EMBiz: Social Engagement Is Human Engagement

Laurel Mintz, CEO & Founder

Social Engagement is Human Engagement 

Hi everyone, Laurel Mintz here with Elevate My Brand. Today we’re going to talk about one of my favorite topics which is human engagement, specifically how it relates to social media. What we saw in 2020 was that so many more businesses were posting volumes of content; however, their engagement rates were going down. They were so confused, and a lot of them came to us asking, “Why?” They were doing everything they thought they were supposed to be doing. They were posting more frequently and on more channels, and yet their engagement rates were still low. What we saw was that posts from influencers, both micro and nano, were getting great engagement even though they were posting less content. So let’s break that down and understand why that is. 

Why Engagement Is Down 

We believe that because this last year has been marked by so much loneliness, sadness and tragedy, people innately are more interested in talking and looking at humans. Simply put, they don’t care about the brand, but rather they look to who’s behind the brand. 

I’ve always said people buy from people, and this is a really great example of how that has come to fruition. We hope and we see that this trend is going to continue into the foreseeable future, and that’s why influencer marketing is on the rise. In the early days of COVID, everyone was pulling their budgets out and freaking out, but now we’re seeing that uptick happening again especially in the influencer space.

How to Increase Your Engagement in 2021

1. Humanity

I’ve said since the beginning how important it is to share the humanity behind your brand and your company. Sharing that team content and those human element stories is really valuable.

2. Thought Leadership 

Also, share more thought leadership. What is the value that you’re bringing to this conversation and to your audience? That’s critical and has been forever as it relates to content marketing and social. 

3. Personalized Content 

You all know that I had a real breakthrough moment in the middle of COVID last year where I decided to stop being what I think people want to see and start being more real. That really helped my engagement on my social channels, and I heard from many people that it was a refreshing conversation and that they really liked seeing that more human side of me instead of the glossy face I was portraying earlier. I thought there was some real resonance there and I wanted to share that with you as well.

4. Nano/Macro Influencers

The nano and micro influencer trend is on the rise. Nano influencers, for those who don’t know, are those with a 15k or less following but really high engagement rates because their audience really trusts them and believes them. 

5. Human KPIs 

Focus on more human KPIs, or key performance indicators. Clicks and open rates and all of that are still important, of course, but KPIs like NPS, net promoter score, show how people feel about your brand. Human-based KPIs are becoming more and more important in terms of feedback and tracking. 

I hope this conversation was helpful in learning why your engagement rates might be down and how influencer marketing is really going to impact your social content in a positive way in 2021 and beyond. And of course, we’re here if you need us to help you elevate your engagement rates. Give us a call today!