Let’s get engaged!!

No, we’re not talking matrimony, we’re talking social media engagement! Why is this relevant to you or your social media accounts? I’ll tell ya! Just because you’ve got your “lights on and doors open,” doesn’t mean people are going to “walk in” and buy whatever it is you’re selling. So, how do you get those millions of people out there ENGAGED with your content and the message you’re trying to communicate? You guessed it! Engagement!

Just like the old saying, right? It truly does take two to tango, even when it comes to your social media accounts. Surprisingly enough, people look to social media to bring them value and a feeling of relationship and interaction with the world around them. So, a great looking image with witty captions isn’t enough to get people engaged with what you’re doing. You’ve got to engage with what THEY are doing and the conversations THEY are involved in and pay attention to the accounts they are following and engaging with, as well.

It can be very irritating to spend your time creating high quality content and not getting the likes or attention you’d hoped for. So, I’ve lined out a few great tips to help you accomplish your social media goals.

1. FFF?

You may see people leaving this in your comment section or other’s accounts, as well. This stands for, “follow for follow?” and, in most cases, is another person or account requesting you to follow their page or account before they return the favor. This is great, just make sure to check into the account and make sure it’s not a bot, fake account, or something that you wouldn’t be super proud of engaging with. When you engage with other accounts, that activity will be shared with the people who follow you. So always make sure that it’s a person, page, or message you don’t mind being associated with. If you find you’re following too many accounts or pages, or you see a post or photo you don’t really agree with, like, or doesn’t align with your message, you can always go back and unfollow that account or person.

2. New Followers!

It’s always exciting to gain a new like or follower, but just as I mentioned earlier, these accounts are wanting you to engage with them, too! Once again, use your discretion and check if this account or content seems legit and is good to engage with. If so, give them a follow back! If you are on Instagram or Twitter, this is easy to do. However, if you have a page on Facebook, it may not be as easy. Instead, think of creating a message you can send to them with a sentence or two thanking them! Encourage them to stay connected with your account and all you have coming up in the future.

3. Interaction and Communication

Personal messages can go very far in keeping others engaged with and interested in the content you post. Just as a hand-written letter means a lot to a person, a personalized message in their inbox or a quick comment on a post can accomplish the same feeling for your new follower. Whether you’re engaging in a trending hashtag that relates to the same content you publish, an account you like, or conversation under a more popular user’s post, get involved. Liking a post shows you are supporting them and getting involved with what they are posting. You can also join a conversation that’s already going on under one of their posts, or just leave a quick encouragement or emoji, but even this little bit of engagement can go a long way.

4. Finding and Following Accounts

Just like in the points above, you can always use the comment sections of other accounts posts and content to your advantage. Find accounts that are engaging in the same topics that you are and go to their account and look at their content. If this looks like someone you’d like to have in your audience, like and comment on one or two of their posts and give them a follow! If you want to go the extra mile, you can also send them a message. Let them know you enjoy their content and are looking forward to seeing more. Also, don’t be afraid to ask them to engage or follow your account as well! Even if they decide not to follow you, they may still choose to check out your account and engage with a few of your posts! You never know, so never let a fear of asking for what you want keep you from gaining more followers or engagement.

5. Stay Consistent and Attentive

Engagement can be a new and exciting way to interact with your current or potential audience. However, it’s easy to get caught up in conversations and lose your brand voice. So, make sure to stay aware of the voice you want to communicate and stay consistent in using it when engaging. Additionally, you may manage several accounts that have different audiences and require different content. In a hurry, it’s easy to find yourself accidentally posting in the wrong account. So, pay close attention to the account you are logged into and make sure the content you’re posting is for the correct account. There’s nothing more frustrating then finally getting a good piece of content out there, just to realize that you posted it to the wrong page or account. It happens! Just make sure to delete the post and add it to the correct account. Staying consistent in your posting will also keep your audience listening. So, develop a schedule that works for you and stick to it! Even if you only post and engage in conversations once a week, keep at it. When you leave your accounts sitting for months at a time, it may cause your audiences to wonder where you’ve gone and may cause you to lose credibility or the audience you worked to build. So, find what works for you and commit to doing it consistently!

6. #Hashtags

These little symbols can accomplish big things for you! So, do some research and find the hashtags that are relevant to your account. Additionally, include them in your posts or the conversations you engage with! Keep in mind that hashtags aren’t necessary in messages you send to your followers’ inboxes unless you’re encouraging them to engage in a hashtag you created or want to promote.

Building your audience and brand will always be an investment of time and energy. However, it will always be worth your while. Millions of followers or views on your account or content will not happen overnight, so don’t get discouraged when you don’t see dramatic results right away. It will take a little bit of time. So, celebrate the little victories. Small steps are better than none and will take you further than you think. So, keep up the good work and stay at it! You’ll be glad you did.

Summary

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