Creating Engagement Content For Your Business

There are lots of ways you can measure ‘success’ on your social media platforms. For some people it’s about generating sales and leads, and for others it might be more important to grow to a good-sized following. But whatever your goals are, audience engagement is what will help you get there.

But what happens when those likes and comments don’t come flooding in?  When you’ve spent loads of time creating a social media post that you are really proud of, and it results in little to no response.

Remember, just because a post is interesting to you, and says what you want it to say, doesn’t mean it is going generate good engagement from your following. To get that, it needs to be carefully crafted with the goal in mind.

This is where engaging content comes into play.

Why does engagement matter?

When we refer to engagement, we are talking about any action that is taken on your post, whether that is a like, a comment, or a share.

Engagement is important because when someone engages with your content, their own audience gets to see the content they have engaged with. All in all, it puts more eyes on your posts, particularly the eyes of those who might not already follow you.

There are also those wonderful social media algorithms (the systems that decide who sees your posts). Algorithms love engagement. The more people interact with your content, the more the platforms will show it to others. It’s like getting a free boost just for being interesting!

How do you create engaging content?

1. Make sure you have the right audience

The first step is to know who you are actually talking to. If you don’t have the right audience, then your content is not going to resonate with them, and you won’t get the desired response.  Imagine trying to promote a product for menopause when your audience is 80% male.. it’s not going to hit right!

Get a clear idea of who your target market is and then connect with them on your platform to establish the right audience.

2. Use a reaction to prompt an action

You really need to put time and thought into what makes your audience tick. What makes them laugh? Frustrates them? What do they find useful? What do they love? What do they hate? This is what you should base all of your content for that audience on.

If you are tapping into things that resonate with your audience, that’s when you get a response. The response might by “that’s so true!” or “that’s really useful”, or “I could do with saving that for later”. These reactions prompt an action in the form of engagement.

3. Write with a goal in mind

Think about the specific engagement action you want for your post, and write your copy with that goal in mind.

If you want people to share your post, think about the kind of content you yourself share. It is usually something that is “so true” of you and your network, or something you think others will benefit from hearing.

If comments are what you are looking to generate, then simply ask for them! Finish your post with a question to ask what your audience thinks or to share their own experiences and input. A question at the end will encourage people to get involved in the conversation.

Mix it up by mapping out your content in advance so you know you are not repeatedly asking for the same thing, and you are mixing up your goals.

What kind of content works best for engagement?

You can turn any kind of content into engaging content just by how you position and present it. Our best tips are:

1. Telling a Story

Stories are powerful. Instead of just promoting your product or service, share a story with your audience. It could be something deep like why you started your business or the things you have learnt along the way, or you can simply talk about a recent interaction with someone or what you have been doing that day that provides insight into your world.

When content is presented as a story it can really capture your audience’s interest because you are not just selling to them or shouting about yourself.

2.       Authoritative content

You are the expert at what you do. And that’s certainly what you want your audience to know. So, the best way to show that is to share your experience in what we refer to as authoritative content.

Authoritative content is content that comes from a place of knowledge and experience and is considered to be accurate and trustworthy. This type of content is really valuable because it gives people a reason to follow you. If you are giving them something they find useful, then you are adding value to their feed.

You would be surprised how many topics you can cover if you break everything down. Also think about presenting your authoritative content in carousels or reels so that they are easy to digest. You don’t need to write thousands of words.

3.       Behind the scenes

Not every piece of content you produce has to be crafted to perfection. Simply sharing some insight into your daily life or the goings on behind your business can be great for engagement. Remember, we’re all a bit nosey!

Be Consistent

It’s so important to be consistent with your socials and ultimately this helps with your engagement. Showing up regularly keeps you in your followers’ feeds, and that regular engagement really scores you points with the algorithms!

Try and map out your content a month in advance so you know you are going to be posting every week. You can create this content and schedule it directly on the platform, then you can always add in more ad-hoc posts as you go. The main thing is, even if you don’t add in the ad-hoc ones, you know you have your month covered.

So, to summarise, creating engaging content isn’t any form of wizardry. It’s about knowing what your audience wants to see, and what prompts a reaction from them that will turn into an engagement. And it takes time.. If you are just starting out you are not going to get lots of engagement immediately. But being consistent and putting in the time will pay off!