Engagement. It’s the key word you hear when trying to determine how successful your social strategy has been.

Creating amazing, valuable content is almost pointless if you are not generating enough engagement.

Below we have outlined five key ways to help your social channels gain more traction.

1.    Keep your content fresh

Make sure you are providing your followers with a wide range of content to keep them inspired and prevent them from hitting the ‘unfollow’ button.

Using different formats is a simple way to make your account stand out from the rest. Try experimenting with videos, polls and questions to keep your account fresh and your followers engaged.

As mentioned in a previous blog, short-form videos are gaining a lot of attention right now are a key trend that needs to be incorporated into your social strategy.

2.    Be social

It’s called social media for a reason, don’t post with no intention of actively interacting with those who engage with your content.

Always respond to comments and offer any additional advice or information where you can.

Sometimes a simple like or reply to a comment can stay in the mind of a follower and result in greater loyalty in the future.

The Instagram algorithm will also reward your account for staying social and helping the platform to deliver valuable conversations.

3.    Create valuable content

It may seem quite an obvious one, but producing content that is high-quality and offers value to a follower is much more likely to receive greater engagement levels.

If your feed looks great, consumers will be more likely to follow you and engage with you in the future, so make a good impression and produce aesthetically pleasing posts.

4.    Target the right audience

Hashtags are often under utilised but are an excellent way to directly target those who you want to be engaging with your content.

Choosing between 20 and 30 relevant hashtags on Instagram (three to five on LinkedIn and Facebook) can help to introduce your content to an audience which is actively looking to engage.

The key is to use hashtags which are closely associated with your content. By using hashtags that are irrelevant, you risk avoiding your target audience and potentially alienating those who already engage with your posts.

5.    Remember your audience

You could produce some of the funniest posts in the world, but if your audience is following your account for reliable, serious news, then your content isn’t meeting their needs and therefore is irrelevant.

It is very important to keep the consumer’s requirements at the forefront of your mind.

You should regularly monitor the performance of your social media, that way you can visibly see what is working and what may not be.

If a certain type of post is receiving less engagement, then you can start to establish whether it is really of value to your audience.

If you need some help improving your engagement levels and growing your social media channels then get in touch today.