In the English Language the letter “E” shows up more than any other letter, and just as the letter E is a staple in the English Language, Engagement is a staple in any brilliant Social Marketing plan. This blog series is specifically designed to highlight incredible E words that can change your marketing game and help you in all aspects of your business.
Our First E word: Engagement, is perhaps one of the most powerful words in Social Marketing today. The topic has become an essential integration into any modern marketing plan. It has a simple definition: the act of engaging or the state of being engaged. To engage is “to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons).” When we put an ad on TV or the Radio we have a hope that it will attract the attention of our target market. Social media offers us a simple and sophisticated avenue to directly engage and target our fans. Not simply a hope or a wish your target audiences will see your marketing, but a guarantee that it will be served to them where they are everyday: Online.
It is no secret that Facebook is a powerhouse when it comes to Modern Marketing. With 1.19 billion users Facebook has not only grown into the world’s largest publisher, but has quickly become one of the most complex marketing tools in human history. With all social channels on a steady rise, the question for businesses, marketers, and entrepreneurs is: With all the tools and information available to us how do we reach our target market? The answer is simple: ENGAGE them! In order to Engage your market you must become a conversation facilitator by creating quality content, staying relevant, and engaging with the people actively engaging with you! This rings true for all channels, the more you engage with intention, the more exposure you will build for your brand!
A conversation facilitator does not talk AT their fans they talk WITH their fans. For example: when a beautiful, relevant photo goes onto a page and gets three comments do you respond to every single comment? If you are, then Bravo! You are on the track to becoming an “Engagement Expert!” If not, you may have just missed out on those three comments turning into six comments, a business referral, and a key opportunity to value your guest by caring about their opinions and comments. You show this by actively engaging WITH them in a conversation!
You may be asking, “What kind of content does one create to engage followers?” Often we look too far from home to answer that question, when more often than not the answer lies in what content YOU might engage with. If you are a social marketer, it is imperative to find out what the client would engage with. Would you comment on a post with a question that was relevant to you? Would you click “like” for a stunning photo that displays your product or service? Start your content creation with something you may engage with and build from there.
Once your content is posted, make sure to engage the fans who chose to engage with you. Remember! As a conversation facilitator it is your duty to recognize and create a thriving social space by giving what you receive: Engagement! If you build it they will come, but if you nurture it, they will stay!
