The Power of Social Media Engagement
Shares, views, likes, retweets, and comments…these are all possible ways social media engagement is recognized. That is, IF your followers are taking the time to click that little thumbs up button.
If you’re using social media as a way to Hootsuite a user can either engage or amplify your social media posts. Amplification is a subset of engagement which means a user has shared (in a number of ways, based on the social media channel) your content. Let’s take a look at and define the different ways a user can engage or amplify your content.
Engagement on Twitter
- Reply: On Twitter, a user can send a direct reply to a tweet
- Favorite: A Twitter follower is telling you they enjoy your tweet.
- Amplify
- Retweet or Modified Retweet (MT): A user reposts your tweet. A MT is a retweet with an addition of their own.
- Amplify
Engagement on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Vine, and the list goes on…
- Like: Likes span across almost every social media channel. It could be that little thumbs up on a Facebook post, or that tiny heart on a Pinterest pin or Instagram photo, they’re all treated the same.
- Amplify
- Share: A user reposts your content to their page and can occur on Facebook or Google+ and even a YouTube share onto Facebook.
- Repin: Pinterest is all that applies here. A user liked your content so much, they wanted it to see it all the time on one of their own boards and have their friends see it too.
- Amplify
- Comment: Much like the “Like” button, a user can comment and let you know what they really feel about your latest status update.
- View: Views generally pertain to videos, either on YouTube, Facebook or even Vine.
- Review: Not all social media channels allow for reviews but can certainly be done on Yelp or Facebook. This is a way for current and past customers to do exactly that, review your business.
What to Do with User Engagement
To be able to run a successful social media campaign, you need to understand the different engagement metrics and avoid ignoring what user interaction is telling you. Take notice of the content that is the most viewed or shared. This is the content you want to put more focus on creating and posting. Keep in mind that different content may be more popular than others and could be more successful depending on which social media site it was posted on.
Post useful, educational content like:
- Infographics (Everyone loves a good infographic)
- High-level, educational videos
- Blog Posts – Always drive back to your website
- Bits of information regarding news in your business – This places a personalized touch to what could be an automated process.
Overtime, you should notice a trend. Take this into consideration and tweak your social media campaign and begin posting content to your profiles knowing which accounts will bring the most success to that piece of content.
Social Media Engagement with a Purpose
The key to creating a great user experience in any channel is personalization. As a user engages with your content through your social media accounts, don’t let it go unheard or unseen. For example, if you gain a new follower on Twitter and you have the means to do so, send them a direct message thanking them for the follow, while same goes for a retweet or share. Your audience likes to know there’s a person behind your profile picture. If your company is short on resources or needs to add a little more oomph to your social media campaign, check out how Biznet Digital can help amplify (no pun intended) your social media presence!