How To Increase Social Media Engagement for Small Brands: Proven Strategies That Work

Small businesses must understand how to increase social media engagement, because posting to an audience that doesn’t pay attention won’t help brands succeed. One of the best ways small companies use social media is to engage with followers who in turn become paying customers. 

Social accounts featuring engaging content are rewarded with higher customer loyalty, improved brand awareness, and enhanced credibility. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram favor accounts with rising engagement rates, giving small companies better opportunities to be featured and recommended to a larger audience. 

Earning likes and shares isn’t a coincidence—it takes planning and hard work to increase social media engagement, but the payoff is profitable. If your posts are seeing meager audience interaction, it’s time to take a closer look at improving your audience’s engagement using these strategies:

Understand Engagement Metrics

Before trying to increase social media engagement rates, you need to know where your brand stands and which metrics indicate improvement. Likes, shares, comments, click-throughs, and direct messages are more than data points—they’re the keys to understanding the reactions you’re getting (or not) and whether your messages resonate with your audience. You’ll also want to review metrics for posts that are doing well to identify why these are hitting the mark and to determine whether there are other opportunities for similar content or a series.

Learn Who Your Audience Is

Listening to what your audience is saying across social platforms can tell you a lot about who they are and the conversations they’re having. Social listening tools can help you monitor audience activity and engagement across platforms to learn more about their online habits and interests.

Your brand’s follower list will also tell you plenty. Do a deep dive into their demographics to learn who they are, and then identify what kind of content—reels, images, contests, videos—gets this group’s attention, and what goes unnoticed. Use this information to shape how your future content will increase social media engagement with your existing audience.

Focus on the Right Platforms

Facebook is often considered the best social platform for a small business because it has a larger user base and it’s relatively simple, but the best platform for a growing brand is the one its target audience uses most. A small business can leverage social media effectively by focusing its marketing efforts on the right platform, rather than trying to do everything on all media.

Create Content Worthy of Attention

Posting unimaginative, unoriginal content may be more damaging to a small business than not posting at all. People have seen enough stock images and static content. Strengthening engagement requires excellent content creation and thoughtful post ideas. But delivering these polished posts consistently without the resources of a social media marketing agency isn’t easy for a small company. 

If you aren’t ready to see the signs it’s time to outsource your social marketing, leaning into authentic posts and showing an insider’s view of your brand can indulge followers’ interests in the meantime. Knowing how to increase social media engagement with specific content and writing on-point social media captions can also do the trick. Consider these post ideas primed for engagement:

• Asking a question or seeking feedback
• Q&A sessions
• Polls and quizzes
• Caption contests
• Niche-specific how-tos and hacks
• Behind-the-scenes content
• UGC

Engage Your Online Community

Communication on social feeds must be a two-way street. If you expect customers to participate in your posts, then you should be ready to do the same by answering questions, replying to comments, and sharing user-generated content from your audience to your account. A social media marketing agency can be a lifesaver for a small business marketer who knows how to increase social media engagement through conversation but doesn’t have the staff or time to do so. An agency that excels at social media management can step in and take care of community building for you.

Leverage Partnerships

It can be difficult for small businesses to create content worthy of turning heads. Investing in your social media presence through partnerships and content creators is worthwhile for small businesses because a brand can expect increased engagement and reach, which in turn can translate into sales leads and customer loyalty.

Influencers and Collaborations

Influencers come with an entire audience ready to take their advice on products and services. When these personalities show off a small business’s flagship product, it can lead to big-time engagement and conversions. Influencers work for nearly any brand or industry, making them indispensable for small companies in niche markets.

Marketing Agency

Deciding when to hire a social media marketing agency and when to keep the work in-house is a personal decision, but if you don’t have the resources or know-how to increase social media engagement, leave it to the pros. Small businesses can’t do it all, and these agency teams handle all the details, from influencers’ contracts to social media regulations and analytics.

Understand Social Media Basics

Your social efforts should be intentional and take advantage of each social media platform’s features. If you don’t have a resident expert on staff, consider how a social media marketing agency can benefit your small business. They’re all about nuts-and-bolts thinking that promises posts go live at the best time, the frequency is spot on, and your reach is maximized for top engagement. 

Take Advantage of Social Media Features

A solid content calendar will provide a variety of interesting post ideas, but you need to understand which platform features will highlight these best to get the widest reach and highest engagement. Selecting the right interactive media—reels, live videos, contests, infographics, discussion forms, GIFs, and images—can encourage meaningful responses and engagement. 

Attract New Followers

Optimizing your social media profiles to reflect your brand accurately can help you attract new followers interested in your brand (and likely to engage). Using keywords in your profile and post captions will attract qualified searchers who are turning to their social feeds for solutions. Incorporating trending topics and hashtags when appropriate can also connect people to your brand and make them engaged followers. These organic optimization efforts are cost-efficient ways to increase social media engagement for the long haul.

If you’re ready to put these strategies into action with an experienced social media marketing agency, contact Joybyte today. Our agency’s services assist businesses small and large in increasing engagement, reach, and conversions.