That’s it! I’ve had enough! A few weeks ago, I tossed the word *ENGAGEMENT* in the bin! Warning – rant ahead.

Yes, I know – I’ve written about engagement on this blog before, and how incredibly important it is in building a loyal following. Because it is!

However, the internet and social media, like anything in life, go through phases. With all the new hip words that kids say these days, *ENGAGEMENT* seems to be the one currently getting its five minutes of fame and I’m over it.

This term leaves a lot of people incredibly confused, sometimes me included, as we seem to have a tendency to overcomplicate things online.

So, get out a pen and paper and write down how you feel when people comment on your social media posts. Is it awesome? Amazing? Wonderful?

These comments are a form of engagement and are often the best sign that your followers are loving your content. It’s SO important to reciprocate and respond to these interactions. At the end of the day, what goes around comes around, right?

Instead of telling people to engage, like some kind of robotic, mechanic, thing that needs to be prepared, I’m going to do a backflip and encourage you to just be human when you are responding to your followers.

• Don’t like things for the sake of liking.
• Don’t comment because you’re trying to beat the algorithm (FYI – it can’t be beaten, rather it rewards genuine interaction!).
• Don’t acquire the use of bots to leave the most ridiculous comments I have ever seen, leaving you and your business looking like a fool and ruining any of the hard work you have actually put in to building your brand. Just be human!

 
This means that if you see something that makes you smile, throw it a like. If you read something that makes you FEEL some kinda way, let them know. Do it all with the intention of building relationships and trust with people, like you would in REAL LIFE…coz spoiler alert…this is real life too!

I would also love to learn from you. How do you engage with your followers? What tips do you have for those who want to minimise the time it takes to engage with their followers? Do you use a social media management tool, or do you outsource your social media?

If you’ve been feeling a bit lost with social media lately and are a business based in Cairns or the Margaret River region, we are opening up one spot for social media management! If you’d like to know more, get in touch! Click the contact us button above. I look forward to hearing from you and learning about your business.