The marketing world has slowly changed over from the traditional media advertising platforms to social media, essentially leveling the playing field for all entrepreneurs. The cost of advertising on radio, television and billboards was always out of reach for startup or local entrepreneur.
However, social media has changed the game! You are probably thinking – wait, don’t we have to pay to play now on the platforms to reach all of our followers or expand our reach. To a certain extent, you do, but not to the cost of huge advertising costs from before.
The focus is to enhance what you have access and control over – engagement.
Many entrepreneurs and big corporations have seen the results from increased engagement on social media platforms. Using social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and others to engage with a target audience has proven to be more successful than the old school advertising methods. While most can agree that social media platforms have increased the results from advertising efforts, many struggle with the best way to create engagement on these platforms.
10 Tips to Create Engagement on Social Media
1) Discuss the Topic
Social media is about conversing with like-minded individuals as a means to get more sales, exposure and followers. Take the time to discuss topics with people on Twitter and Facebook. These two social media platforms are great locations to interact with a real-life conversation. It is also possible on Instagram! Starting conversations on posts of interest can connect you with others reading the thread or liking the picture.
Think about topics that pertain to your industry, search within the social media platforms and reply or comment on these discussions to engage in the topic that fits your brand.
2) Repost Similar Content
There are many ways to repost other users content on social media to create engagement on social media. Pinterest allows you to easily repin content to an appropriate board on your profile. Facebook has the share option so that you can quickly share similar content on your brand’s Facebook page. Instagram has a Repost app that allows you to repost similar content to your Instagram account. Twitter has the lovely retweet button that easily allows you to repost a tweet.
3) Create a Facebook Group
Many brands, entrepreneurs and bloggers alike have an extremely active and engaging audience with Facebook groups created for their brand. Consider creating a Facebook group for your brand. This is a place where clients and other like-minded individuals can join in a conversation with you on a regular basis. It’s the perfect place to offer customer service, a personal approach to marketing and engage with people who may purchase your item or service in the future. Engaging in a Facebook group built for your brand will take your engagement to a whole new level.
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4) Reply to Engagement
The easiest way to create engagement on all social media platforms is to reply to users who tag you, comment on your updates or send you a message. If you search some of the larger corporations, you will find their social media manager is right on top of replies via Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram to ensure that the engagement on social media stays productive. Consider taking an hour or two each day to reply to all engagement on every social media platform.
5) Add relevant Hashtags
Using hashtags that are relevant to your brand can go a long way with creating engagement. Many social media users will search for a hashtag based on the trending topic of the day or a curiosity they have about a topic. Use hashtags to reach a wider audience and chat with those who use the hashtag too. Consider adding research hashtags and reply to people using those hashtags as part of your social media daily task list.
6) Host a Contest
Whether you sell a service or product, you can easily use contests to create engagement. There are some pretty popular giveaways hosted on Instagram alone. Research what others are doing to host their brand giveaway throughout the year, copy their method and host a contest that pertains to your brand. This is an easy way to barter engagement in exchange for something free to one random person who engages.
7) Use Facebook Live
Want to increase your “know / like / trust” factor? Go Live! Many brands have been excited to use this feature to create engagement on their Facebook page. Online entrepreneurs have maximized this tool with their audience. This is specifically useful if you have a service or product that would suit well for discussion. Pick a day of the week and time and then host a weekly Facebook live session to get those followers engaging more with you on a personal level.
By the way, Instagram also has a Live feature to connect with your audience. They have created the ability to split share your screen with other users during your live. If you think the stream of hearts on Facebook are cheery, the burst of hearts on Instagram will energize you!
8) Use Stories More
Both Instagram and Facebook offer a stories mode. This is where you can share a quick blast of something going on. Creating a new service or product? About to go live on Facebook? Perhaps you are about to host a giveaway. Whatever you have going on today, consider using stories mode on Instagram and Facebook to reach a different part of your audience. Please remember stories disappear within 24 hours, so they are best used for quick engagement versus long-term engagement.
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Subscribe to get our Social Media Jump Start Freebie - 10 quotes, 50 pictures and Daily Hashtag List! All ready for your inbox!
9) Post Frequently
You will not create engagement on social media if you are not updating frequently. While you can us schedules such as CoSchedule or Buffer to get content in front of the masses, it’s best to also post frequently on all social media platforms as yourself. This helps show that you are a real human and care about your followers. People like to think of brands as being “real”, posting frequently on social media makes them feel like they are a part of something and in turn they engage more with you.
10) Use Video and Images
Lastly, be sure to use visuals to create engagement on social media. It has been proven time and time again that social media users have a short attention span. Let’s face it; we are all starting to have shorter attention spans. Using videos and images will help entice people to engage with you, repost your content and in turn help you reach more people on social media.
There you have it 10 tips on how to create engagement on social media platforms to ensure you are using these platforms to their full potential.
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Nice post and great tips on how to build a blog and create traffic and create a social media presence. Thanks
Thank you for commenting, Rawlings. Happy posting!
Great Tips!
Thanks, Laura!
Very helpful tips.
Happy to hear! Thanks for commenting.
Saving this article to reference!
Fabulous!
These are greats ways to increase engagement! I work really hard on most of these to help increase mine, but sadly I can’t go live. I’m sure it would be fun though. Keep up the good work here!
Unfortunately, going Live is what expands your reach. Try to incorporate some type of video to reach as much of your audience as possible. Good luck! 🙂
Awesome info! I do some of them, but need to “up my game”!
Fantastic! Keep me posted!
Awesome tips. I am going to post on my wall so I remember to do all that every day. Can’t wait for my freebie 🙂
So happy you signed up for the freebie! Share your thoughts via email. 🙂
These are really useful tips. I’ve been trying to get better engagement on social media, and although I try to post frequently and using hashtags, I wasn’t sure what other things would help. But this post has given me some really good ideas. I like the idea of holding a contest too. I hadn’t thought of that before.
Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic! Best of luck with the contest!
Some tips are very simple and effect like reposting old post with updated information. Commenting on the post, I recently realized the importance of commenting. Creating hashtags. I am working on these three.
I would definitely move on to FB videos and groups and then maybe youtube.
Thanks for sharing these tips.
Happy to help! Be sure to download the freebie – It has a list of hashtags you can use daily.
This tips are handy for the people like us who are trying to increase the traffic for their blogs because it is also a kind of marketing of your abilities and creativities..
Absolutely! Take a look at my Pinterest blogs too. Pinterest helps bloggers tremendously.
I still struggle with this part of my business. I think it’s because I spend so much time keeping up with clients that I’m hardly able to post a blog post, let alone get down and dirty in the world of social media. It’s a lot to keep up with *insert overly dramatic puppy dog face here* but thank you for these tips!!!
Here to help. My recommendation is to carve out one day a week to schedule your social media. Create a spreadsheet of your blog posts with different captions and relevant hashtags. It helps just to copy and paste into your scheduling tool or on the actual platform.
Thank you – this is really useful. I think I am going to think more about my hashtags on instagram and think about creating a facebook page!
Fantastic! Good luck!
These are great tips! I did a contest once but I need to do another one again soon.
Cool! Keep me posted.
You said a lot of great things here. These are awesome ideas on getting better engagement on social media.
Glad you like! Stay connected for the most up-to-date info.
Great tips I am thinking of starting a blog and this is exactly what I needed
Wishing you success!
Thank you! Wishing you much success on the great journey of blogging.
Social media is very important for all those who want to grow their blog! i love your tips, I’ve already been practicing some of them and they work!
So happy to hear this! 🙂
This is a wonderful tips for those who have online businesses! I’m glad to learn more about social media platforms.
My pleasure. Stay connected – Sign up for my newsletter.
Impressive post on social media engagements. Useful tips. I have started increasing my engagement on different platforms.
Fantastic! Hope it goes well for you.
Thank you so much for all the fab advice in your post. There are some of these points I feel I do quite well at but some points you’ve reminded me I really need to do/work on.
Refreshers always help. Glad to be of service.
This is really helpful. I’m still trying to improve these areas. I’ll definitely be saving this for later 🙂
Awesome! Let me know how it goes.
These are some great tips! I just got acquainted with using stories.
My reach doubles every time an IG story is posted on my account. Get creative with them. Take a look at others sharing stories.
These are some great tips! Pinterest is my favorite overall and my biggest traffic source. I just got acquainted with using stories and excited to keep using them.
Pinterest is my absolute favorite, both for my clients and myself.
Great article. What has helped me is the engagement you talked about, posting photos and video as well as consistency. It’s amazing to me people don’t know that being consistent is why drives your social media to grow. Thank you for this.
Its hard for some entrepreneurs to remain consistent because the many facets of a business. Scheduling time for it is extremely important or hiring someone to manage it for you. I know a few people. 🙂
These are great tips! It is more and more difficult these days to create engagement on social media platform!
Especially when your reach is extremely limited by the platform. There are more tips to come!
These are really helpful tips to engage on social media. Social media is really a big help to all the Entrepreneur nowadays, I’ve never tried to host a contest and will definitely do.Thanks!
Contests are great ways to list build. I recommend reading Pat Flynn’s blog post about his experience with contest / giveaways.
Some amazing tips. I need to start replying to the comments on my posts on social media, that is the area I am really behind. I have been quiet regular in posting unless I am lacking motivation.
Totally understand! Have a folder or go-to when you are lacking motivation. Something that is generic enough to fit your brand / business without completely throwing off your social media.
Yes, these are some really good tips for creating and increasing engagement on social media. I have tried a few myself and they work.
Thank you for commenting and sharing.
I work as a social media specialist, and these are all incredible tips! Posting frequently and keeping on top of trends is super important in this industry!
Absolutely is! Thank you for confirming and commenting. 🙂
These are all such great tips!! Thank you so much for sharing. I definitely need to work on posting more frequently and using video. I just got my Facebook Group started and I’ve got a contest planned for the first of the year. Yay!
Yay! That is exciting! Good luck with your new group and contest.
Brilliant tips, I`m not experienced in social media so these tips will really help as I move on with my social media marketing.
Make sure to stay connected! It is my favorite topic to blog about and share.
Great tips and easy to implement! It’s good to do more than lurk and consume on Social Media.
Yes! We are all creators in this space.
Great tips! Gave me some things to think about as I start thinking about how my team and I are going to start tackling next year!
Awesome! It helps when goals are set, makes planning easier.
Thank you for sharing these tips, they were really useful and I will remember them.
Happy to be of service!
These mentioning tips are undoubtedly pretty good and helpful to anyone. tips no. 3 and 10 will be more effective. keep sharing .
Thanks! Appreciate your comment.