Social Media Marketing - Defining Engagement

Engagement is one of those hot topics in the world of social media marketing. Social media pros know how to get it and foster it and businesses know that they need it, yet hardly anyone can truly define it.

Part of the reason for this, is because social media marketing is not a set science. It's an art form that each marketer has to cultivate their prowess in. Another reason is because most of the pros out there, are natural social media marketers and have never really had a need to sit down and describe how they create engagement. They just do it.

Though this doesn't help when they are approached by a business that wants to know how and why they need social media marketing. It takes away value from your trade when you aren't able to clearly describe your processes. It doesn't matter that you completely understand engagement. If you can't easily explain it, you'll miss out.

Definition #1: Fostering the customer-business relationship through consistent calls to action aimed at fostering continued customer interaction with a business or brand.

Definition #2: A tactic used by social media marketers to create rapport and customer loyalty.

Used in a Sentence:

Example #1. One of the top priorities of social media marketing is to focus on Engagement.

Example #2. Engagement is the art of keeping the customer interested and active in your business.

For those of you looking for a little more detailed of an explanation of engagement, I'll try to fulfill your hunger a bit more...

The essence of a social media marketing campaign is to help build your brand. This starts out through creating an awareness about your business, which gets the attention of potential consumers and customers. Once you've generated an awareness of your company, you now have a presence. So what's next?

Well, in order to foster your presence and continue to create more awareness, you have to keep your customers engaged. Without this step, your customers will leave. Awareness alone won't do anything. You can turn your presence into engagement through calls to action. These calls to action can be basic, such as: getting your customers to communicate with you or go to your website. Or it can be more complex, such as: getting your customers to view your blog, watch your video or like your fan page.

Engagement is created when you get your consumers to do something that focuses their attention on your business, even if they aren't quiet aware that that is what you are doing. Furthermore, engagement is a success when you can get repeat interactions from the same consumers. The more they continue to interact with you, the more engaged they are. The more engaged they are, the more likely they are to become a customer. When they become a customer, they tell their friends, which gains awareness from new consumers, which grows your presence. The more people are aware that your company exists, the more likely they are to come and check you out, giving you the opportunity to keep them engaged. And thus continues the great circle of life.. I mean social media marketing. =)