How to Increase Customer Engagement on Social Media

Social media algorithms give more visibility to posts that have high quality engagement. Asking customers to “like and share” often isn't enough anymore as more meaningful interaction is rewarded. Here are five ways you can encourage engagement.

Don't just advertise your brand; post content that people actually want to see. This might be a comic related to your theme, fun facts related to your products or a how-to video. Think about the kinds of posts people are likely to share with their friends or remember because they learned something.

Ask questions that encourage your followers to comment and start discussions. For example, “What would you most like to see/try/do…?” “Guess what's happening in this picture”, “Which do you prefer…?” These kinds of questions work well on Facebook. On Instagram, you can also frequently use polls and questions in stories to keep engagement high.

Always keep your audience in mind when creating posts. The target age and demographics have an impact on the kind of engagement you're likely to get. Think about whether the tone should be fun or serious and what kind of comments or discussions you want to inspire.

Continue engagement by responding to comments quickly. If customers have a question about your products and services, this is a good place to answer it. Engaging with comments also helps you understand your audience better, and as an added bonus, makes your posts more visible.

You can encourage sharing and brand engagement by having contests and giveaways where customers use your hashtag or tag your page. Beware of the “tag 3 friends” in the comments kind of contest though as the algorithm tends to flag these. Instead, choose a memorable hashtag that says something about your brand ideals.