Why is Social Media Engagement So Important?
Thursday 12th September
by Beth Perrin
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We all understand the importance of posting regularly on social media and distributing high quality content, but keeping track of how your posts perform is just as crucial. While there are many metrics that you can use to measure the success of your campaigns, your engagement rate is one of the best ways to assess your audience’s reaction to your content directly.
Expressed as a percentage, your engagement rate is calculated by dividing the total amount of engagements your posts receive by their total number of impressions - so, for example, the engagement rate for a post that has been seen 1,000 times and has achieved 100 engagements would be 10%. Engagements are actions such as:
• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Reposts
• Link clicks
• Image expansions
Engagement rates can vary widely depending on your brand’s size and following, the industry it belongs to, which platform(s) you use, the time of year, and more factors - but in general, anything between 1% and 3.5% is considered a good rate. Anything higher than this is excellent! You can find yours either by calculating it manually, looking at the native analytics on your chosen platform, or via a social media management software such as Sprout Social.
A high engagement rate confirms that your content is achieving its desired aims and is making people want to get involved in some way - whether that’s by clicking on a link to learn more, sharing it with their friends and family, or simply liking it to show that they enjoyed reading or viewing it. Although they’re still important, metrics like reach and impressions are passive, meaning people have viewed your content but not necessarily interacted with it. In contrast, engagement is an active metric, meaning users have decided to go the extra step and take action on your content.
Engagement = Brand Awareness
While social media engagement doesn’t necessarily translate directly into sales and revenue, it sparks an interest within your audience and increases the chance that potential customers will convert. The more your content is engaged with, the more it’s seen by other users online, therefore growing the number of consumer touchpoints you’re generating - and the more touchpoints you have, the further down the conversion funnel you can send customers.
Generally speaking, higher engagement rates also mean higher reach, making it easier for your brand to not only generate a buzz online but attract and gain new followers who have the potential to become future customers too. This is because the algorithms on most social platforms favour content that’s already performing well and push it out to more viewers, as their priority is, of course, to keep people on their apps for as long as possible. For example, Instagram posts with high engagement will appear on the app’s Explore page, giving them an additional boost and increasing their popularity even more.
Content Ideas to Generate Engagement
It's easy to get stuck in a rut when planning your upcoming posts and inspiration can sometimes run low. If your engagement rates are falling or stagnant, here are some content ideas to encourage participation and interaction from your followers:
Competitions and giveaways
Intrigue and excite your followers by posting a competition or giveaway on your social channels, with a gift voucher, free visit, or product bundle up for grabs. Think of an innovative way to encourage entries, such as asking fans to share a heartfelt experience involving your brand, or a fun photo relating to the contest topic. Giveaways have a conversion rate of almost 34%, which is much higher than other types of content!
Polls and questions
Ask your followers what they think about certain topics or find out their favourite item from a list of options. Polls can range from serious and thought-provoking to fun and lighthearted, depending on your brand’s TOV and what kind of questions you’d like to get answered.
Interviews and Q&As
Interact directly with your community by inviting them to take part in a social media Q&A or interview session with a key figure in your business. Your followers can then submit questions in the comments section and find out everything they’ve wanted to know about your brand or the people behind it, boosting the sense of proximity between you and them.
High quality images
67% of consumers consider image quality very important when making a purchase decision online, so make sure you’re sharing professional, eye-catching photos of your product or location to increase your chances of engagement. Image-based content is also much more shareable than plain text posts.
Vertical videos
These have been proven to achieve a 130% higher engagement rate than horizontal videos, so if you haven’t yet harnessed the power of Reels and TikToks, now is the time to start!
UGC
Social media campaigns that feature user-generated content increase engagement by 50%, so give potential buyers a realistic and authentic view of your product or service by sharing brand-related content created by your customers and fans. This could be a photo of them enjoying a meal at your restaurant, a video of them using your product or a testimonial about their overall experience with your business.
Engage With Your Audience
The engagement your brand receives on its content isn’t the only form of engagement that matters - on the flip side, engaging with other users’ content is also essential. Rather than being passive on social media, show that you’re interested in interacting with your audience and prospective customers by reaching out and responding to their posts and messages.
Respond to customer enquiries
Keep a close eye on your social inboxes for any incoming enquiries and/or complaints from customers - whether these are in the form of public comments or private messages - and make sure you respond quickly and helpfully.
Social listening
Monitor relevant keywords, hashtags, phrases and industry terms so you can pick up any untagged mentions of your brand and respond accordingly.
Proactive engagement
Start conversations with social media users who haven’t contacted your brand first, repost other users’ content and add your own take, participate in relevant industry conversations, and engage with current memes, trends, and viral content.
Interact with similar brands
You should tread carefully when publicly engaging with your competitors on social, but joining conversations and responding to content shared by similar brands are both excellent ways to raise awareness of your business and bring new audience members, who have similar values and interests to your existing fanbase, on board. Share the love and nurture positivity by congratulating other brands on their successes and jumping into the replies of relevant posts - or you could even arrange to participate in an Instagram takeover to leverage each others’ communities.
Summary
It’s important to remember that whichever social platform(s) your brand chooses to focus on, sky-high engagement won’t appear overnight. It needs to be earned through captivating content that appeals suitably to your audience and gives them a reason to interact. Whether your business has a large following or a smaller, more intimate group of fans, putting in the time and effort to show that you care is the key to reciprocation - don’t forget the ‘social’ in social media!
Want some ideas for engaging content posts, or tips on how to better interact with your followers? Get in touch with our team today to hear our suggestions for your brand.
