Social media is only powerful if your readers interact with your content, but what can you do to make that happen? Read this and learn how you can increase engagement on social media in 2022.
Do you feel like nobody’s paying attention to you, even though you post helpful social media content every day?
Not only is it frustrating, but it’s also a waste of time and energy having to constantly publish content and yet, not get the traction you want.
But don’t give up just yet!
Because in today’s blog post, I’m sharing with you my top tips on how to increase engagement on social media so you can get more views, comments, and all kinds of engagement that will help keep the conversation going.
And the best part? All of the tips presented here work on every platform! So whether you’re using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Youtube, these strategies will help you engage and interact with your audience and grow your reach.
But before we dive in, let’s talk about the importance of engagement in social first:
Why is engagement crucial in social media?
Social media is called social media for a reason: it allows us to connect and interact with others online. In other words, it exists because it allows us to be “social” in the digital world through online engagement – and that’s one of the reasons why engagement is crucial.
But the role of engagement doesn’t end here.
You see, social media engagement connects with the social media platform’s bottom line: to keep users as long as possible in the platform, so the platform can make money off their advertising.
Because here’s the thing:
If you are producing valuable content as a content creator and people are consuming your content, you are helping social media platforms generate revenue. And when you do, most social media platforms reward you by giving you more exposure – putting your posts at the top of people’s feeds, so you and your business get more reach.
But a word of warning, though. The social media tips I present in this post will only work for those businesses that are already clear on who they are, what they stand for, and who they’re trying to reach. If you don’t know who your target audience is at this point in time, then this video might help.
But if you’re already doing great at defining your brand and its audience, then you’ll be able to use the following tips to help you create better content and get more engagement.
6 Tips on How to Increase Engagement on Social Media in 2022
Want to stay relevant but don’t know how to effectively reach out to your audiences and potential customers?
Here are six ways how to increase engagement on social media in 2022:
1. Create valuable content for your target audience.
The key to increasing engagement on social media lies in creating content that resonates with your audience. And there can only be three types of content (or a combination of any of these three) that are considered valuable, and these are content that:
- Inspires
- Entertains
- Educates
So, if any of your content doesn’t fall into any one of those categories above, there’s a huge chance that your content won’t appeal to your target audiences. If so, you need to change it up or make some improvements to it.
I know what you’re thinking, what is non-valuable content then?
Simple. It’s those kinds of content that are not related to your niche.
Think about the content that you’re about to post. Is it going to be hyper-relevant to what your business stands for? If not, then it’s probably not worth posting.
2. Hook your audience to grab their attention.
Once you’ve created content that is valuable to your target audience, the next step is to hook your audience to entice them to consume your content.
How exactly can you do this?
It’s pretty easy, and you don’t need killer copywriting skills to pull it off. But first, you need to understand that in order to reach your target audience, you need to communicate in the same way they communicate. You need to be able to “speak” their language.
Once you’re familiar with their language, the next step is to create a hook or phrase that would grab their attention. A hook could be anything from an interesting headline to a question that gets them curious. It could even be a phrase that reminds them of their pain points. Whatever works best for you as a marketer is what you should go for.
If you’re still unsure what to write, here are a few steps you can take to come up with a good hook.
Step 1. Find popular social media accounts in your niche.
Step 2. Study the hooks in their captions. (The hook is usually the very first sentence in the caption or the very first thing that grabs your attention in the media.)
Step 3. Make a list of those hooks that you find to be the most engaging.
Step 4. Pay attention to how these captions are structured. Chances are, they use specific formula or template to come up with a good hook.
Step 5. Create your own hooks based on the things you discovered from studying your list of hooks.
Another type of hook that you might want to use is engaging questions.
Now, this is where a lot of folks often go wrong because they ask questions that require an in-depth answer.
But come to think of it, who has the time to write an essay to give YOU an answer?
What you can do instead is try asking a question that requires only a one-word answer. Or better yet, utilize those polls. People love answering polls!
3. Use CTAs.
CTA is short for Call to Action. The purpose of having a CTA for each post you publish is to directly tell people what it is you want them to do after they consume your post.
Because the truth is, your readers won’t do anything unless you tell them to. So make sure you have a clear call to action in every single post.
Examples of compelling CTAs are:
- Sign up for my email list.
- Book a call.
- Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
- And many more.
If you’d like to promote a link, one hack that you can do is to post it in the comments (instead of adding it natively to the post), then tell people to check out the comments section to find the link. And when your readers do that specific action of just scrolling a bit further to check out the link and click on it, the platform will count it as engagement. And guess what? It’s a small win for you!
4. Engage in the comments and DMs.
If you see people leave comments on your posts, try to respond to them right away. Immediately responding to comments and DMs shows that you’re engaged and interested in what your readers have to say. Besides, your replies can keep the conversation going.
If your readers decide to follow you, grab the opportunity to ask them in the DMs why they began following you. Doing so will help you gain valuable insights into how you can make your content better.
And be sure to leave a thank you for their time and attention, whether they follow you or not. This notifies the algorithm that you and your reader “know” each other, especially if they reengaged back to share the reason why they followed you.
As you can probably tell, a few comments and DMs, and a simple act of gratitude on social can go a long way and even boost your engagement.
5. Comment on your own posts, too.
Did you know that commenting on your own posts can help boost your engagement rates on social?
That’s right. Whether you’re responding to somebody or just want to add a bit more information about what you just shared in a post, your own comment counts as engagement in the eyes of the platform.
Because here’s the thing: the more you interact in the comments, the more “valuable” the post becomes in the feed, and it gets shown to more people as a result.
6. Have regular conversations on the hashtags your audiences follow.
Another way you can engage with your audience is by interacting with the hashtags that they’re using. Hashtags, in essence, are keywords that allow people to search for topics on social media platforms. Think of these keywords as topics that your audiences often discuss and talk about.
By joining in on the conversation, you’re helping your audiences find you, all the while helping them to find what they’re looking for.
But not only that, though.
The more your account posts on these hashtags and on these threads, the faster your authority grows in your industry. And the best part? The social media algorithm will then start showing your posts to your target audiences outside your network.
In Summary
It pays to be social on social. So, go ahead. Engage as much as you can, and don’t forget to appreciate those who take the time to read your stuff. You’ll be amazed at how your readers (and the algorithm) will boost your engagement rate when you do. So, get out there and start engaging, and we’re sure that you’ll reap the rewards.
That’s it! Even though there are many different ways to boost your online presence, I hope this post gave you valuable tips on how to boost your social media engagement.
And one last thing.
If you ever find yourself stuck while building an online presence or even building your business in general, feel free to reach out. Book a call with me, so we can determine where the gap might be, and even discuss the strategies that you can use to close that gap.
Until then! I hope to see you in the next blog post!
