Written by: Juliette Stapleton, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Is engagement your biggest social media struggle? If you feel this way, reading this may help you gain a fresh perspective and help you move towards your bigger goals.
First, let’s consider your expectations when it comes to engagement on your posts. Let’s say you created a post on Facebook, what would your expectations of engagement with this post be?
The truth is that every post is different and to assess how much engagement you may expect, we need to ask ourselves a series of questions:
Is this a post about you? Or about them?
What specifically in this post would make someone like or comment on it?
Is this post something lighthearted, or does it require a deeper consideration?
Is the topic polarising or “vanilla”?
Let’s have a look at these questions a little closer:
Is this a post about you? Or about them?
Social Media is such a noisy space, and it is hard to concentrate when navigating through hundreds of posts in our feed. It will take something really interesting to break that “zombie” scrolling… but here is the thing. The most interesting topics to anyone and everyone in the world are… those that are about them. It is the most favorite topic of any human being, so if your post cannot answer the questions, “What is in it for me?” - I am likely to scroll by without actually engaging (even if I took a few seconds to read or watch some of it).
The solution - make it about THEM. Open with a question. Grab their attention. Help them learn something. Make them smile. Do something that is not centered on you without turning it over to THEM.
What specifically in this post would make someone like or comment on it?
This is another exercise to put the “reader’s hat” on. If you were a stranger, is there anything in this post that would compel you to comment? Or at least react to your post? You really have to leave your own ego behind for this kind of analysis. But if you want engagement, you need to be strategic about triggering the response from your readers.
Learning some copywriting techniques is a glorious way to write engaging posts. Or even save the posts you like and try modeling yours in a similar style to develop your own voice.
Is this post something lighthearted, or does it require a deeper consideration?
Remember what I said about users on social media scrolling in a “zombie” mode? This is how our brain protects us from the overload of information we are exposed to online. What it means is that we simply have less mental energy to process heavy information, so if your goal is to get engagement - post something that does not require much thinking.
Therefore, engagement-focused content differs greatly from “value” posts or your marketing research posts. You see, when you ask your audience a light-hearted question, they tend to engage more. This is why photos of your pets do so well. Use it to your advantage! When your connections and followers engage with a post about your pet, they also signal the platform algorithm, indicating that your content is of interest to them. Therefore, the platform will show them more of your posts in the days to follow.
When planning your content strategy I recommend always use a specific engagement booster post before any of the more important or “serious” posts, to boost the reach and visibility.
Is the topic polarising or “vanilla”?
There is a difference between polarising topics and controversial ones. Polarising means a firm stance, an opinion, something you believe in where you are not prepared to compromise. These are great not just for engagement (as strong opinions tend to trigger people more) but also to filter out those who will never be your ideal clients. This gives you the freedom to “release” people who disagree with who you are - and create a stronger connection with those who are aligned with you on a deeper level.
Tiptoeing around the topic may also be the reason you are not attracting any clients! Define your values, what you stand for (and against) and create content around this to trigger, pre-qualify and engage your audience strategically.
To summarise, your understanding of how users behave online, what do they tend to engage with and how to use it in your content strategy is key to managing your expectations and leveraging this knowledge engage with your audience.
The most important piece though is that engagement is not what converts viewers into buyers – the money making is in the follow up! Build your content strategy to engage your followers with your content, but always focus on following up to nurture them deeper into your sales funnels.
You can grab a copy of my Ultimate Visibility Kit here to help you get started!
Find out more about Juliette's VISIBILITY THAT SELLS coaching at her website!
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Juliette Stapleton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Juliette Stapleton is a Visibility That Sells strategist, host of the Show Up! Stand Out! podcast, and a thought-leader on a mission to help experts, coaches, and service providers build an online presence that positions them as the authority in their niche. Juliette has helped thousands of students and clients from more than 30 countries reach millions and make millions with EASE. She is known for her V.A.L.U.E. visibility system, a simple, but powerful strategy based on showing up with integrity and creating a ripple effect of influence through personal connection and thought-leadership. Juliette has been featured in Forbes and several major business and marketing podcasts, like 365Driven, Rising Tide, iHeart Radio, and Confident Live. She is an active contributor to world-leading online publications, such as Influencive and Addicted2Success, Thrive Global, and many more. Find out more about the VISIBILITY THAT SELLS at: https://juliettestapleton.com/
