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July 2022

2023 Social Media Engagement Guide For Beginners: Helping You Show Up Well!

 

Small Business Owner Managing Their 2023 Social Media Engagement.

2023 Social Media Engagement Guide For Beginners: Helping You Show Up Well!

Social media engagement is a free and powerful tool that can entirely change the way you do business. It is the key to quality brand growth, lead generation, customer relationship management and loyalty in 2023.

And it all happens within a small, hand-held device!

So how do you leverage this technology for your business?

This article explores the ins and outs of social media engagement - from theory to execution! If you’re new to social media, you’ll want to keep this article within reach.

Keep reading to learn how to,

a) Catch your audience's attention,

b) Keep them interested and committed to your content, and

c) Create an engaged community within your niche.

Ready to get started?

 

First Up, What Is Social Media Engagement?

If you’ve ever responded to a Direct Message on Facebook or replied to a comment on an Instagram post, you’ve engaged on social media.

But there’s more to it than that!

RESPONDING to your audience is one thing. But REACHING OUT to your audience is another. And continually showing up, even after that initial interaction, is yet another!

Social media engagement is a two-way street. And, when done effectively, it can also present a domino effect. 

Have we lost you? Hold up! Let’s put this into perspective.

Picture this:

You meet up with a friend over coffee. Chances are, during your meeting, you and your friend will have some back-and-forth dialogue. You ask a question, your friend answers, they say something funny, and you laugh.

That’s the first form of engagement.

But then…

The person standing in line heard the joke and laughed. The barista then asks what was so funny, and they tell her. She repeats the joke to her coworkers. And her coworker then tells the lady at the drive-thru window.

Then the lady continues to tell that joke to her friends, family and coworkers throughout the rest of the day.

Now your simple act of engagement has spread like wildfire!

And while this may look a little different on social media, the concept remains the same.

In the world of social media, you can measure engagement with:

  • Likes (or reactions)
  • Shares
  • Comments
  • Views
  • Mentions
  • Subscriptions…etc.

In a nutshell, social media engagement is how your audience reacts, connects and interacts with your content.

 

How Does Social Media Engagement Benefit Your Business?

Here’s the thing…

A big following means nothing if your followers are not engaging with you.

That’s like hosting a big party where everyone shows up, but nobody does anything when they get there. Nobody drinks the punch. Nobody dances. Nobody even talks to you!

A big group of silent, bored people is the opposite of what you had planned for the party.

And the same is true for social media.

An active social media audience is crucial in 2023.

Especially if you’re in the market for brand growth.

However, we’ll let you in on a little life hack:

With the constantly changing algorithms, it can be hard to stay TOP-OF-PAGE. But if you engage consistently and effectively with valuable content, you can work towards an even higher goal:

Staying TOP-OF-MIND!

 

4 Benefits of Good Social Media Engagement

Brand Awareness and Recognition

One of the great benefits of social media engagement is brand awareness and recognition.

Once you’ve created your brand identity and have a solid strategy, the next step is to start showing up for your audience.

In this initial step, you’re finding your niche and showing up where your audience is already hanging out. You’re joining the party, introducing yourself and essentially handing out your business card.

As you continue to show up and engage, this audience will begin to not only know you but also recognize you - even from afar!

 

Brand Affiliation

To be honest, we’ve found some of our best friends in business on social media.

How cool is that?

Once we found our niche and started interacting, it was easy!

We found many people with similar passions, goals and interests as us. That’s how our podcast, Shop Talk Quinte, began!

We found so many people in our community with a heart for the meaningful work they did. And we admired that in them. So we invited them to have a conversation with us!

We asked them questions. We answered the questions they asked us. We listened to their responses. And them ours.

We began to understand, inspire and learn from one another.

And voila! To this day, we have grown to call them friends.

We are proud to be brand affiliates of their companies. And they are proud to be brand affiliates of ours!

 

Lead Generation

There are many types of lead generation:

  • SEO (search engine optimization),
  • Paid ads,
  • In-person networking events,
  • Online networking events,
  • Referrals,
  • Email marketing…etc.

But one of the most valuable forms of lead generation in 2023 is social media.

Your social media business account holds limitless market potential!

As you continue to build relationships and become a trusted thought leader in your industry, you begin the first stage in the lead conversion funnel: awareness!

In this stage, the client is getting to know you. The value you bring. The problem you solve.

They’ll begin to trust you!

 

Customer Relationship Management

Keeping in touch with your current and potential customers has never been easier with social media engagement!

With a quick post, you can keep everyone updated on the minute-by-minute happenings of your business. Whether that be new products, unexpected announcements, upcoming holiday closures, new ventures…etc.

They can also ask you questions any time - day or night -  in an easy-to-use medium.

By opening that line of communication on social media, you’re inviting MORE interactivity, connection and interest. And all you had to do was show up well!

So, how do you do that? How do you effectively show up on social media in 2023 to achieve these benefits?

We’ll teach you!

 

Your 2023 Social Media Engagement Guide:

Know Yourself

Step #1 to showing up on social media is to get to know yourself.

AKA your brand.

In our brand discovery meetings, we ask all sorts of questions to get to know you, your brand, your vision for the brand, goals, ambitions, values…etc.

We ask,

  • WHO your brand is,
  • WHAT your brand is,
  • WHAT it is you offer,
  • WHERE your brand is,
  • WHY your brand exists,
  • WHO your brand is targeting, and
  • HOW you add value.

Before you start engaging on social media, ask yourself these questions. They’ll help guide your content strategy and messaging!

 

Know Your Audience

And, of course, once you know yourself, you will then have to discover your target audience.

After all, how do you expect to find someone if you don’t know who you’re looking for?

Start with the basics, like age, gender, location and interest.

Then, move on to language, visual content and tone!

How does your target audience talk?

What tone of voice do they relate to?

What types of visual content speak best to them?

Once you know who you're targeting and how to best communicate and relate to them, you can start creating content directly for them!

 

Create Content That Counts

And that brings us to content!

Want to succeed on social media?

Then you need to create meaningful and valuable content.

You need intriguing content that relates to your people and encourages engagement!

Start by creating original content that is authentic to you and your brand.

Then use that valuable content to start conversations or encourage people to talk about you on their profiles.

It can be as simple as sharing an interesting fact about yourself and then asking whether your audience can relate.

 

Be Human

This is where the original, authentic content comes in.

Advertising has been around for a very long time. And people usually know how to spot a salesperson from a mile away.

So if you plan to only talk about your business or products, you might as well just not go on social media. Because that’s not what people want. 

And it’s especially not what they want on social media!

Social media should be a place to gather, connect, relate, share and exchange.

Not sell.

Now that doesn’t mean you can’t sell on social media. Because you absolutely can! It’s just not the goal.

The main goal is to build and nurture personal relationships. Even relationships between clients, potential customers and other business owners!

So, as you begin showing up online, try to veer away from all the sales pitches you’ve memorized. Instead, be human! Interact authentically with your audience and focus on being a genuine presence online.

 

Get Involved

And lastly, be brave!

To engage online, you have to put yourself out there.

So, involve yourself in those conversations.

Reach out to new people and brands.

Interact with content from other accounts.

Share your thoughts.

And don’t forget to also be an active listener!

You’ll be surprised at how many incredible relationships you will build!

 

Keep Us Posted!

Was this information helpful? Inspiring? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

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