For any business looking to generate click-throughs, lead conversions and sales, social media is a very powerful tool. It can help to build your brand identity and to truly connect with your audience, but even though social media engagement can be measured in terms of likes, shares and comments, your strategy shouldn’t be a blind pursuit of numbers. It is important to understand that each type of engagement is different and works differently depending on the platform you are using.

In this blog, we have collated a number of tips and techniques you can use to improve your social media engagement and build your numbers in a meaningful way.

But first, let’s understand how social media engagement works.

What are the Different Types of Social Media Engagement?

• Likes – The most basic form of engagement, this is a quick and often passive signal of approval for a post. While a high number of likes on a post suggests it is popular and appealing to other potential readers, a ‘like’ in itself doesn’t necessarily generate more visibility, nor does it always lead to deeper engagement.
• Comments – Leaving a comment on a post requires more effort on the reader’s part, indicating that content has had more of a lasting impact and inspired opinion. This higher level of commitment from the reader means the post has resonated on a deeper level, and means they want to connect with you by leaving a comment.

• Shares – This is the highest endorsement of your content and effectively acts as a recommendation; “hey, read this!” A share will increase the visibility of your post by organically spreading its reach, normally to like-minded people, building your presence as an authority.

At the same time, it is important to remember that engagement with your content is not always positive. People often state that ‘sharing isn’t endorsement’ in their bio and may be sharing to highlight something they disapprove of or disagree with. Likes can also be a shallow method of engagement, a pithy type of endorsement if you like, whereas comments and shares require much more effort and are a concerted attempt to engage and connect.

How to Boost your Engagement With More Likes, Comments & Shares

For this exercise, we will presume that all engagement is positive engagement, and here are different ways to build up your numbers in a meaningful and constructive way:

• Prompt A Response – Publishing content that has an open-ended question is more likely to prompt a physical response. Avoiding deliberately controversial topics, you can post content that asks questions, sparks comments, and triggers discussion. If the content is positioned to connect with your target audience, they will want to engage and respond.
• Provide Value – Give your readership valuable insights and they will thank you for it with comments and shares. Make sure your content answers a need a reader might have and use your unique position to give them what they want.
• Stand Out – A headline needs to be thought-provoking but without being too clickbait. A headline that is explicit rather than vague effectively asks if you agree or disagree and is therefore more shareable.
• Tailor Content – Speak to the audience on each platform in the way they would expect. A Facebook post might use more emojis than a LinkedIn post, for example. While an Instagram post will use strong images.
• Be Visual – Many people share a post because they essentially want it to be their post, and this is them talking. The more visual the post is the better. A picture says a thousand words but can also complement and enhance the post. And include humorous GIFs and trending hashtags in that pursuit of visibility too.
• Frequent Posts – While every post should be of a consistent quality, and you shouldn’t post content just for the sake of it, frequently posting good quality content builds up expectation and makes each post fresh and exciting, as well as building your authority. If someone has liked, commented on or shared your posts before, they are more likely to again.
• Research – Check out what your competitors are doing and what kind of posts have driven high engagement. Can you publish something unique but similar, and ideally much better?
• Humour – People like to spread happiness, and laughter is a social thing, so adding humour to posts is really engaging and relatable. Just make sure the type of humour is appropriate to your target audience and fits your brand image.
• If people comment on your posts, always respond. This makes a connection, shows you value opinion, gives your brand a human face, and allows you to add more context. People often get a buzz from holding a discussion with a brand, so try including an email address or a sales link where possible to see where it might lead.

If you need any further help or guidance with your social media management, contact our team at Bee Social Marketing today.