Audience Engagement: The key to successful social media marketing

At least 80% of marketers report that social media efforts have increased traffic to their business’ campaigns and 92% indicate that social media efforts generate more exposure for their business.

But how do you know if your social media strategy is successful?

According to a survey of digital marketers, the most important objective of a social media strategy is to increase audience engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.). Engagement includes any interaction between people and brands on social networks; especially interactions that boost brand credibility, affinity and trust.

Understanding average engagement rates and user behavior across multiple platforms can drive your social media strategy and improve your business. Let’s take a look at the average reported engagement rates from some of the most active social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

• Instagram has a significantly higher engagement rate than any other platform at 2.261% (Facebook: .216%, LinkedIn: .055%, Twitter: .027%).
• Twitter continues to have the lowest active engagement rate, with just 300 engagements for every 1 million followers.
• LinkedIn has 332 million users, however only 35% of those users review their page on a daily basis. Compare this to Facebook, where over 50% of users visit their page multiple times a day.
• Among all social media platforms, engagement rates are nearly 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays, compared to the rest of the week.

TWEET THIS: How do your #socialmedia platforms perform compared to the masses?
@MerlotMarketing does the research: http://bit.ly/29QBrBD

By looking at these statistics, it is clear to see that engagement rates can fluctuate significantly from platform to platform and are continually evolving as the platforms change. So the question stands, what can you do to maximize engagement rates on your social media pages? Here are some tips to get you started:

• Facebook: On Facebook, video is king. Share video content whenever possible if you want Facebook’s algorithm to serve up your posts. However, when posting a video, make sure it has subtitles! As many as 85% of videos on Facebook are viewed without sound.
• Twitter: Keep the tweeting to a minimum. A recent study showed that brands who post more than 3 times a day saw engagement decrease as a result. Also, don’t forget to use a hashtag! Tweets with 1-2 hashtags get a 21% higher engagement rate than those that do not include any. Don’t go hashtag crazy though, because tweets with more than 3 hashtags receive 17% less engagement.
• Instagram: Instagram is all about aesthetic. Engagement rates are so high on this platform due to its easy-to-use, simple set-up. Keep your captions that way as well: short, sweet and efficient. Create visually impressive images with short captions to receive the most engagement. Reach a more engaged audience by using specific Instagram hashtags instead of general ones.
• LinkedIn: Due to the nature of the platform, LinkedIn engagement rates are higher when the shared content is valuable to the professional world. Keep the content relevant, but mix up what you post. Include a variety of content (images, videos, links, etc.) to keep your followers interested and intrigued. Posts with visual content receive 11 times more views than those without.

As with any tips, use this as a guide. Ultimately, get to know the audiences on each platform and provide content that is relevant to them and their interests. For more marketing tips from the Merlot Marketing team, click here. Good luck and don’t forget to have fun with your social media strategy!