The goal for gaining success on any social media platform should be to engage. But, with a congested landscape, it’s also to stand out. One way brands can engage and stand out is by using social media engagement questions.
What is Social Media Engagement?
Social media engagement refers to the interaction between profiles. Engagement is measured through every available aspect each application (or website) has to offer; from liking, sharing, and commenting, to responding to private messages and tagged posts from followers.
Why is Social Media Engagement Important?
Social media engagement supports audience and brand growth By fostering meaningful interactions and connections with audiences, brands can solidify trust and value with timely, educational, or even entertaining responses, contributing to long-term growth and sustainability.
On the performance-focused side, strong social media engagement skills encourage customers farther along in the sales funnel while supporting key indicators of the brand’s online success. High-performing posts will result in high engagement – likes, comments, shares, and retweets, varying per platform. Platform-specific insights, like engagement metrics, offer a clear picture of what’s working as well as areas to improve your business.
Creating Social Media Questions
Whether you’ve decided to incorporate more engaging questions in your community management, content strategy, or anything in between, craft engaging prompts to reach your audience.
Ask questions that will pique curiosity, prompt sharing of thoughts, and inspire them to share experiences of their own. Create a balance of product or brand-relevant questions by keeping the target audience and their lifestyle top of mind. As an example, if a snack is being offered, ask questions about consumption routines, flavor preferences, or feedback. On Instagram specifically, polls are an added option – making it easy for audience members to engage without much thought or effort. Regardless of the question asked, maintaining a common theme of simplicity throughout is key.
Understand your target audience
It’s essential to tailor questions according to what your audience cares about, whether it’s related to your niche, industry, or a trending topic.
Be clear and concise
Avoid overly complex or ambiguous questions that might confuse your audience.
Encourage emotions
Craft questions that trigger emotions, whether it’s joy, nostalgia, curiosity, or empathy.
Create controversy
Controversial questions can generate a lot of discussion but should be used carefully.
Use creativity
Use polls or multiple-choice questions for a quick and easy way for your audience to engage.
Consider platforms
Use different questions for each platform as the target audience may vary.
Examples of Social Media Engagement Questions
Typically, there are two overarching types of questions asked on social media. The first is a quick question, that doesn’t require much thought. The other is more thought-provoking, encouraging the audience to share something they are passionate about. Regardless of which question type is selected, both should have relevant ties to the brand or the industry. Examples include:
- What’s your go-to comfort food?
- Share your best self-care tips for a busy week.
- What’s a TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?
- Share a controversial topic or a hot take on _____
- Would you rather _____ or _____? (this or that)
- When you were a kid, what _____ did you want? (fill-in-the-blank)
- What’s on your bucket list?
- What if…?
- Never have I ever
- Ask about preferences between services or features of your product
- Include users in brand decisions
Ideas for Engaging Social Media Posts
Engagement is key when it comes to fostering a strong presence on any social media platform. The following are six effective ways to increase brand interaction:
Ask for user-generated content
Encourage your followers to create and share content related to your brand, products, or services.
Use interactive polls or surveys
Polls and surveys are a great way to interact with your audience and gather valuable feedback or insights. These posts are easy to engage with and can provide you with information about your followers’ preferences or opinions.
Share behind-the-scenes
Giving your audience a glimpse behind the scenes of your brand or business can create a sense of authenticity and transparency. It humanizes your brand and helps your audience connect with your team and processes.
Use memes or GIFs
Memes and GIFs are popular forms of content on social media due to their humorous and relatable nature. By incorporating them into your posts, you can entertain your audience and tap into current trends.
Share testimonials and feedback
Sharing positive testimonials and feedback from satisfied customers or clients can build trust and credibility for your brand.
Don’t be afraid to ask!
Sometimes, the simplest way to engage your audience is to ask for their input or opinions. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, seek feedback, or invite discussions.
Real-Life Examples
Wendy’s, Airbnb, and National Geographic are just a few brands that stand out with effective engagement tactics. From connecting with fans using culturally relevant sarcastic responses to asking thought-inspiring questions, each of them has an in-depth understanding of their followers which allows them to connect on a deeper level.
Wendy’s
Wendy’s engages with followers (and competitors) through witty, playful, and sometimes downright savage responses.
They are well known creating a holiday called #NationalRoastDay, where some users and brands actually ask to be roasted.
In 2022, National Roast Day generated over 130 million impressions in a matter of hours and made Wendy’s an instant trending topic on Twitter (now X). In 2023 they took National Roast Day from Twitter to TikTok for a 3-day event. Auntie Annes was just one of its casualties. Their witty strategy is winning with 3.7M followers on X (formerly Twitter) and 1.8M on TikTok.
Airbnb
Airbnb grew its Instagram following to a cool 5.6M by focusing on user-generated content and visual storytelling. They encourage hosts and guests to share their Airbnb experiences using the hashtag #Airbnb, and strategically choose images and videos to repost on their account. These high-quality and aesthetically pleasing images give followers a feel of what it would be like to experience these vacation homes.
National Geographic
National Geographic has grown its Instagram following to a whopping 283M and its X (formerly Twitter) to 29M. They bring people in with the use of striking and educational imagery, videos, and articles to create dialogue around important topics. They regularly ask thought-provoking questions related to their content, such as wildlife conservation or climate change, which encourages discussion and raises awareness of important issues.
Grow and Connect to Your Audience with ICUC
Finding the right engagement strategy (and the best questions to ask your audience) is a process that comes with time, testing, and learning. Consider leaning on the experts to take care of these strategies from start to finish, and focus on other aspects of your business.
Schedule a call with us to get started.
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