Question: We hear a lot about the importance of social media engagement but do we have to engage with everyone or is there a method you recommend?
I just wrote about how many of the industry (social media) leaders teach the importance of engagement even though they don’t all do it.
Here is the short and simple answer as I see it.
Most companies are on Social Media to sell products and services and most people ultimately buy from people they like.
Therefore, online engagement is about building relationships with people so they can like your products, services and moreover your brand.
I always suggest to treat the online channel much like the offline channel in terms of deciding who to engage and connect with. Of course I like to put a few caveats on it such as:
- The digital footprint is permanent
- It is hard to know without doing some engagement whether or not someone is a prospect.
- It isn’t possible to build a meaningful relationships with everyone that engages your social media so you can be selective.
So when it comes to a method it just isn’t one size fits all, so instead I will leave you with a few things to consider.
- Think about how you build relationships with your customers in any medium, use that to guide your social.
- Shoot for awareness, advocacy and affinity. What does it take to get people in the know about our brand and then ultimately gain their support in sharing your message.
- Fuel the relationship. Meaning just because you have support now, doesn’t mean it is permanent. You have to feed relationships if you want to keep them.
Engagement is important, but more than anything do what makes sense for your brand on social for there is no definite right way.
How does your brand engage on social? Is it a canned strategy or have you figured out something that works well for you?
Do you have a question for “The Mailbag?” Click Here to submit your question and have it featured in an upcoming Mailbag.