stuartjdavidson.com http://stuartjdavidson.com/social-media-engagement-tips/ 
31 Quick Social Media Engagement Tips 
If you’re an inbound marketer, or you use social media to help promote your business, you’ve probably heard that 
engagement is essential. 
But why is engagement so important in modern marketing? 
When you engage with another user, your activity is broadcast across both your audience streams. Both pools of 
followers can see your interaction and can jump into the conversation as they please. Engaging in public domains 
can create significant organic exposure when performed skillfully. 
If your social media campaigns aren’t generating any traction, chances are it’s because you’re not using the 
platforms to effectively engage with your audiences. Here a list of quick engagement tips that you can use today to 
turn things around. 
Engagement Tips: DO… 
1. Ask a question 
People love to talk about themselves, and by our very nature we feel compelled to answer a question when we’re 
asked. Use this to your advantage. Check out this great article for more on the power of asking questions. 
2. Try a “Fill-in-the-blank” 
These are known to get fantastic results. Something like: “Fill in the blank: I feel happiest when I…” can capture 
your audience’s attention as it applies the same psychological tactic I mentioned above. 
3. Post a quality image
It should go without saying that you need great looking images. But what does “great” mean? If your image has 
great photo quality, great design, and interesting/beautiful/funny content, you should be in good shape. 
4. Repeat something that succeeded 
If your analytics are telling you something worked, then try to recycle the tactics to see whether you can replicate 
the performance. 
5. Curate content 
By listening to the social media landscape, you will find some great content from your audiences worth sharing. If 
they share something good, pass it on! You’ll cement a relationship that’s mutually beneficial and guarantee some 
good shares. 
6. Post a text-only update 
Sometimes, simpler can mean better. You may not think this is a good engagement tip, but knowing when to keep 
it simple can make a big difference. 
7. Talk about current events 
Take advantage of the inherent traffic associated with trending topics that are relevant to your brand. 
8. Include a Call to Action 
Don’t forget to ask for likes, shares and comments. People are much more likely to do what they’ve been asked to 
do. 
9. Recognise someone else 
Have a fan (or even a competitor) who’s done something worth noticing? Point it out! 
10. Post something funny 
While it can be hard to create funny business 
content on a regular basis, this engagement tip 
probably has the biggest impact on participation 
levels. People use social media to be entertained, 
and everyone likes to laugh. 
11. Post something short 
Everybody’s busy. Use as few words as you need 
to get your point across and to spur engagement. 
12. Collect votes (Like vs. Share) 
Posts like these have a great track record for 
going viral – ever seen one? Think “Like if you 
agree, Share if you disagree” or similar.
13. Post a quote 
Inspirational quotes get lots of shares. It’s a great 
engagement tip to lighten your streams and 
motivate your audience. 
14. Use emoticons 
Statistics show these increase engagement, most 
likely because they make you sound like a human 
instead of a robot. :/ 
15. Link to interesting articles 
It’s a pretty big no-no to be “all you, all the time”. 
Reference compelling content that others are 
posting and you’ll not only improve your 
engagement rates, but also develop your 
outreach practices too. 
16. Tag someone else 
A fantastic (but easily abused) way to get people’s 
attention to your post is to tag them. Make sure 
you use this engagement tip in moderation or 
you’ll be marked as a spam account very quickly. 
17. Start a conversation 
Discuss: Posts that ask questions – good idea or 
bad idea? Probably the easiest engagement tip to 
put into practice… 
18. Poll your fans 
Do you like polls? Yes, no or maybe? According to 
this excellent post, polls are a great way to 
increase your engagement. 
19. Ask for captions 
Try posting a photo and asking your followers to 
provide the caption. Bonus points if your photo is 
touching or funny. 
20. Post a “How-To” 
We all love learning new things, even re-learning 
things we already knew in fun and interesting 
ways.
21. Make it human 
It’s okay to add a little quirkiness, opinion or 
humour. This makes you relatable and allows 
people to get to know the real you behind your 
profile image. 
22. Make it nostalgic 
Most people enjoy a good throwback. Use this 
engagement tip to give them a chance to reminisce about the good old days. 
23. Direct people to your post via email 
Don’t think that social media is the only place to engage with your followings. Why not link to your latest post in 
your weekly email blast or monthly newsletter and take the conversation to email? 
Engagement Tips: DON’T… 
24. Make it too long 
140 characters or less is Twitter’s policy for a reason. On this social media platform especially, you need to use 
short, sharp and concise messages. 
25. Make it complicated 
One of the worst things you can do to reduce engagement levels is to post something confusing. When you have 
mere seconds to reach someone, you have to be crystal clear or your voice gets lost in the crowd. 
26. Forget to ask for engagement 
Forget to include a call to action? Put one in your post now. (See what I did there?) 
But seriously, forgetting to ask your followers to like, share or comment is most often a mistake. Learn about 
other mistakes that could be getting in the way of your engagement in this post. 
27. Post something irrelevant 
Don’t just post cat photos because you think people like them. If you can’t somehow tie it back to your brand 
identity or business objectives, you probably need to rethink your content plan. 
28. Post something negative 
Nobody likes a downer. Keep it upbeat! 
29. Invite controversy 
Some marketers might say this is a good engagement tip, and while you might get more comments from a heated 
debate, you stand to damage your image just as much as you build it. Share controversial content wisely and in 
consideration.
30. Try to sell 
People don’t go to social networks to shop. They go to socialise. So be social! Selling will come as a by-product of 
being useful, valuable and engaging. 
31. Only post links 
Great social media managers know the value of variety. It gives potential followers something to look forward to if 
they choose to come on board. 
Start Implementing These Engagement Tips 
If you don’t try to improve your practices using these quick engagement tips, your social media campaigns will 
suffer. Undoubtedly, many opportunities will pass you by. 
Take time to carefully plan how you can participate in conversions effectively, while focusing on fulfilling business 
objectives. And don’t act differently online to how you would in real life – that’s a mistake and can 
What’s your best engagement tip for creating activity on your social media accounts? 
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31 Quick Social Media Engagement Tips

  • 1.
    stuartjdavidson.com http://stuartjdavidson.com/social-media-engagement-tips/ 31Quick Social Media Engagement Tips If you’re an inbound marketer, or you use social media to help promote your business, you’ve probably heard that engagement is essential. But why is engagement so important in modern marketing? When you engage with another user, your activity is broadcast across both your audience streams. Both pools of followers can see your interaction and can jump into the conversation as they please. Engaging in public domains can create significant organic exposure when performed skillfully. If your social media campaigns aren’t generating any traction, chances are it’s because you’re not using the platforms to effectively engage with your audiences. Here a list of quick engagement tips that you can use today to turn things around. Engagement Tips: DO… 1. Ask a question People love to talk about themselves, and by our very nature we feel compelled to answer a question when we’re asked. Use this to your advantage. Check out this great article for more on the power of asking questions. 2. Try a “Fill-in-the-blank” These are known to get fantastic results. Something like: “Fill in the blank: I feel happiest when I…” can capture your audience’s attention as it applies the same psychological tactic I mentioned above. 3. Post a quality image
  • 2.
    It should gowithout saying that you need great looking images. But what does “great” mean? If your image has great photo quality, great design, and interesting/beautiful/funny content, you should be in good shape. 4. Repeat something that succeeded If your analytics are telling you something worked, then try to recycle the tactics to see whether you can replicate the performance. 5. Curate content By listening to the social media landscape, you will find some great content from your audiences worth sharing. If they share something good, pass it on! You’ll cement a relationship that’s mutually beneficial and guarantee some good shares. 6. Post a text-only update Sometimes, simpler can mean better. You may not think this is a good engagement tip, but knowing when to keep it simple can make a big difference. 7. Talk about current events Take advantage of the inherent traffic associated with trending topics that are relevant to your brand. 8. Include a Call to Action Don’t forget to ask for likes, shares and comments. People are much more likely to do what they’ve been asked to do. 9. Recognise someone else Have a fan (or even a competitor) who’s done something worth noticing? Point it out! 10. Post something funny While it can be hard to create funny business content on a regular basis, this engagement tip probably has the biggest impact on participation levels. People use social media to be entertained, and everyone likes to laugh. 11. Post something short Everybody’s busy. Use as few words as you need to get your point across and to spur engagement. 12. Collect votes (Like vs. Share) Posts like these have a great track record for going viral – ever seen one? Think “Like if you agree, Share if you disagree” or similar.
  • 3.
    13. Post aquote Inspirational quotes get lots of shares. It’s a great engagement tip to lighten your streams and motivate your audience. 14. Use emoticons Statistics show these increase engagement, most likely because they make you sound like a human instead of a robot. :/ 15. Link to interesting articles It’s a pretty big no-no to be “all you, all the time”. Reference compelling content that others are posting and you’ll not only improve your engagement rates, but also develop your outreach practices too. 16. Tag someone else A fantastic (but easily abused) way to get people’s attention to your post is to tag them. Make sure you use this engagement tip in moderation or you’ll be marked as a spam account very quickly. 17. Start a conversation Discuss: Posts that ask questions – good idea or bad idea? Probably the easiest engagement tip to put into practice… 18. Poll your fans Do you like polls? Yes, no or maybe? According to this excellent post, polls are a great way to increase your engagement. 19. Ask for captions Try posting a photo and asking your followers to provide the caption. Bonus points if your photo is touching or funny. 20. Post a “How-To” We all love learning new things, even re-learning things we already knew in fun and interesting ways.
  • 4.
    21. Make ithuman It’s okay to add a little quirkiness, opinion or humour. This makes you relatable and allows people to get to know the real you behind your profile image. 22. Make it nostalgic Most people enjoy a good throwback. Use this engagement tip to give them a chance to reminisce about the good old days. 23. Direct people to your post via email Don’t think that social media is the only place to engage with your followings. Why not link to your latest post in your weekly email blast or monthly newsletter and take the conversation to email? Engagement Tips: DON’T… 24. Make it too long 140 characters or less is Twitter’s policy for a reason. On this social media platform especially, you need to use short, sharp and concise messages. 25. Make it complicated One of the worst things you can do to reduce engagement levels is to post something confusing. When you have mere seconds to reach someone, you have to be crystal clear or your voice gets lost in the crowd. 26. Forget to ask for engagement Forget to include a call to action? Put one in your post now. (See what I did there?) But seriously, forgetting to ask your followers to like, share or comment is most often a mistake. Learn about other mistakes that could be getting in the way of your engagement in this post. 27. Post something irrelevant Don’t just post cat photos because you think people like them. If you can’t somehow tie it back to your brand identity or business objectives, you probably need to rethink your content plan. 28. Post something negative Nobody likes a downer. Keep it upbeat! 29. Invite controversy Some marketers might say this is a good engagement tip, and while you might get more comments from a heated debate, you stand to damage your image just as much as you build it. Share controversial content wisely and in consideration.
  • 5.
    30. Try tosell People don’t go to social networks to shop. They go to socialise. So be social! Selling will come as a by-product of being useful, valuable and engaging. 31. Only post links Great social media managers know the value of variety. It gives potential followers something to look forward to if they choose to come on board. Start Implementing These Engagement Tips If you don’t try to improve your practices using these quick engagement tips, your social media campaigns will suffer. Undoubtedly, many opportunities will pass you by. Take time to carefully plan how you can participate in conversions effectively, while focusing on fulfilling business objectives. And don’t act differently online to how you would in real life – that’s a mistake and can What’s your best engagement tip for creating activity on your social media accounts? Website by TheSocialShark © 2014. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms & Conditions Sitemap ↑ Back to top