If you want engagement, use an engaging image!
How many times have you scrolled right past a post just because the image didn’t catch your eye, or make you want to stop? If people aren’t stopping and looking at your posts, they certainly aren’t going to like or comment. One of the easiest ways to boost engagement is by using the best graphics you can. Looking for great FREE resources for stock images? Here’s a few:
Likes are great, comments are even better!
Don’t get me wrong, you definitely want people liking your posts. But likes alone won’t build relationships. And relationships are the key to growing your business. If you want to take advantage of algorithms and get your content in front of more people, you need them to start commenting. Sounds great… but how? So glad you asked.
Tell them what you want them to do, (AKA the call to action)
If you want to boost your engagement like crazy and build relationships with your followers, on EVERY post (yes every) tell them exactly what you want them to do. If you’re worried about sounding pushy that will only happen if your telling people to come and buy your product or service all of the time.
Call to action should be a lot more like a conversation, where your asking for the opinion of your followers. Here are some examples of ways to call your audience to action:
- What is one word to describe the way you’re feeling?
- Can you relate?
- Have you done this?
- Have you tried this?
- Vote for your favorite.
You can add things like “Let me know in the comments” if you think it’s necessary.
The more comments you get, the more you get to know your people, which means better relationships with them.
Remember… Relationship = Trust = Sales = Referrals
Engagement Rate
There are several ways to come up with an engagement rate for your profile and individual posts. One thing I like to do is take a look at the number of likes on a post compared to the number of comments.
For example, on my Instagram profile, I recently posted a donut post on national donut day. That post has 39 comments and 80 likes. Which makes my engagement rate for that post 49%! Which is awesome. The formula is simple: # of comments divided by # of likes.
Paying attention to your engagement rate will help you learn what resonates with your audience and how to increase engagement over time..
If you remember one thing from this post I want it to be this: If you want comments, if you want more engagement, you’ve got to ask.
