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Imagine you’re at a party and a fellow party guest took it upon themselves to strike up a conversation with you. Would you ignore them? Probably not; that would be practicing bad party etiquette. Social media engagement works the same way.

79% of social media users expect a brand to respond within a day of reaching out on social media according to Sprout Social and 40% of users expect a response within an hour.

Social media engagement is driven by the community. If the followers feel like they are valued in your community, they will happily participate in it. Followers engage in different ways so let’s look at the different conversations you might encounter and how to respond so that you’re always boosting engagement. You want your community to be an active party.

Responding to Users in the Comments   

How you treat your followers is what determines whether or not they become customers. Neglecting engagement can lead to missed opportunities. Your brand has the ability to control your online reputation. Remember that how you respond will be on display for the internet to see. No matter if the comments are positive or negative, be intentional with how you approach each interaction. 

Thoughtful Conversation 

Social media engagement is encouraged with thoughtful conversation. Just like in-person, if you have thoughtful responses that encourage conversation, people talk to you more. You don’t want to fall into a trap of always thanking commenters. A simple “thank you” doesn’t necessarily invite more conversation.

You have to work a little harder to make a human connection when chatting with customers over the internet. A friendly smile does a lot in real life, but with social media posts, you don’t have body language to work with. Liking and thanking are not enough. So make your responses genuine and specific to the comment. Also, be sure to respond in a timely manner to each comment.

Wendys Social Media Engagement

Wendy’s is a great example of a brand that has mastered engagement. The fast food chain has a reputation on Twitter for responding to their followers with witty replies. Over time, they created super-fans out of their followers for being consistent with their engagement.

One Word Comments or Tags

There are some occasions where you don’t need a thoughtful response. If the comment is simply one word, an emoji, or they tagged a friend these are the only situations where it is okay to not comment back. Of course, you can comment back though! You can thank them for sharing your post if they tagged someone, or you can respond with an emoji to their emoji (speak their language).

Questions 

Answer all the questions. Even if you have answered the question 100 times before, there are new people on your page and you need to answer their questions. You can also respond with links that take them to the answer they are looking for. If the question requires a long response then you can ask them for their email and move that conversation to their inbox.

Negative Comments 

In a perfect world, all user engagement would be ✨ emojis ✨  with customers singing their praises about your brand. However, we all know that isn’t the case. Negative comments about your brand need to be addressed.

Aside from hateful or spam comments, you need to respond with as much grace as possible. Never take things personally. You are representing a brand and you don’t want any impulsive emotions to get in the way of that representation. Take the time to think before you respond. Timeliness is important but doesn’t take precedence over professionalism. 

If a negative review comes from a follower after an incident, you need to get to the bottom of it right away and make it right. Social media platforms are where your customer service is displayed to the world, so make it good! The customer is always right even more so on social media.

Feel free to take the resolution offline but post a short sensitive response to the review publicly so that others see you are taking care of the concern. It also doesn’t hurt to address the issue publicly as long as it’s something that has a quick resolution.

Now if the comment is spam or hateful, there is no need to engage. Since these usually violate platform guidelines, just flag or hide the comment. You can also block users who have a habit of commenting with these types of messages.

Engaging with Content From Your Followers

If someone has taken the time to post about your brand on social media, you should value that. When followers are taking pictures with your products or tagging you in their Instagram stories, show them some love! 

Repost their posts and Stories in your Instagram Stories. This kind of social proof can do wonders for your business. People like to buy things that other people are buying. It works the same way with comments. People like to comment where other people are commenting. 

Giving people your time makes them feel valued and they will return the favor. Liking your follower’s posts, commenting on other social media accounts gives you positive attention and makes others want to return the favor. Simply liking posts gets people noticing you and your brand. 

Social Media Engagement and Influencer Marketing Campaigns 

If you’re looking to boost your reach and brand engagement, there are additional tactics you can implement outside of responding to engagement on your social accounts. Influencer marketing campaigns are perfect for growing your brand awareness. However, the influencer needs to be engaging properly to really drive results. 

Success is determined by how engaged people are with the content. When they are engaged with the influencer’s content that promoted your brand, they will come looking for your brand. 

Consider working with an influencer within your niche who has a solid engagement rate. Tools like IZEAx Discovery help you search for influencers by engagement rate. 

If the influencer is practicing good social media etiquette, they will be answering questions and responding to comments. It’s also a good idea for your brand to join in on the conversation happening on sponsored content. This gives your brand even more attention. These authentic interactions with the influencer and the brand itself will make the user more intrigued to check out your page. 

Building Meaningful Relationships

Thinking of social media conversations the same way you do in-person conversations is the best way to stay authentic. People go to social media platforms looking for real people. Keeping in mind your target audiences and what is important to them will get them to engage. 

When you respond to followers, use the opportunity to relate or connect with them. Most social media users can sniff our genuine responses over generic ones. If you are engaging the right way they will be back. These people are what make up your community. The ones who feel like they belong will build up your brand. When you have a community that loves your brand, you see it take off.