Every day more businesses are popping up and it is getting even more competitive to get in front of your ideal clients. It is no longer about who has the biggest budget or who has the loudest voice or even the most creative. Going into 2021, it is all about engagement.
If you pay close attention to the brands and personalities on Twitter and Instagram for example, you can instantly see the ones who are rocking and making great strides by the amount of engagement they have. Nowadays, to make your business stand out!
You have to retweet them, quote them, ask them questions, and respond to them. You have to become an active member of their lives and their community and you also have to build a community around your brand.
Whether your business is big or small; just a service or a brick and mortar establishment, if you have not been mastering the art of engagement then your sales will lag behind and you may find yourself struggling to grow a sustainable business. Clients want to know what you think and feel. They want their questions answered. They want to know that you care about them and not just making a sale.
Over the last year, some of my best clients have come simply from my engagement on Instagram. Not just liking a picture but commenting and providing feedback on a thought or a question and inviting them to message me if they want to talk further on the topic.
On Twitter, you have to not only retweet but respond, follow, and interact with your clients so you become part of their inner circle as well.
Some businesses still are of the belief that they need to get as many likes as possible but the truth is a business could have 10k likes and still get no sales. The end result should be to increase engagement so you can close the sale.
Even as a brick and mortar establishment, getting people through the door is not enough if no one is buying. How are you engaging them as they enter your store? How are they greeted? Do they feel welcomed? What are they offered? How are you engaging in your community or with your past clients?
By asking questions. By getting involved and not just sitting by the sideline. By doing more than just liking posts but by actively commenting and giving feedback. By showing up consistently and giving value everyday. And like everything in business, you must have a strategy behind your engagement so that you do not get burnt out. Your engagement must be strategic and measurable as well.
And engagement does not begin and stop online. It must be extended beyond the computer. Through your community or charity. Through your local associations and alumni. Volunteer, speak up, sponsor an event or part of it. Through your media houses by doing interviews and reviews and opinion pieces.
Engagement is the heart and soul of your business and in 2021, every entrepreneur should make it a top priority in their long list of things to be accomplished.
