Today, the number of followers someone has matters little, it is all about engagement. Engagement is a metric used to evaluate social media content that is based on a measurable interaction, such as likes, shares, and comments. Engagement matters because if content doesn’t compel some sort of reaction from the audience, is it effective?
According to Andrew Keller, the Global Creative Director at Facebook, the average person scrolls through 300 feet, or one Statue of Liberty, of mobile content every day. That’s a lot of content vying for shrinking attention spans. Given all competition, what does it take for someone to like, leave a comment or even share content?
Let's Start With Why Your Followers Aren't Engaging
Whether you’re a brand or influencer, you spend time brainstorming and creating content. You post it and then…. crickets. Why? Ask yourself:
- Do you have a high saturation rate? We find that influencers with more than 50% sponsored content on their social channels typically have poor engagement rates because their audiences skip their social pages. Constantly promoting products diminishes audience trust. If audiences don’t trust an influencer because all of their content is paid, this will be reflected in a poor engagement rate.
- Is your follower count high? It is proven that as the number of followers increases, engagement decreases. The same can be said for influencer and brand pages. A follower is not the same as a devoted fan or customer and engagement is what differentiates the two.
- Is the content relevant to your audience? This is a tough one. You may think it is, but has the market or tastes changed? Are you on top of trends?
- You’re not getting the right type of engagement. It’s frustrating when comments focus on things like the outfit the influencer is wearing, rather than the product being promoted. This isn't an easy fix, so it is important for the influencer to engage with followers through comments to redirect the conversation in sponsored content.
- Is the content boring? It is guaranteed if you’re bored writing it, your audience will be bored reading it.
- Is your content basically an ad? Trust us, no one wants to see product shots and sales talk on their news feeds.
- Does your content have value to your audience? Is your content unique and does it contain information that your audience may not get elsewhere? Does it educate or evoke an emotion?
Consider Why You Engage With Content
For most of us, we click like because we have some sort of relationship with the poster and want them to know we saw their content. We share content because it makes us feel smart, we love the product, it could help others, or we feel it has value.
As for leaving a comment, consider how often you leave comments on social posts. Fortunately, leaving a comment on social channels is easy because there’s no complicated captcha system to navigate or registration process. So why don’t people leave more comments on social pages?
Tips on Creating Engaging Content
- Show, don’t tell. If you are a brand, your key messages should be about the audience, not about the brand. What does your product/brand do for the audience? Use examples and case studies to make your point. Do your key messages answer the question “So what?”?
- Entertain or educate. This is really simple. If your content doesn’t do one or both of these things, should you really be publishing it?
- Arouse emotions. Studies show that emotional content, both positive and negative, is the most widely shared and commented on. But, how do you apply this to influencer marketing when you’re creating content around a product or brand that isn’t exactly motivational or even sexy? How do you get people to react? Educate and entertain. Always tell an authentic story. Make sure your images are thumb-stopping. Don’t just say something is great, tell your audience why and what it will do for them.
- Get found. Being discovered by people who have like interests is a great way to increase engagement, but there’s a lot of competition and algorithms are constantly changing. Make sure and use geo-tags and hashtags. Engage with like-minded pages on social channels. PRO TIP: Want to show up on the IG Explore page? Create IGTV content. IG has made no secret that they are prioritizing IGTV content and the space is not crowded, yet.
- Stay on top of trends. Your audiences’ tastes change fast, and your industry is evolving. Are you evolving while remaining authentic?
- Don’t try and be everything to everyone. Think of the restaurant with the 20-page menu, where the food is typically sub-par and boring. Be the bistro with the small menu that changes with the seasons and executes each dish with precision and care.
If you are considering launching an influencer campaign, check out our 9 Steps to Influencer Marketing Success whitepaper, or contact us via our Contact Us Form for a quick reply.