I don’t get a lot of social media engagement.
Yes, I am a bitter, forty-something woman who yearns to boost her own fragile ego with comments and likes – especially as her physical currency declines.
And there’s nothing quite so terrifying as watching your collagen deplete and hairs grow evermore abundant from your nostrils.
But would all that ego-stroking engagement help to get better leads?
I dunno. You probably need to ask someone that gets a shit-ton of likes and comments.
It does make mathematical sense.
I’m terrible at maths but it’s logical that hoards of humans opining on your posts will bring you new clients.
The burning question is: are they the right kind of clients?
From the hundreds of messages you could potentially receive, some, I guess, might happen to be your perfect business customer.
Filtering through the “Hi Dear” DMs, the sales pitches, and the pitiful dick pics seems like a total pain in the arse to me.
Sounds like most of these ‘potential’ clients should be avoided like you would Jeremy Clarkson’s stylist (or, Jeremy Clarkson). Lemme tell ya – summat ain’t right.
Content that brings the motherlode of engagement.
Generic social media content works well with the general population.
Just like broad humour, more people are likely to appreciate it.
When a man dresses as a woman, most of us laugh (especially when Les Dawson does it). But when Stewart Lee performs stand up, a huge chunk of the public has no clue what others are finding funny.
So when you post a cute cat meme or some vague, inspirational quote, most people will lap that shit up.
They’re like, yeah, this is giving me my daily dose of dopamine.
If it’s a dog photo or video, I’m feeling that too but I don’t read the accompanying text, I’m certainly not paying attention to what the person does and whether or not I need what they’re selling.
It’s content for engagements’ sake.
When you spot a lovingly-crafted Canva graphic that says: “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” It will nearly always outperform a clever, nuanced, targeted business post.
That makes perfect sense because most people don’t want your gear, not everyone needs it.
And what monster is going to argue with the sentiment of being kind?
Most of us are not rolling our eyes when we read a post like that.
The majority aren’t cringing at the vacuous, regurgitated message that’s wheeled out in a cynical attempt to get a “Great post!” or “THIS!” comment from thousands of strangers.
We’re not analysing what being kind truly means and how a show of kindness can be something different for each person and circumstance.
Who knows just how kind the person posting that stuff is?
We don’t.
They might knock their partner about, maybe they’re a terrible parent, perhaps they don’t walk their dog, leaving the poor pooch to slowly descend into madness whilst it circles a small backyard.
We don’t give that depth of thought to social media posts.
What most of us do is like the bloody thing and maybe leave a positive, affirmative comment.
(Except me, I’m that monster rolling their eyes and cringing.)
These posts are the fast food of social media content.
They have no nutritional value. They do not sustain us nor do they help us in our long term business thing. But that’s not the point of them. Short term adoration is their purpose.
Posting for engagement is not a bad thing.
If you have dreams of becoming a celebrity or influencer off the back of your YouTube channel, Linkedin or IG profile, then that’s a business plan of sorts, and for the very few it can work.
Hey, we liked to be adored.
We want to be wanted by the people we admire, covet, and desire.
That’s no different in a business sense. We’re getting off on the nice words and compliments. Maybe the head doctors might suggest it’s because our inner child seeks the validation we didn’t get from our parents.
(I have no idea if that’s true but it sounds like it might be. It’s probably true for me!)
I post music videos.
And videos of me talking nonsense. Some weirdos like it and they tell me so, so I do it some more.
It’s like mummy saying, “What a good girl you are, Sarah.” Aw, thanks mum.
All that back-slapping hasn’t once induced someone to buy my book or hire me to sort out their awful content.
(Or lead to a recording contract / TV series.)
So, how sustainable it is to chase engagement for business is not for me to question, again, I don’t get those kinds of views but I wouldn’t recommend it as a strategy (because it’s not my area of knowledge, yeah).
Back to business.
There’s no mystical method to getting leads on social media.
You don’t need to embark on a Middle-earth quest with a leprechaun, a half-woman half-elf being, and Sean Bean (he’ll only die anyway).
Organic marketing is not that exciting. And like Eamonn Holmes, it’s incredibly unsexy.
Stamina is one quality you will need.
Get comfortable posting sales content.
Yes, business posts that actively sell what you do, either way, they will bomb compared to a dog video.
Cultivate a thick skin.
You’ll need a strong stomach for being seen. Some people won’t like your sales content.
Just to add to the ‘fun’ of social media, a few might not like you very much. Learn to genuinely not care about that.
Humans will have an emotional response to your business and the posts you create on behalf of it. Ignore the negative reactions.
They are not from people who will buy from you so they don’t matter.
Once they decide you’re not for them, there’s not much you can do about it.
Nor should you try.
Even if a few are your ideal client – you can’t win them all.
(Now you can see why it’s easier to post cat memes.)
Being liked by most people is a smoother road to travel.
Some of us can’t help being a thorn in the side (and some of us quite enjoy it).
Conforming in life and in business always appears to be the easy, comfy option. I view it as a compromise and one I’m not willing to take, especially if it hurts my personal and professional success.
Yes, I bang on about this stuff all the damn time because it’s critical when you write your business content and copy. It’s also very relevant, as we seem to be inundated with bland generic business content across social media.
You won’t win consistent leads by repurposing popular social media content.
Hell, you probably won’t win many, if any friends.
Content for engagement is transitory. It’s like candy floss – tasty and over in seconds. (And candy floss is great but you wouldn’t want it every day for dinner).
Now I know what you’re thinking, you would LOVE to work with me. You’re in luck because I do allow that, why not click here to find out more.