Engagement. We use it all the time when discussing marketing, but what does it really mean? Engagement is a catch-all phrase used to identify interaction with content. It is how companies encourage or attract users to connect with their brand. This could include posting a new picture, a user liking that photo, a user clicking a link shared, sharing a post, and really anything that involves a user reacting to the content your company puts out into the world. Based on this, engagement is very important and you need to actively engage with your audience. But how do you do this?
Here’s five simple steps to help you improve engagement.
1. Create a conversation - ask users questions
When deciding what to post or what caption to use, think about how you can create a conversation. An easy way to do this is by asking questions, specifically questions about what users think about. There are 5 specific ways you can do this:
Personality questions: ask questions that allow them to share something about themselves. For example, you can achieve this easily by posting a fun quiz or asking them to comment how they feel about a specific subject.
Questions that test prior knowledge: people love testing their abilities and showing off their knowledge, let them!
Poll: polls are a great way to get users involved and learn critical information about you users. It is simple for you to create and easy for a user to participate.
Simple call to action request: ending emails or blog posts by asking readers to respond to you and reach out is a unique way to engage with readers and provide them with a human connection. It feels genuine and real.
Q/A: provide users with a way to ask you questions consistently. If they know you are open to hearing from them they will be more inclined to reach out. You can do this by creating Q/A sessions on social media, advertising an email offering support, or other ways that express your desire to connect with them.
2. Allow users to express themselves
In order to allow users to express themselves you need to create content with this in mind. When creating content focus on how specifically users can use it to express their feelings with others. You can do this easily by using hashtags. Hashtags allow people to connect to you and your cause with a simple click that invites others to join in the same action. You can also encourage this through the use of media upload contests, encouraging reviews, and showcasing the people in your small community.
3. Appeal to user’s competitive nature
People are crazy competitive online. They love a good challenge and showing off, so use it to your advantage. Create contests for people to participate in with this in mind. Have an incentive to allow people to jump on board and go all in. May it be a little prize or a big prize, offer something to gain people’s attention.
4. Give special deals
Creating contests are always really fun for the company and the participants, but you cannot do it over and over again. So what can you do instead? Make special offers! There are millions of ways to provide users with special deals. You can go the traditional route and offer instant coupons or membership clubs, or go the more modern route and offer free shipping or a bundle deal. Whatever it is, make sure the discount/offer is substantial and worth the users time. Make sure to use an engaging image when advertising to grab users attention, and always set an expiration date.
5. Utility
Utility and engagement go hand in hand. It was found in a recent study that the top two reasons for a company to use interactive content are: to educate their audience and increase engagement. Companies are creating better utility for their clients in many forms. May it be a blog post, video, or infographics, providing users with easy go-to guides on how to connect with you are great ways to create connections and returning clients.
There are many ways to engage your audience. Find what fits you and your company and go with it. Try new things and explore what provides you with the most success. Still have questions about increasing engagement? Drop us an email at hi@ansleymediaco.com to learn more.