’s own tips for looking after your skin and on International Women’s Day they celebrated the women who work for them with a post showing photos of all of them and what their roles are within the company.
- Analyse what’s working and what’s not.
This one will require some organisation, tracking and planning but don’t worry because that hard work will pay off. Start a schedule and keep track of what’s working and what’s not on your social media channels. Then it is simple, do more of the things that get the most engagement, less of what’s not and try new things you haven’t yet done to see if that works for you.
We go into more detail on how and what to track and how to analyse your own Instagram in one of our recent blog posts, so check that out if you want to know more.
- Collaborate with like-minded brands and influencers.
No man is an island, right? So why are you going it alone in the social media space? Collaborations with similar brands or influencers are a sure-fire way of improving your engagement by building trust and authenticity and introducing you or your brand to a huge new pool of audience members with the same interests and values. But, proceed with caution. The key to your collab success is to work with the RIGHT brand, business or influencers who can authentically speak to your brand.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by engagement or how to get a good Instagram collab up and running — don’t worry, that’s where we come in! We have heaps of experience with influencer marketing and finding the perfect content creator for the job.
Those are our top tips for boosting engagement. Keep these in mind whenever you’re posting and planning for your social channels and your engagement will be boosted in no time. If you would like to work with influencers who fit with your brand’s ethos then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at enquiries@staging.thesocialclub.co.
