How to Boost your Social Media Engagement

You are a freelance social media manager who manages small businesses' social media accounts. You pour hours into crafting posts only to receive a mere 15 likes.  

We're going to be brutally honest: People don't care. The reality is that people are inundated with ads and do not want to be sold to. Instead, they seek entertainment and a sense of connection. This genuine engagement fosters brand loyalty and makes them care about your client's business.

It's really easy to get caught up in sell, sell, sell when it comes to managing a client's social media. Not to generalise, but clients don't necessarily tend to understand that organic social content is not the place for selling and they can't get their head around why you're not telling people to buy. This is why they must sign off on the strategy in the very beginning and that you manage their expectations.

Organic social media is a long-term investment that builds a solid foundation and a loyal audience. Clients who are only looking for sales need to invest in ADs, but they shouldn't be surprised when their CPA is high.

If you're unsure how to create a social media strategy, we're offering an exciting course soon. So keep your eyes peeled.

If you need help balancing high-value, soft-sell, and hard-sell content, try the 4-1-1 strategy. If you run social media for a food and drink hospitality business, check out our content calendar...we've done the work for you.

Anyway, back to boosting social media engagement, we've listed 11 effective techniques below that you should be doing regularly (and include in your contract) to help increase engagement:

1. Understand Your Audience

Customise your content for each platform, ensuring it resonates with the interests and preferences of your target demographic.

2. Use Creative and High-Quality Visuals

Striking images and videos capture attention, and employing imaginative visual hooks will keep your audience engaged. But please…steer clear of corporate-looking content. If you have to post it, post it on LinkedIn. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook want more real and organic content. 

3. Ask Questions and Encourage Interaction

Stimulate conversations by posing open-ended questions, conducting polls, or hosting Q&A sessions. 

4. Respond to Comments

Engaging with your audience by replying to their comments and responding to DMs also helps boost your engagement. Social media is a tool for building relationships and should be treated as such. 

5. Utilise Relevant Hashtags

Research and incorporate popular hashtags related to your niche to enhance your visibility. The rules change quite often, but we find that between 2-5 hashtags is your best bet. 80% of those hashtags should have over 1 million uses, and the other 20% can be more niche. Example: For a Reel about London, the hashtags we'd use are – #Travel #UK #City #London #Shoreditch 

The first 3 are the 80%, and the last two are more niche. 

6. Post Consistently

Establish a regular posting schedule to maintain visibility among followers. You don't need to post multiple times daily; three quality posts per week per platform is practical and manageable.

7. Optimise Posting Times

Analyse your insights to determine when the audience is most active online, and schedule your posts accordingly for maximum impact.

8. Run Contests and Giveaways

Incentivising engagement through free products or experiences can significantly boost engagement. However, be aware not to ask for too much from people. We've seen competitions before that require people to follow multiple accounts, share to story and tag 5 friends. If your goal is to increase your following, then ask people to follow and tag a friend. Done, simple. 

9. Encourage User-Generated Content

Initiate campaigns or create specific hashtags to motivate followers to share their own content. Remember to credit contributors appropriately.

10. Collaborate with Influencers

Partnering with relevant influencers can expand your audience reach. Always ensure they are compensated fairly; curating an audience and creating quality content is a time-consuming endeavour. Read our blog on collaborating with influencers here.

FYI - this takes a lot of time. If this is not included in your contract, you can either add as an extra, or tell your client to reach out and manage this. 

11. Leverage Trends

Keep up to date with current trends and incorporate them into your content when appropriate. Not to toot our own horn too much, but we have a trend watch tool which keeps you up to date on trends that can work for B2C businesses. And bonus, it comes with access to a community group where you can bounce ideas of other social media managers and get support. 

By implementing these techniques, you can cultivate a deeper connection with your audience and enhance your social media engagement.