Social media trends matter when strategizing for the year, but we continually strive to implement best practices for our clients. Though Take Flight offers a variety of online services to our clients, from writing blog posts to social media analysis, the cornerstone of what we do continues to be social media consulting. As I analyze what we’ve been doing and look ahead to building strategies for 2020, I believe social media engagement will play a major role in social media strategies for all of our clients — and for any small businesses and brands looking to grow their social media presence.
Why brands need to focus on social media engagement
When we chat with brands and small businesses about crafting a social media strategy, we’ve been told it feels a little like playing whack-a-mole. Each time it feels like you’re on top of one area of your social media presence, another important task pops up. Consistent, quality content matters. A cohesive aesthetic matters. And now we’re here telling you engagement matters — a lot. Engagement offers an opportunity for organic growth, which means seeing a stronger, larger social media presence. Small businesses should care about organic growth, because it means their content, goods, and services can reach more people without necessarily spending more money on advertising.
Understanding what social media engagement means
In order to understand why engagement matters in a marketing strategy, we like to be on the same page as our clients about what social media engagement looks like. Users tend to think of engagement as the immediate things you see on a page. Comments, likes, and retweets all come to mind. Engagement encompasses those actions, of course, but we also look at what brands and businesses do behind the scenes on social media.
It might seems obvious that increasing engagement means responding to comments left on your latest Instagram post, but commenting on posts related to yours matters, too. If you’re only engaging with customers — and potential customers — on your own social media accounts, you’re missing out on building connections with people currently outside of your network. Widening the sphere of your engagement gives you access to new people, new ideas, and new potential business.
How to increase engagement across social media platforms
Like so many social media strategies, increasing engagement starts with a strong plan. Brands should figure out when and how to engage on their own platforms and on other profiles and platforms. Taking even fifteen or thirty minutes a day to focus on engagement offers benefits to brands. If you’re unsure where to begin, consider exploring hashtags relevant to your business and checking out what similar brands are doing on their social media pages. And then, be patient. Growing organically takes time!
For a more comprehensive social media engagement strategy, Take Flight can help. In an exciting development, I decided to restructure the Take Flight team so we have a team member focusing solely on engagemen. Together we have crafted an engagement strategy for each of our clients, a strategy that aligns with a three-part formula we’ve begun to implement. We’d love to chat with you about how we can assist you in growing your social media presence.
What’s one way you consistently engage with connections on your social media pages?