How To Leverage Social Media for Community Engagement

Who runs the [marketing] world?! GIRLS! Just kidding, this isn’t a Beyonce song.

It’s social media, of course. 📱

With dozens of platforms to choose from, marketers (ahem business owners) are constantly having to decide which platforms they should give the most attention to.

And while I’m not here to give my two cents on which platforms are the best or most lucrative, I am here to help you navigate unique ways to use various platforms to promote community engagement.

(Although if I were to give you my two cents, I would first encourage you to make sure you have some sort of owned channel in place – such as a blog on your website or email list to ensure your content doesn’t fall into the black hole of the Internet. But that’s a blog for another day!)

It’s no secret that as a business owner, you have to wear multiple hats.

Not only are you the salesperson, graphic designer, copywriter, and content creator, you’re also often the accountant, bookkeeper, assistant, customer service team, and MUCH more.

With all of these roles and responsibilities, it’s very easy to view social media as something that you just need to check off your long to-do list and move along with your day.

Batch record reels. Create Canva graphics. Schedule content in Planoly. CHECK. ✔️

And while sometimes you might be in a season where intentionally posting and engaging on social media isn't your top priority and you just need to post so that people know you’re still alive, following this system on an ongoing basis likely won’t create the community that you desire.

TRUE community from social media comes from intentionality, which is why I encourage you to build in certain rhythms into your social media marketing so that you are consistently cultivating community with your audience and making room for the MOST engagement.

4 Ways to Cultivate Community Through Social Media

Don’t post and ghost 👻

My first tip is what NOT to do and the reason I lead with this first is because it’s something that I see happen ALL the time.

It’s the concept of posting and ghosting and it’s exactly what it sounds like. 👻 It’s when you post to your feed and call it a day.

Like mentioned above, sometimes you’re in a season where you really need to rely on scheduled content and if that’s the case for you right now, that’s fine, but what I want you to know is that this strategy does not provide your audience with the community that they really want.

Do people want to learn from you? Of course! That’s probably why they followed you in the first place.

But on a much deeper level, they want to know you, what you stand for, why you do what you do, and how you can specifically help them and it’s really hard for any of those things to come through in one single piece of content on your Instagram grid.

Instead of simply posting a pretty graphic with a valuable caption and hoping that people will follow your CTA, take all of your content a level further.

After you post on Instagram, or any platform for that matter, show up on stories (if applicable) or in another medium (maybe for you that’s via email or on your blog) to give a deeper dive.

This will feel much more intentional to your audience versus them feeling like you checked “post on social media” off your to-do list for the day.

Post with purpose

I’ll follow that with this: post with PURPOSE.

Somewhere along the way, many business owners have got it ingrained in their head that they *must* post on social media 3+ times per day in order to be successful.

But in case you needed permission to NOT follow that advice, here it is! In my humble opinion, forcing yourself into “rules” like this is a quick path to burnout and you can end up resenting the very thing that you once loved.

Is showing up on social media important? Sure! But is posting for the sake of posting the answer? I will confidently argue NO.

Posting with purpose will always win and your audience will appreciate you more because of it.

Life is busy, everyone goes through seasons, and sometimes your Instagram feed simply isn’t going to make the priority list. And that’s okay – call that out in stories or your newsletter if you want to. (I did this very thing in my newsletter just the other day!)

Let your people know that you’re real, let them in on the behind-the-scenes of your business, tell them what you’re up to.

I promise you they won’t think less of you because of it.

Intentionally engage with other people’s content

Have you ever heard of the Rule of Reciprocity?

This is a basic law of social psychology that says in many social situations we pay back what we receive from others.

In other words, you get what you give. So, if you WANT engagement on social media, you need to be the first to GIVE it!

What I’m not saying is you need to like, comment, and share every single piece of content that comes across your feed. What I AM saying is that in order to cultivate true community on social media, you want to intentionally lead the way.

The key word here is intentional.

You’ve likely received a comment before that reads something like: “omg, love this!!! SO helpful.”

And while a comment is great, nothing about that is very intentional.

Why do you love it? How is it helpful? Can you provide your perspective and share your personal insight?

The next time you engage on someone’s post, take your comments a step further by asking yourself those questions.

Intentional engagement from you can breed intentional engagement from them!

Genuinely respond to comments and DM’s

Similar to intentionally engaging with other people’s content, you also want to genuinely RESPOND when people engage with you.

If someone comments on your post or DM’s you with a question, take the time to respond to them in a way that is specific to them.

Address them with their name, acknowledge their comment or question, ask for clarity (if needed), and most importantly thank them for being there.

There are BILLIONS of people on the Internet that people can follow, but the fact that someone chooses to follow and engage with you is so special – recognize that!

Community Centered Support For Business Owners Like You

At the end of the day, social media can be a great tool for you to build, grow, and engage with your community, but that can’t happen when you solely rely on scheduling platforms and autoresponders.

People want to know YOU and engage with YOU, which means YOU have to be present.

As a business owner myself, I know how difficult it can be to carve out the time to consistently show up on social media amongst everything else going on in your business, so if you’re finding that time is your biggest struggle, that may be a sign that you need additional help in this specific area.

As a connection strategist, I help business owners just like you get seen by their ideal clients so that you can build a business that brings you joy while expanding your impact!

If that sounds like something you’re in search of, CLICK HERE to connect to see how we can work together to get you connected with the right potential clients!