Get the party started and keep it going! Why engaging with your Instagram and Facebook audience and community is key.

Social media is like one big party - with people you’ve met in real life, those you’ve only connected with online and some people you’ve never reached before! And for you and your brand, all of these people matter. As social media platforms evolve to reward authentic social interactions, community engagement has become a vital part of any marketing strategy. If it isn’t a part of yours yet, add it in now.

Authentically connecting with those who have decided to support and follow you, builds personal connections and audience loyalty. It also shows other potential followers what their experience with you could be like after they hit the follow button. People don’t use social networks for a one-way experience. They’re seeking connections — with people and with the brands they have actively chosen to follow.

Without engagement, social media is just media.

So how can you effectively engage with your audience and the accounts within your social media community? To put it quite simply…

Treat your audience the way you’d like to be treated.

Share, save, like, tag, retweet, click and comment! Answer comments on your posts. React to Instagram stories. Start discussions. Ask questions. Share kindness. Have fun!

Use all the features that Facebook and Instagram have to offer. All social platforms prioritize accounts who actively participate. The social media profiles that are more active and publish social posts that contain thoughtful interactions will have a higher reach. Nurture conversations as this is what will grow your prospects into customers, and your customers into brand champions. This also helps to build reciprocity amongst your community and you’ll find when you provide value (through interaction) to your followers, they are more likely to give back in a similar fashion.

Here are a few helpful tips when it comes to interacting with your community:

1. Engage meaningfully. Don’t just scroll through and aimlessly ‘like’ posts. Comment on them, tag, share the posts to your IG stories if the content is relatable. Be a part of the conversations.
2. Use a consistent and authentic voice when communicating with your clients and those within your community. Answer comments, DMs, Instagram stories genuinely.
3. Answer all questions, reply to all comments and monitor your DMs. This all counts as engagement and many customers (as well as potential customers) expect to receive a response of some kind if they connect with you first.
4. Stay consistent and intentional with your engagement so you can accurately monitor reach and make weekly/monthly analytics comparisons worthwhile.
5. Have fun with it! People love to interact with other fun people. It makes the social experience much more fulfilling for everyone.

Start the party, join the party and keep it going!