If you’re trying to cram all of your key messaging into every bit of content on your social pages, think again.

Great community engagement is about more than simply discussing your product or your campaigns.If you’re trying to cram all of your key messaging into every bit of content on your social pages,think again.

What are the benefits of an engaged social media community?

Engaged communities are the foundation of successful social media campaigns

You can create a vibrant campaign for your social media channels, but if your community isn’t engaged, it won’t be effective.

The campaign will get low engagement as people’s gaze skips over your posts in their newsfeed. Or they’ll look at what you’ve produced with scepticism, only engaging to post a negative comment or leave an angry emoji on it.

Many companies overlook their approach for community engagement. It’s something you should focus on constantly – not just for the duration of your campaign.

Engaged communities also help to humanise your brand

It’s so important to talk to your customers regularly. It helps you understand what their issues are and why they are a problem for them. These conversations let community managers discover their fan’s passions, and they help inform future content planning and discussions on the page.

Talking to people in your community helps you develop and refine your voice, and aides your community engagement team in perfecting it. People connect with people – this is why community engagement is so important.

Engaged communities are loyal and can be more forgiving

Brands can come under intense fire during a crisis – or even just as part of their regular day on social media. A community that you’ve nurtured and engaged every day (both in good times and bad) is a huge benefit in these situations. They’re more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.

They also care enough to give you quick feedback on things that you’ve not gotten quite right – giving you the chance to make a change before things get out of control.

What great community engagement looks like

Great community engagement doesn’t stop. It’s a 24/7 job, engaging with customers at a time that suits them. It’s often a massive task, which is why brands may want to work with external specialists to support your social media and marketing teams.

Excellent engagement depends on your willingness to humanise the brand. It might mean you take some risks – such as showing some vulnerability or being funny in your responses – but it usually pays off.

Transparency, a relatable tone of voice and empathy are vital to drive success for best in class community engagement approaches. People need to be able to trust what you say, and they need to see that you have genuine empathy for their perspective – and that you aren’t just saying what they want to hear or copying and pasting corporate statements instead of talking to them as individuals.

But great engagement is also about having meaningful conversations between the brand and its customers, both B2B and B2C. How can brands make their interactions appear relevant and genuine?

Excellent community engagement programmes focus on creating meaningful interactions with your audience. Over time, these conversations and engagements build a strong connection between you and your community. It’s this relationship building that brands should strive for when working with communities.