At the beginning of 2024 research showed that 78.3% of Australia’s total population were active on social media platforms. Interestingly a little less than in 2023 but still constitutes a huge proportion.
More Australians use social media than drive a car to work, or know how to swim. Considering that these activities are so embedded in our cultural identity, it’s interesting that we’re still contemplating the significance of social media as a communications tool.
Despite some umm-ing and ah-ing in the realm of communications, tapping into social media platforms has been a priority for many businesses since Facebook popularised social media in a way that left MySpace no space. While people were poking each other and ‘liking’ things for fun, businesses and organisations were investing and creating pages.
Having a presence on social media is one thing; actively engaging with your audience is another entirely.
Many of Australia’s biggest businesses – Telstra, Woolworths, Mecca – have well-resourced and robust customer service functions running via their social media platforms, at the same time many organisations don’t ever answer a comment, whether it’s a polite query or a complaint.
So, what is it the right way to engage for your company? To converse a lot, a little or not at all?
There is no hard and fast rule. And it is not as straight forward as A.B.C.
In retail and hospitality, helping your audience buy an item or book a table on social media is a no-brainer. Even within the realms of b2b, an open social media inbox can be an important element of your lead generation. But it’s not as simple for organisations with more complex relationships with their clients. Health organisations – from GP offices to the health department – must safeguard against people seeking unsafe online diagnoses. Service organisations can find it difficult to have complex interactions with their clients via social media, especially when privacy and safety are a concern.
The important thing to remember is that in the same way that no business is the same, the way you approach social media engagement doesn’t have to be the same.
This brings us to the question: what exactly is meant by social media engagement?
Social media engagement is the interaction between a brand or individual and their audience that involve active participation from both parties on a social media platform – call it a conversation – it is two-way. It is what happens when social media goes beyond simply broadcasting messages and advertisements. It’s encouraging conversations between audience members, responding to comments, messages, and mentions, and generally engaging in dialogue with followers. These conversations can be about anything from fandom to service queries.
In short, it’s not a ‘post and run’. It means dedicating time to comment threads and to answering questions in your inbox – in other words, online community management. Online community management happens when the engagement with your audience fosters a connection because you are delivering helpful, informative interactions.
Community management is often the forgotten part of social media. When an organisation is not social media first – as in, when they don’t consider social media a primary communication channel – the engagement part of social media falls low in the pecking order. Not every organisation wants or needs to make social media a primary channel, but if social media is an important channel, not making a conscious strategic decision about your level of engagement is risky.
The reasons why you should interact with your audience on social media
So why should you invest to engage with your audience via social media? It clearly takes time, energy, and support to enable your team to be effective.
In the opinion of this social media consultant, it adds measurable value to the bottom line.
Interacting with organisations can educate interested parties about their offering, provide easy access to information, and make positive engagement visible. Simple comment threads can:
- clearly articulate brand voice and personality
- differentiate an organisation from competitors
- position an organisation as an authority and spokespeople as thought leaders.
Social media engagement enhances already robust social media presences and takes them to the next level.
Here are a few reasons why that happens.
Social media’s role in boosting your reputation
Social media engagement across multiple platforms stands as a pivotal tool for bolstering organisational reputation. Research underscores its effectiveness in cultivating positive perceptions among consumers and stakeholders alike. The possibilities that encouraging two-way engagement offers cannot be overstated – it serves as a catalyst for fostering meaningful interactions that nurture trust and loyalty between brands and their customers.
According to a 2020 study by Guo, Fan, and Zhang, actively engaging with people on multiple social media platforms boosts an organisation’s reputation score. The research shows that greater engagement across multiple channels directly leads to an improved reputation, and that organisations that engage with people via social media platforms have a higher reputation score and overall, the benefits of engaging on social media outweigh the risks of not engaging.
Your reputation is incredibly important. Don’t underestimate the role that engaging with your audience on social media can have in boosting it.
Consumer behaviour: using social media for brand research
Close to one in three Australians have actively engaged with social networks to seek information about brands and products. The period from 2022 to 2023 witnessed a significant uptick in this behaviour, showing an increase of 7.3%. According to the latest data from GWI, more than 56% of female internet users aged 16 to 24 actively seek out brands and explore products on social media platforms.
This trend highlights the ongoing growing influence of social media as a key channel for brand discovery, product exploration, and meaningful engagement audiences who value authentic brand interactions and personalised content experiences.
This data conjures images of young women finding their favourite new lipstick on TikTok, and it does reflect this behaviour. But there are other behaviours that should not be overlooked, such as potential customers searching a restaurant’s Instagram to see if they have accessible seating, looking up a LinkedIn company page to consider a company as an employer, or searching Facebook for event dates.
Consider how audience members will likely be impacted when seeing a cheerful and positive interaction or sensible resolution to an issue in a comment thread.
Social media can be useful
William Morris was a pivotal figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement, renowned for his intricate textile designs, stained glass, and wallpapers. His work emphasised craftsmanship and the beauty of natural forms, significantly influencing decorative arts and design during the 19th century. Why are we bringing him up? Because one of his quotes about art is evocative of social media’s role in our lives:
‘nothing useless can be truly beautiful.’
Social media can be a place to showcase well-crafted content, amplify campaigns and highlight new products. But it can also be useful to your audience. Whether that is because you are sharing content that offers helpful advice or information about your company, or – and this is even more useful – they can have their questions answered, social media really sings when it’s useful.
Offering value to your audience will increase reach, engagement and positive sentiment. And there’s no easier way to offer value than being of use to your audience.
It can also be useful to a company’s bottom line. A study from University of Southern California found that handling customer service issues via social media cost around a dollar, compared to around $6 for resolution via a call centre interaction. This is a measurable cost saving, but for those companies not dealing with the contact volume that necessitates a call centre, the costs of losing a customer because they are using social media to research and your presence doesn’t meet their needs should also be considered.
But what if…
The risks of interaction on social media
It must be said: there are inherent risks in engaging with your audience on social media. The public nature of these platforms means that any negative interaction or unresolved complaint can quickly reach a wide audience.
Social media is also vulnerable to cyber threats like hacking, phishing, and data breaches, which can jeopardise customer data. It is also true that the rapid pace and high volume of interactions on social media can present challenges, making it difficult for companies to promptly address all inquiries and potentially leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Misinformation and miscommunication are prevalent risks, as the informal nature of exchanges can result in misunderstandings or incomplete information being shared.
Which is why it’s important to know exactly how and when you will interact with your audience on social media.
For that to happen you need to build a social media engagement model in your organisation.
Selecting the right engagement model
Engaging with an audience in the digital sphere encompasses a spectrum of approaches tailored to specific organisational needs and objectives. There are lots of different ways to engage with a social media audience. They go by many names, but engagement models can range from full service to a very light touch.
A full-service approach prioritises comprehensive, bespoke responses across all channels, fostering relationships and enhancing brand image, often suited for retail organisations aiming to increase retention and gain a competitive edge.
A light-touch approach focuses on addressing key queries publicly, catering to both individual contacts and the broader community seeking information, commonly adopted by service organisations.
Models can be implemented in phased approaches, allowing organisations to adapt and refine their engagement tactics over time to meet evolving audience expectations, resources, risk appetite and business goals.
Next steps
Introducing any social media engagement model does not come without risk, therefore underpinning its success must be a dedicated commitment and investment in resourcing, governance and training.
Four key factors need to be in place prior to launching:
- building governance structures including a robust moderation strategy to ensure a healthy online community
- ensuring the appropriate resourcing is possible and in place
- identifying and implementing the correct technology
- training across topics such as moderation techniques and audience behaviours.
It is possible to mitigate risks and ensure smooth operations in social media engagement. By planning ahead, you can anticipate potential issues and devise strategies to address them. Hiring skilled professionals to build your governance framework and train your staff is equally important. This approach not only ensures that your team is well-prepared but also fosters a consistent and effective social media presence.
For a successful roll out, one that maximises potential for meaningful interactions and lasting relationships with your audience while mitigating the risk – the investment, thinking and planning process must be the first step.
Making social media work for your business
Most often, guidance about making social media work for you is about spending money on advertising, targeting and campaigns. Those things are important, because it’s true – organic engagement is not what it used to be; according to Hootsuite, as of July 2023, the average engagement rate for an organic Facebook post varies from 2.58% to as low as 1.52%. But then, how often do you see adverts for cafes that don’t mention their location in the copy, or social media profiles that don’t mention opening hours? How often are posts boosted but then a question in the comment thread about doesn’t get answered?
Binning organic (or paid!) social media is not the answer, making the engagement you get count is. Make it obvious to your audience that your social media can work for them, and it will work for you.
Ready to elevate your social media engagement strategy? Reach out to Pesel & Carr for expert advice tailored to your business. Let’s make your social media presence a key asset for growth and customer satisfaction.
