Likes are vanity, interaction is sanity

Do you have a community engagement strategy?

Social media is one of your most powerful marketing tools. But despite it being free, it’s also something that many businesses seem to struggle with more than anything else.

Of course, there are many sides to your social: choosing the right platform, finding the right tone and style, and editing and posting content on a regular basis but these don’t seem to be the biggest issues. In fact, one of the biggest problems that I see a lot of at the moment is businesses failing to engage with their fans.

It could be you  

Let me explain. Imagine you’re at a networking event. You grab everybody’s business card (if anyone still has these anymore) and go round the room. You talk to as many people as possible and tell them as much as you possibly can about your business. A couple of them ask a question or two about what you do but you don’t answer them because you’ve already moved on to the next person. And you never take the trouble to ask them about what they do or follow up with them later. You just leave only to turn up again next week and do it all again.

Hmmm

You’ve probably come across as a bit of a jerk. Someone who is only interested in yourself and selling yourself. And you’ve probably missed some opportunities. After all, it’s these early conversations that are the very foundation of your business reputation and ultimately your sales.

But is this what you’re inadvertently doing on social media?

Something I see time and time again is businesses who are great at posting on their social media but once a post has been published, that’s it, they move on … chasing as many followers as they can, oblivious to the opportunities they have missed or the impression they have created.

Social media is a great place for establishing yourself as the go-to person in your industry, as someone who supports other businesses, and cares about their community. In short, someone who is interesting and interested, as well as genuine when they say they care about clients and want to add value, rather than just pushing sales. But you can only achieve this if you engage with the comments on your posts.  

Likes really are vanity

Quite apart from the impression you create, by failing to engage with the comments on your posts you are missing a very important trick. Most social media platforms value comments and shares much more than they value likes. So by only chasing likes, you’re robbing yourself of valuable algorithm juice and kudos. Likes really are vanity…it is comments that will drive your social platforms forward.

Golden rules

With this in mind, I’ve created some golden rules to help you stop chasing likes, join in the conversation and start getting properly social.

Remember your manners

If someone does you a good turn in the “real” world, I’m pretty sure you’d say thank you. The same applies to social. If someone shares your post, gives your page or post a shout out or does you some other kind of good deed, say thank you. Or say something else. But say something. It’s just polite.

Play the game

No doubt some experts will be horrified at the suggestion that social media is a game but to some extent, it is: you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. If another business starts following your page, follow them back. Of course, this won’t necessarily always be the right thing to do (by which I mean you should vet a page before following it), but on the whole, if a legitimate and bona fide business has followed you, is there any reason why you shouldn’t return the favour and follow them back?

Talk to them

I’ve said it before: social media is about being social. Who knew? That means when you post something, you must check in with that post regularly to see what interaction it’s had. If people have commented on it, respond to their comments. Don’t just leave them hanging there like you don’t care.  

Don’t be a robot

If you’re lucky enough to be getting a significant number of comments the temptation can be to just scroll down hitting like for each one.

Don’t.

Why? Well firstly, I have known businesses to be penalised by social media platforms for hitting like methodically because the platform has assumed a robot is at work.

Secondly, it makes you the most boring conversationalist in the room. Think nodding dog repeating “like, like, like”.

Thirdly, as I’ve mentioned already comments and shares are worth far more than likes in social media currency. And guess what? If you respond with something interesting, a conversation may follow.  

Fourthly, conversations are how lasting and meaningful relationships are formed and sales pipelines gradually developed. Just walking round a networking event giving everyone the thumbs up is likely to make you look…well, a bit odd?

Fifthly (I’ll stop at five), it comes back to being polite.

You can talk to strangers

Forget what your mother told you. It is perfectly acceptable to talk to strangers on social media. Try and find interesting or relevant accounts, have a look at their content and then post something significant about it. By that I mean, slightly more than just “great photo”. Some social media experts recommend that you identify five new accounts each day and post something which is at least five words long. I’m not keen on being that prescriptive but you get the idea.

Don’t be the silent stalker  

While you’re busy engaging with strangers, don’t forget to join in conversations on other pages that you already follow. Don’t be the weirdo in the corner who watches but never says anything.

Don’t wait to be told

Scheduling platforms are a great way to save yourself a bit of time and keep track of your social media but don’t blindly rely on them to inform you that you have comments. I’ve worked on a number of different platforms over the years, and some of them are not that intuitive, reliable, or efficient at letting you know what engagement your posts are enjoying. Check in with your actual page or profile regularly. 

How much time?

I know you’re probably cussing at me under your breath right now and muttering “How much time does Karen think I have?”. And yes, these things do take time. Although that said, when you get into some of these habits, you’ll become more efficient.

But the alternative is just a no go. It’s back to walking into that networking event, talking loudly, and leaving. Is that really a good way to spend your time or promote your business? No of course not. Social media is about being social, interesting and someone people want to hang out with. And that means you have to engage. Or engage me. That’s your other option. Get in touch if you want to talk social.

You can contact me on 07988 676219 or via email by clicking here.