If you’re an inbound marketer, or you use social media to help promote your business, you’ve probably heard that engagement is essential.

But why is engagement so important in modern marketing?

When you engage with another user, your activity is broadcast across both your audience streams. Both pools of followers can see your interaction and can jump into the conversation as they please. Engaging in public domains can create significant organic exposure when performed skillfully.

If your social media campaigns aren’t generating any traction, chances are it’s because you’re not using the platforms to effectively engage with your audiences. Here a list of quick engagement tips that you can use today to turn things around.

Engagement Tips: DO…

1. Ask a question

People love to talk about themselves, and by our very nature we feel compelled to answer a question when we’re asked. Use this to your advantage. Check out this great article for more on the power of asking questions.

2. Try a “Fill-in-the-blank”

These are known to get fantastic results. Something like: “Fill in the blank: I feel happiest when I…” can capture your audience’s attention as it applies the same psychological tactic I mentioned above.

3. Post a quality image

It should go without saying that you need great looking images. But what does “great” mean? If your image has great photo quality, great design, and interesting/beautiful/funny content, you should be in good shape.

4. Repeat something that succeeded

If your analytics are telling you something worked, then try to recycle the tactics to see whether you can replicate the performance.

5. Curate content

By listening to the social media landscape, you will find some great content from your audiences worth sharing. If they share something good, pass it on! You’ll cement a relationship that’s mutually beneficial and guarantee some good shares.

6. Post a text-only update

Sometimes, simpler can mean better. You may not think this is a good engagement tip, but knowing when to keep it simple can make a big difference.

7. Talk about current events

Take advantage of the inherent traffic associated with trending topics that are relevant to your brand.

8. Include a Call to Action

Don’t forget to ask for likes, shares and comments. People are much more likely to do what they’ve been asked to do.

9. Recognise someone else

Have a fan (or even a competitor) who’s done something worth noticing? Point it out!

10. Post something funny

While it can be hard to create funny business content on a regular basis, this engagement tip probably has the biggest impact on participation levels. People use social media to be entertained, and everyone likes to laugh.

11. Post something short

Everybody’s busy. Use as few words as you need to get your point across and to spur engagement.

12. Collect votes (Like vs. Share)

Posts like these have a great track record for going viral - ever seen one? Think “Like if you agree, Share if you disagree” or similar.

13. Post a quote

Inspirational quotes get lots of shares. It’s a great engagement tip to lighten your streams and motivate your audience.

14. Use emoticons

Statistics show these increase engagement, most likely because they make you sound like a human instead of a robot. :/

15. Link to interesting articles

It’s a pretty big no-no to be “all you, all the time”. Reference compelling content that others are posting and you’ll not only improve your engagement rates, but also develop your outreach practices too.

16. Tag someone else

A fantastic (but easily abused) way to get people’s attention to your post is to tag them. Make sure you use this engagement tip in moderation or you’ll be marked as a spam account very quickly.

17. Start a conversation

Discuss: Posts that ask questions - good idea or bad idea? Probably the easiest engagement tip to put into practice…

18. Poll your fans

Do you like polls? Yes, no or maybe? According to this excellent post, polls are a great way to increase your engagement.

19. Ask for captions

Try posting a photo and asking your followers to provide the caption. Bonus points if your photo is touching or funny.

20. Post a “How-To”

We all love learning new things, even re-learning things we already knew in fun and interesting ways.

21. Make it human

It’s okay to add a little quirkiness, opinion or humour. This makes you relatable and allows people to get to know the real you behind your profile image.

22. Make it nostalgic

Most people enjoy a good throwback. Use this engagement tip to give them a chance to reminisce about the good old days.

23. Direct people to your post via email

Don’t think that social media is the only place to engage with your followings. Why not link to your latest post in your weekly email blast or monthly newsletter and take the conversation to email?

Engagement Tips: DON’T…

24. Make it too long

140 characters or less is Twitter’s policy for a reason. On this social media platform especially, you need to use short, sharp and concise messages.

25. Make it complicated

One of the worst things you can do to reduce engagement levels is to post something confusing. When you have mere seconds to reach someone, you have to be crystal clear or your voice gets lost in the crowd.

26. Forget to ask for engagement

Forget to include a call to action? Put one in your post now. (See what I did there?) �?�

But seriously, forgetting to ask your followers to like, share or comment is most often a mistake. Learn about other mistakes that could be getting in the way of your engagement in this post.

27. Post something irrelevant

Don’t just post cat photos because you think people like them. If you can’t somehow tie it back to your brand identity or business objectives, you probably need to rethink your content plan.

28. Post something negative

Nobody likes a downer. Keep it upbeat!

29. Invite controversy

Some marketers might say this is a good engagement tip, and while you might get more comments from a heated debate, you stand to damage your image just as much as you build it. Share controversial content wisely and in consideration.

30. Try to sell

People don’t go to social networks to shop. They go to socialise. So be social! Selling will come as a by-product of being useful, valuable and engaging.

31. Only post links

Great social media managers know the value of variety. It gives potential followers something to look forward to if they choose to come on board.

Start Implementing These Engagement Tips

If you don’t try to improve your practices using these quick engagement tips, your social media campaigns will suffer. Undoubtedly, many opportunities will pass you by.

Take time to carefully plan how you can participate in conversions effectively, while focusing on fulfilling business objectives. And don’t act differently online to how you would in real life - that’s a mistake and can

What’s your best engagement tip for creating activity on your social media accounts?