Outbound social media engagement is the bread and butter of social media marketing.
Many brands want more engagement on their social media posts but don’t know what they have to do to get it. Because of this, they just keep posting more content and expecting that to do the trick. Let’s be real for a moment…what’s the point of having social media accounts if you’re not going to actually be SOCIAL on them? Just having a social platform and posting a few times a week isn’t going to be enough in today’s social media landscape. Everyone uses social media nowadays. The question you need to be asking is, “how can I make myself stand out and continue to grow?” The answer: Outbound Engagement!
Let’s dive more into the world of social media engagement so we can better understand how to increase it.
What is community engagement?
Social media community engagement is the process of engaging with online communities on social media platforms. Community engagement on social media is a way to interact with and measure how people engage with your social media content and accounts. It can include actions like likes, comments, shares, retweets, saves, link clicks, and mentions. The goal is to build relationships, increase brand loyalty, and grow authentic connections. A successful community engagement strategy can also improve customer experience and increase overall sales. Community engagement can be a valuable tool for brands to gain customer insights that can help shape their products, services, and overall strategy. By creating a two-way dialogue with their followers on social media, brands can learn about their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Inbound and outbound engagement are important for overall growth.
We do need to make one thing clear. Inbound engagement and outbound engagement are two VERY different things.
- Inbound engagement is when you are liking and replying to comments on your own posts or to DMs that are sent to your account.
- Outbound engagement is when YOU are the one leaving the comments on OTHER accounts and sending them the messages.
Both of these engagement tactics are important. But too many times, brands don’t engage at all (if this is you, fix it ASAP), or they only focus on the inbound engagement. That can’t happen if you want to see growth. You also have to focus on the outbound engagement.
Outbound engagement is the act of reaching out to your community or audience. It acts as the cornerstone for building trust in the digital space. Outbound community engagement creates a sense of belonging among your followers. By acknowledging their input, you allow them to feel valued and heard which can help deepen your relationship with your audience. In an era where consumers are increasingly skeptical, brands that listen, respond, and engage with their audience stand out as authentic and trustworthy.
What can you do to maximize your engagement on social media?
Build trust and loyalty with your follower community
Building trust within your social media community allows your followers to feel like they’re part of something larger, transforming them from mere consumers into brand advocates. Customers want to know that there are real people behind the brand, not just automated responses. Interreacting with your audience with outbound engagement genuinely and making it clear that your brand values what customers have to say is crucial in building trust.
Be consistent
Checking in once or twice a week isn’t going to cut it. Doing this shows your audience that you either don’t care to respond or you only respond when it’s convenient for you. This can lessen your chance of earning that trust which may prevent them from ultimately purchasing your product or even viewing your page. Outbound engagement needs to be happening consistently.
Increase brand Identity
Brand identity is what helps people connect to your business and sets you apart from your competitors. This means that all marketing, including print, digital, and social media, should follow the advice stated above; it should be consistent. Not only will consistent brand identity make it easier to know what to post, but it can also help increase brand loyalty. The algorithms on most social media platforms prioritize content that generate interactions, such as comments, shares, and likes. Because of this, brands that actively engage with their community in turn will help boost their identity and visibility.
Be genuinE
People are more likely to unfollow brands on social media that are not replying to messages, engaging with them, and are not showing personality. Be sure of what works for your audience and what doesn’t. You’ll encounter some trial and error as you’re implementing new strategies for outbound engagement – and that’s okay! As long as you show that you’re TRYING.
Improve on customer insights
Outbound engagement is a vital tool for gaining valuable customer insights. These insights can be instrumental in molding your brand’s products and services. As mentioned before, creating a two-way dialogue with your community on social media can help you understand the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of your followers. And that’s important because followers have the potential to become clients or customers!
Growing your social media platforms organically through outbound community engagement.
Your community engagement on social media can always improve. There isn’t a maximum engagement level one can reach and call it good. The more engaged your audience is, the more opportunity there will be for other people to see your posts which in turn will draw them to your website, product, or service.
Now let’s take a moment to look at 4 different social media platforms and talk about how you can organically grow your page through outbound community engagement.
Pinterest: a visual discovery platform where people search, save, and shop ideas
- Repin content from your home feed and save pins to boards from other accounts. Focus on accounts that you may fit your target audience or that draw your attention.
- Build relationships with other non-competitive accounts that serve the same target customer.
- Like & comment on pins from these other accounts. This engagement may encourage them to do the same for you.
- Promote and/or share these pins (as well as yours) on other social media platforms.
YouTube: a video sharing service where users can watch, like, share, comment and upload their own videos
- Consistently post videos to your YouTube channel.
- Watch, comment, like, share, & engage with videos from other accounts.
- Subscribe to other YouTube channels. This interest to their channels may draw their attention to yours.
- Promote your YouTube channel on other social media platforms.
Linked In: a platform for anyone who wants to create and maintain a professional profile online
- Follow other business profiles; especially ones that could be in your target audience or help draw others to your page.
- Invite & request connections to your page.
- Like & comment on other posts from profiles in your feed. By engaging with their content, it could draw them to your page, and they could do the same.
- Get more tips on outbound engagement for Linked In here,
Instagram: a platform for sharing photos and videos for followers to view, like and comment
- Follow other accounts that match your values and your target audience.
- Like & comment on their posts.
- Share relatable posts (both yours and those who you follow) to your Instagram story.
- Get more tips on how to grow your Instagram account here.
The progression of outbound engagement as your account grows may change.
Remember, outbound engagement is a proactive approach to connecting with your audience beyond just your own posts. You don’t have the right to complain about ‘low engagement’ if you’re not participating IN the engagement. It doesn’t just happen – you need to do your part to make it happen! Active outbound engagement is the cornerstone of social media. You should ALWAYS be setting aside time for outbound engagement. Even if it’s just 20 minutes per day.
As your accounts grow, you may find yourself ‘needing’ to do outbound engagement less. Your community will engage with your posts and your account will become one that your target customers seek out and enjoy. That being said, do NOT let it fall by the wayside. Outbound engagement never ends, it just evolves.
