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I've been finding engagement on Facebook with some of my fave business pages a bit lacking lately... I put this down to people automating and scheduling posts without actually actively engaging with people. C'mon... if you aren't using the 'social' part, then why are you using it at all?
If I see a post pop up from your 'business page' and I engage with it, and I don't get ANY reaction from you (especially when I've taken the time to give you a BIG juicy 5 star review or answered your 'call to action/engagement' prompt with a well thought out answer) I will no longer interact with your page... this makes me sad, because I truly care and value you and what you are doing.
People, please remember!
**Social Media is for SOCIALISING and CONNECTING and ENGAGING - if you are not doing this with your page, then there is no point posting... **
You can clearly see the pages that have really great interactions - in fact you can almost FEEL the 'aliveness' of those pages. While you can't expect an individual or speedy response from a page with thousands of followers or more, you can see that if the page 'manager' is making an effort to respond, then it is still 'alive' - you can clearly see the difference between 'alive' and 'dead' social media pages.
'Alive' pages have fresh regular content, even if only once a week. Comments get answered, reviewers get thanked, images are updated and messages are answered in a timely manner (or there is a note about emailing instead for busy businesses)
'Dead' pages have almost daily posts, often quite good content (sometimes terrible), not always original (eg. shared from another page), have no engagement with comments on posts and could have outdated photos or contact information
The pros and cons of automation...
(Automation is where you use technology to respond, send, collate, schedule, etc.)
PROS
> You can be more efficient with your time and create all your posts for the month in one go
> You can schedule emails to be sent at a more appropriate hour
> You can manage email subscribers better and more effectively while saving time
> By saving time you can focus on doing what you truly LOVE
CONS
> Instead of connecting, you are seeking ways to disconnect
> Your response time to scheduled posts may negatively effect engagement
it is worth remembering that maybe a page manager is on holiday for a week or two, maybe they never saw your post and maybe you never saw their response... but if it happens over and over again and you look at their other posts and they haven't responded to anyone's comments, then you know you have found a 'dead' page - and in my opinion, it is not worth your time, even if you support the business or cause - if a business or organisation can't communicate with their followers on social media, yet expect your support, then they are missing the grand opportunity of connection that social media provides.
Is your page 'dead' or 'alive'?
If it is 'dead' - ask yourself why you even have it and what you want to get out of it and how you can do better by your valued and loyal followers who love what you do and want to connect with you
If it is 'alive' - wonderful! You are clearly understanding the value of connection and engagement with the people who take time out of their busy days to connect and interact with you, thank you!
Technology, along with social media and the way people engage changes extremely fast these days. Our capacity for knowledge, growth, innovation and change is infinite and technology makes this growth potential faster and easier - if social media doesn't work for you then find other ways of engaging and connecting - this is the best part about how easy connectivity is these days - you can pick and choose how you do it and find others who like it that way too - but if you choose to use 'social' media, than you need to actively actually BE social.
(Read my post coming soon about how I use the internet and technology)
Thanks for reading!
Amanda Sears