I'll be blunt right at the top: if you are involved in running a social media account, either for your company or for yourself, and you're not putting a heavy focus on comment engagement, you're leaving TONS of growth potential on the table.
Ok, now that I have your attention, let's back up a little bit and dig into this. First off, what do I mean by "comment engagement"? It's probably self-explanatory, but in case it's not, comment engagement is the act of going back to your social posts and responding or interacting with the people who comment on them.
When I took over running brand social for GameStop back in 2019, I had three main objectives: increase engagement, improve our brand sentiment, and of course, grow our channels. I quickly realized that comment engagement could help me to achieve all three of these goals. It's easy, simple, and fun -- especially when you've got a hot post on your hands that you can't stop checking. If you know, you know.
Granted, a part of our strategy did involve memes. After all, we were trying to increase engagement and speak the language of our audience, so using memes as a tool made sense, as long as they were appropriate for our brand. And we were good at finding the moments that made sense. We had some hits that I'll be forever proud of. I noticed something pretty quickly though: we were getting more engagement on these posts and extending their life span in the feed because we were having fun interacting in the replies, which also served to build the voice and image we were going for. Over time, I realized that the memes weren't what was growing our channels and increasing our engagement, it was the interactions we were having with our audience. More proof that memes aren't everything.
Even now, in the year of our lord 2024, many brands are still neglecting this powerful approach for one reason or another. They create their content, hit "post", and move on to the next thing. It's not that they're lazy or even that they might not know any better, it's that there's just so much to do, and between the ever-growing to-do list and potential hurdles like needing approval (as my friend Jon-Stephen Stansel mentions in this recent LinkedIn post) sometimes it gets put on the back burner. If I've just described you, I'd encourage you to think of ways to adjust your schedule or strategy to accommodate regular and frequent opportunities for comment engagement. Need some help getting the green light from leadership? There are many reasons why comment engagement is so useful, and a ton of data to back them up. Here are just a couple examples:
Boosting Visibility and Increasing Reach: Posts with higher engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.) are typically favored by social media algorithms. For example, according to Hootsuite, Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes "posts that spark conversations and generate meaningful interactions between users." Comment engagement is a great way to foster interactions and keep those conversations going.
Enhanced Loyalty: This article from Sales and Marketing Management lays it out perfectly -- it's about trust. Community and social media are two-way conversations. The more conversations you have with your community, the more you'll build trust with them. Building that trust also establishes an emotional connection (which is also crucial), ensuring that they're more likely to not only spend time in the community but also make purchases and become a brand evangelist.
Improved Brand Perception: All of these factors add up to one huge benefit: putting in the work to engage your community, having meaningful conversations with them, and building trust and emotional connection with them leads to better brand perception. Being seen as a brand that emphasizes these things in your customer interactions tells people that you care about your community.
These are just a few reasons why comment engagement should be a highlight of your social approach. Now let's talk about the how. There are lots of easy and effective ways to do this:
Answer Questions: For one, brand social comments usually aren't short of questions. Answering a few common questions in your comments is a great way to not only build that trust with your audience but also boost those KPIs.
Have a Conversation: If someone comments with something that has the potential to start a positive conversation, post a response that keeps things rolling. Other commenters will likely chime in creating precisely the type of interactions you want. Of course, it's important to remember that the comments you reply to should be substantive and positive. Avoid giving generally negative comments attention and making them more visible. This doesn't mean you shouldn't address customer concerns or complaints. These can be addressed in ways that not only help you make things better for the person having the issue, but also show bystanders that you care and are willing to help.
Keep it Simple: Not everything has to be a long, drawn-out response, or even words. Emojis are a great way to acknowledge comments. On platforms like Twitter (I still can't bring myself to call it "X"), posting a GIF can be a fun and simple way to interact with commenters.
Make Sure You're in on the Joke: This is a pretty obvious tip, but it feels worth mentioning. If you're not clear on what a comment means or what the poster is referring to, skip that one. You don't want to end up in a situation where you and your brand look silly.
As Always, Prioritize Your Mental Health: While comment engagement can be fun, it can also be stressful, especially when the comments are more negative. You can't bury your head in the sand and pretend the negative comments don't exist, but follow whatever strategy helps you get the job done while taking care of yourself.
Comment engagement has all kinds of positive benefits. I encourage you to consider how you can best use it to accomplish your goals and strengthen your community. I'd love to hear about any comment engagement strategies you have that I may have missed here. Let me know in the comments or over on LinkedIn!
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