I recently did a poll in an Instagram Story and asked my followers what their biggest content creation challenge was. One of the top responses was how to create content that engages their audience. Now, from a social media perspective we view engagement as likes, comments, shares or mentions. It’s an actual statistic that you can pull out of your analytics on both Instagram and Facebook for each of your posts.
Now, it’s true that the social media algorithms reward content with higher engagement with greater reach. It’s like a snowball effect in that the more reach, the more likely more engagement and so it goes on!
However, should we be defining engagement by this statistic alone?
Here’s a few ways at looking at whether engagement really matters.
Engagement doesn’t mean consumption
The purpose of strategic content is consumption. Content has one role and that is to move your ideal client through the client journey from not knowing anything about you to becoming your greatest ambassador.
Social media posts that have a like or emails that have been opened doesn’t mean that the content has been consumed. And if it’s not being consumed, then this person is unlikely to ever become your client anyway.
So instead of creating content simply for likes or opens, focus on creating content that is likely to be consumed by your ideal client.
Lack of engagement does not equal lack of sales
People are ALWAYS watching. They may not press the like button or stop to make a comment, but they register your visibility and you are constantly building brand awareness. This is not only true of your own social media pages, but also in places such as Facebook Groups.
I recently had a client that I had never heard of her before. Never seen her in any Facebook Groups, never interacted in any way, her name had never been on my radar. She was however on my email list. And as soon as I dropped an offer, she was ready and jumped on it!
So, the moral of the story is that your clients won’t always come from social media and even if they do, they may not have ever engaged with your posts. The people who do engage with you may not be the ones who end up as your clients.
Find other ways to engage with your ideal client
Which leads me to the last point. Social media is not the only place to reach your ideal client. By moving them off social media, you can start a conversation in a different way.
Moving your ideal client onto your email list is one example. By creating a lead magnet that is actionable, solves a problem and leads into one of your services, you can continue to engage with them in an automated email nurture sequence, providing exceptional value and leading them through the nurture phase to conversion.
Your focus content (blog, podcast or video content) also provides your ideal client with a way to get to know you, what you do and how you do it. It is an opportunity for them to consume, rather than necessarily engage.
So, please don’t get hung up on statistics or the fact that your social media posts aren’t getting the vanity stats. Don’t be disheartened! People are still watching and there are other ways to connect, nurture and convert your ideal client.
Continue to write and create content with your ideal client in mind so that it meets them at exactly where they are in their journey with you, just don’t rely solely on the likes.
If you would like to know how to meet your ideal client where they are in their journey with you, then download The Content Roadmap. It’s a blueprint that shows you exactly what type of content you should be using at each stage of the client journey so that it encourages consumption and connection, whilst growing your business. Not only will you be creating better quality content, you will be saving time by having to create less.