Engagement, engagement, engagement! And no, friends, we’re not talking about a ring! Unless, of course, that “ring” is the ding of your notifications going off from all the engagement your latest post is receiving!

Engagement is monumental when it comes to building your social media presence. But engagement is not just comments and not just likes. So what is it? As social media managers, when we talk engagement we mean meaningful, reciprocal, genuine engagement. While a high like count seems attractive, it doesn’t hold a candle to the other metrics of engagement when trying to gauge how your audience is responding to the content you are putting out.

For example, comments on your post are your own little sneak peek at what’s going on inside a viewer’s brain. What were they thinking upon seeing your content? What about your content made their reaction strong enough to want to publicly proclaim it? And shares on your posts alert you that your content is starting a conversation. Perhaps a viewer shared your image on their story as a seal of approval on your messaging; maybe that same image was shared via direct messages between friends to spread awareness and share the love. These are ways that you benefit when your audience engages with your content; you have tangible sources of how your content resonates with your audience. But remember, we want meaningful, reciprocal, genuine engagement.

Like any good friendship (and every law of physics), you get out what you put in. If you want to attract your audience to interact with your content, then you absolutely should be interacting back with them. This shows your audience that you see them, you hear them, and you care about them. Engaging back with your audience will help you build credibility and compassion as a brand as you develop genuine relationships with your audience base. Engaging with others’ content is a great way to ignite new relationships with target audience members and other brands. Think of it as the introduction to the soon-to-be meaningful, genuine friendship.

So stop posting and ghosting and start building genuine connections through your comments. Stop rapid-fire liking with a trigger finger and start taking time to let your reactions resonate!

-Alexis Banda, MFBS Account Manager