If you’re struggling with engagement on social media, then this is the blog for you.
While it’s true that engagement doesn’t necessarily lead to sales, it is true that more engagement leads to bigger audiences… which, as a byproduct, can bring new followers and new sales.
The Timing Of Your Social Media Posts Impacts Engagement
There are those who argue that the timing of posts doesn’t matter on social media.
And to an extent, I’d partly agree with that.
I’ve never been a stickler for the specifics of blogs that suggest times such as “2pm on a Wednesday” are the best times to post on social media.
But there’s an element of common sense with timings.
Broadly speaking, most people are at work during the day, so even though they may scroll through their feeds at points throughout the day, will they have time to stop, read, and truly engage? It’s unlikely.
On most social media platforms, there’s a phenomenon known as the Golden Hour. By this, we mean that engagement within the first hour of a post going live massively impacts how many people see the post. Therefore, give your posts the best chance of being seen (and engaged with) by posting at the most effective times.
Lack of Followers Impacts Engagement
Social media is a numbers game.
It’s not just about having more random followers but having more of the right followers.
For instance, we have one client with 1000 followers who gets 10 likes per post and generates thousands of pounds in sales through social media. This business can secure large orders from individual clients and isn’t chasing 250 orders a month.
People need to be realistic. If you have a small number of followers, realistically, you’ll experience low levels of engagement. Out of 100 followers, think about how many might not log in every day, might not see your posts due to algorithms, might not relate to your posts if they do see them, or might not have time to comment. Thus, those 100 potential engagements could drop to just 1 or 2 actual engagements.
Lack Of Questions Impacts Engagement
Are you asking questions at the end of your posts?
Admit it — you just answered that question in your head while reading.
Statements on social media often only elicit likes at best.
Questions on social media encourage likes and comments.
You need to initiate discussions with your audience in the same way you would in person.
Over-Complicated Posts Impact Engagement
Whenever I post more towards peers than clients, the posts flop.
Creating overly complicated posts to impress your peers is a surefire way to lose your audience.
It’s about finding a balance between overly simplistic posts like those of Steven Bartlett and Alex Hormozi, which offer little value, and going the opposite way.
But understanding your audience is crucial.
Where are they in terms of their level of understanding?
In our field of social media training, 80% of our customers consider themselves beginners or intermediate users, while 20% are advanced users. Therefore, our content should reflect that level of understanding.
Non-Personalised Posts Impact Engagement
Think about what you’ve just read in the first four points.
It sounds human, doesn’t it? It sounds like the Alex you hear when I record a video or speak publicly.
Moreover, through my social media, you know what I look like and what I enjoy outside of work.
Now, compare that to someone who always uses Canva, never shows their face, and about whom you know nothing outside of work.
People connect with people on a deeply human level.
You don’t have to share your entire life on social media, but we need to know your thoughts, what you look like, and whether you’re our type of person.
Your Medium Choice Impacts Engagement
By medium, I mean the choice between:
Text only vs Link
Photo or Video
Single Photo vs Carousel
If you follow us on social media, you’ll see that we use a variety of posts to appeal to all senses.
Ultimately, however, we follow the data and optimize our posts accordingly.
We examine every aspect of a post to make the greatest possible impact.
One of the strangest examples of this is using TikTok’s voiceovers, knowing that they mispronounce “Altrincham”. The few comments we receive about this on every video mean the post is seen by thousands more people.
The Length Of Your Posts Impacts Engagement
Too short?
Too long?
You need to find the sweet spot based on practice and data.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
If every single post you’ve made is 3 lines long and you never get any engagement, try making a 10-15 line post.
If every single post you’ve made is 10+ lines long and you never get any engagement, try making a shorter post.
The same goes for the length of videos.
Test and experiment.
KEY BONUS TIP
Your Engagement Impacts Engagement
I mention this regularly.
Why should someone care enough to engage on your posts if you’ve never shown interest in them?
Put in the 15 minutes a day per platform engaging with others
NEED HELP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Looking for authentic ways to grow your social media
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can chat about whether online or Face 2 Face is better for you
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
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We can do this
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
