What to do when your social media engagement is low

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I have a confession to make.

Don’t worry. I’ve not committed a crime.

My confession is this - social media reach does NOT get you sales.

‘Well then, why the hell do I bother?’

The aim of social media reach is to make people aware of you.

To remind them that you actually exist.

Think of it as a top of a funnel.

Your aim is to get people into that funnel where they may, at some point in the future, come to you for your products or services.

At this point, you’re just making them aware that you have a funnel.

So, how do we go about reminding people that you exist?

We post helpful content, we turn up every day - but most crucially, we chase high engagement rates.

Why?

Because the more people that engage with you, the more your social media presence will be shown to others.

People become aware of your existence.

And there starts your journey to growing and building.

Now that we know that engagement is key, here are six ways I’d advise you to use to breathe new life into your social media engagement:

#1 Take an honest look at your content

If your content is ‘beige’, it’ll be unlikely to stir reaction and engagement from your audience. Consider:

• Are you just ‘broadcasting’? What I mean by that is, are you posting information and content and then forgetting it ever existed?

• Is your content likely to register with your audience? Trying to sell your product or service to someone who is unlikely to want or need it, is going to be a waste of your time and energy.

• Is it boring? If you’re getting AI to write all your content, you can be sure that it’ll look just like everyone else’s.

Be you. Be original. Be different.

#2 Research your post timings

At the heart of any successful social media account is conversation, not just promotion. To attract engagement:

• Find out when your audience is most likely to be online. You can get these metrics with a little bit of research.

• Bear in mind where your audience is geographically. Much of my audience is in the US and as I’m a few hours ahead of them here in the UK, I have to schedule everything 5-8 hours later than I normally would.

• Consider using scheduling tools to help you keep on track. After trying some of the bigger names (Hootsuite, Buffer etc.), I now use Social Bee, which powers and automates much of my social media output, and saves me hours of work a week.

Being present when your audience is online is half the battle of powering up those engagement levels.

#3 Run a ‘caption this’ competition

One of the most popular ways I’ve got super engagement is to post an image and run a ‘Caption This’ competition. When posting your image, bear in mind:

• Use copyright-free or your own images. The last thing you want is someone suing you for copyright infringement (been there and done it - it’s grim!)

• Use images that your audience will emotionally react to. Many people react on emotion so post something that will mean something to them.

• Keep it appropriate. Don’t go posting anything that’ll get you banned or kicked off social media.

As more people try to out-do each other with their captions, this will have the potential for your post to pop up on their connections’ feeds, expanding your reach.

#4 Engage with your followers

Don’t post and ghost. Take 10-15 minutes a day to engage, preferably straight after you have posted. Your audience will appreciate you hanging around to engage with them. Also consider:

• Liking and commenting on comments. People like to feel special and what you’re doing by engaging with people is building long-term trust.

• Developing conversations further. Most people like to talk about themselves so developing conversations can go a long way to finding your audience’s pain points.

• Share the posts of others. The more you share of others, the more they’ll reciprocate yours, expanding your reach.

Being a real person makes your audience become invested in you, especially if you become part of their day, even if it is online.

#5 Ask questions that people can’t help but answer

This is a tactic that always works wonders, providing you ask the right questions.

Knowing your audience, and what their problems are, think about asking questions that make them jump on to answer.

Try one or several of these:

• What problems do you face when you [insert problem associated with your niche here]: Those who love a good moan will hop on but this gives you an opportunity to help them with your replies.

• How did you solve [insert problem associated with your niche here]? For those who have found ways around those problems, most people like to share or even boast about their triumphs.

• What are your experiences of [insert something associated with your niche here]? Again, people like to talk about themselves and their experiences so let them speak.

Often, questions that are totally unrelated to your niche can also help - things like ‘what accent do you have?’ or ‘what’s the last thing you ate?’ can sometimes go viral and increase your reach.

#6 Post a [slightly] controversial take on a topic

We can learn something from the rage-baiters - those are the people who deliberately post content that they know will trigger people to engage and respond. Posting something slightly less inflammatory can start a hearty debate, as long as it’s well natured and constructive.

Try some of these:

• Ask for people’s opinions on news items in your industry: Opinions on most subjects vary from person to person and often a news item in your field of work can start a flow of reactions and replies.

• Ask ‘what would you do?’: Provide a situation relevant to your niche and ask your audience members what they would do in that situation.

• Ask if [something that you know is true/not true] is true/not true: I’ve found that acting ignorant and asking if something that you know is true/not true is true/not true will have people jumping on quickly to confirm or not confirm your claim. They just can’t help it!

Getting your engagement levels up is one of the first steps in building trust in your brand. The more people trust you, the more they’re likely to pay you for your services later down the line.

The more people you can reach on social media, the more you can get people OFF social media and ONTO an email list (I use Beehiiv) and onto your client list.

Let me know how you get on!

In this week’s paid newsletter this Sunday, you’ll receive these downloads:

1. The Social Media Engagement Rescue Kit: Turn Followers into Fans in 30 Days - a step-by-step guide to boosting interactions, crafting content that works, and reviving stale social media accounts

2. The Small Business Owner’s Engagement Playbook: Fix Your Social Media in 7 Simple Steps) - a tactical workbook with templates, prompts, and strategies to skyrocket engagement- and fast!

3. Engagement Unlocked: The Ultimate Social Media Fix for Struggling Small Businesses - a deep-dive into proven algorithms, post formulas, and engagement hacks tailored for time-strapped entrepreneurs

You can upgrade here ahead of the weekend to ensure you get your bundle on the weekend.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Patric

Ps. I’ve recently launched my Pro version of my newsletter.

Every Sunday, I’ll send you deep dive guides, templates, and social media prompts for the week ahead.

All designed to help you grow your local business with social media.

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