In the quest to stand out on crowded social media platforms, we’ve gathered insights from CEOs and social media experts on counterintuitive strategies that marketers often overlook. From prioritizing content quality to responding thoughtfully to comments, explore these four unconventional tactics that could elevate your online engagement.
One counterintuitive approach to increasing engagement on social media platforms that marketers rarely consider is to focus on quality over quantity. Instead of bombarding your audience with constant posts, take the time to create meaningful and valuable content that resonates with them.
By prioritizing quality over quantity, you can build a loyal following that is more likely to engage with your posts and share them with others, ultimately leading to higher levels of engagement and brand awareness. Remember, it’s better to have a few highly engaged followers than a large number of passive ones.
Alex Stasiak, CEO & Founder, Startup House
Engage Beyond Your Channels
Your outbound engagements are just as important as what you are posting. A lot of marketers focus on what their brands will be publishing on their owned channels, but getting out there to comment and interact with others outside of your owned channels is critical to creating new discovery points outside of your existing following.
This can look like utilizing social-listening tools to locate and engage in trending conversations that your brand is a subject-matter expert in, supporting other organizations that your brand supports, and engaging with your superusers/top fans outside of your channels.
Avoid Over-Editing Content
You don’t want your social media content strategy to look like an episode of ‘Botched’—overdone, fake, and ultimately a big mistake. We hate to say it, but if you’re over-editing your social media content, your audience is noticing, and it’s probably hurting your engagement.
Effective editing is about finding balance—too many edits can lead to choppy content, unreadable text, unbalanced audio, or excessive movement. When your audience struggles to consume your content easily, they’re more likely to scroll past it.
Also, overly edited content doesn’t automatically make it valuable, optimized, or increase the authenticity of a brand. Brand authenticity is one of the leading social media trends in 2024, so sacrificing that for a cool edit isn’t the way to go. If overly edited content feels forced or detached from your brand identity, it may come across as inauthentic, and your brand runs the risk of deteriorating its credibility.
Chelsea Evans-Flower, Owner, Scott Social
Respond Thoughtfully to Comments
Responding to comments may seem basic, but actively engaging with your audience by responding thoughtfully to comments can make a huge difference. No one wants to feel like they’re talking to a blank wall, and by providing genuine interactions, you not only show that you value your followers’ input but also encourage further engagement.
Diane Howard, RN and Founder, Esthetic Finesse
