Get inspired to create engagement posts that will encourage your audience to interact with your content more — and watch the likes, comments, and shares flow.
Congratulations on your engagement! Not in the romantic sense, of course (that’s none of our business), but if you’re reading this post, it means that you’re committed to increasing your social media engagement.
Read on for the best tips and tricks to get more likes, comments, shares and saves on your content—it’s a big commitment, but we do crazy things for the followers we love.
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An engagement post on social media is any type of content that encourages audiences to interact with it, for example, by liking, commenting on, sharing or saving. Engagement means that a user is connecting with the content and taking a specific action as a result, not just being a passive viewer.
Engagement rate is one of the most accurate ways to measure your success on social media. You can find your current engagement rate by using Hootsuite’s free engagement rate calculator, and boost those numbers by trying the following strategies.
No social media strategy is guaranteed—that is, except for giveaways. Offering free stuff and asking people to interact with you in exchange (e.g. by answering a question in a comment) is one of the simplest and most effective ways to boost your engagement. This type of engagement post is most common on Instagram and Facebook.
When you host a giveaway, first decide what your engagement goals are. Are you aiming to get lots of comments, boost followers, increase your like count? Then, decide your entry method based on those goals.
Hosting a contest or giveaway will:
A caption contest is a type of contest or giveaway that requires the user to be a little creative. It’s not just about liking a post or tagging a friend; entrants need to put some thought into their answers. Caption contests are most successful with dynamic, engaging photos, like this one:
Having a caption contest can help you:
Relatable content is very sharable. Users who connect with your posts (or know someone who connects with your posts) are likely to tag friends, share and save your content.
Source: Facebook
For example, the post above from online magazine Reductress points out the very niche (but relatable) problem of eating without watching TV. The post has a ton of comments, mostly of people tagging their friends, as well as 70 shares and almost 1000 likes.
Being relatable will lead to:
Who can resist a poll? Polls on social media are extremely easy to participate in. Plus, polls on Twitter and Instagram both have an added engagement incentive: users can’t see the results of the poll unless they vote themselves, which means that they need to engage in order to gain information.
Source: Twitter
The more controversial the poll, the more likely you’re going to be to generate more engagement—users may start duking it out in the comments or share the results on their own feeds.
Controversial doesn’t necessarily mean serious. For example, the old pineapple-on-pizza debate is always likely to generate some strong opinions (but as far as we know, it’s never started a war).
Hosting a poll will:
This type of engagement post is particularly effective on TikTok, where you can ask viewers to duet or stitch your content. This is a much more high-commitment type of engagement than a like or comment, but it will often yield more valuable results.
@kaidenmiller_ #duet with @m0lnigt this was pretty cool #ReadyForHell #duetifiaccidentallydrewyou #isthatme
For example, there’s lots of artists on TikTok posting “duet this if I accidentally drew you” videos—which usually show several drawings of people with random features. Other TikTok users are encouraged to duet the video if they see themselves in the mix.
Asking for stitches or duets can help you:
This one is TikTok-specific, too. TikTok is unique in that you can reply to specific comments by making a video that directly addresses them, with the original comment incorporated into the new TikTok.
@themarshmallowco Replying to @sincerelysincerity Let’s make and pack this order for Sincere 😊 #marshmallow #candymaking #candytok #orderpacking #packanorderwithme
This example from a marshmallow making company proves how much TikTok audiences love when their comments are used in this way: a user specifically commented on one TikTok asking the creator to film their specific order.
This is a win-win: the creator has an easy content idea, the commenter gets a little shoutout, and other followers are encouraged to comment, since they see evidence that a comment might get them a video of their own.
Replying to comments using videos can lead to:
Asking for advice on the internet might not yield usable insight, but it will yield plenty of engagement. The social world is full of folks who genuinely want to support each other and also folks who are pretentious know-it-alls who love the sound of themselves typing. This strategy engages both.
Source: Twitter
The tweet above from Fenty Beauty asks for lip gloss advice for a night out (and has the added bonus of asking for products specifically made by Fenty). Consider asking for advice that relates to your brand and niche in order to get relevant—and if you’re lucky, useful—responses.
Asking for advice can:
This strategy is similar to asking for advice, but more open-ended: really, you can ask a question about anything. Jewellery brand Jennybird posted an IG video asking followers to guess what their latest launch would be, and generated lots of comments from guessers.
Asking a question can:
Just like the above, but the opposite: invite your followers to ask you questions to increase your engagement rate. NASA used this strategy when streaming a live video—Twitter users could use the hashtag #AskNASA to ask questions to astronauts in space.
Source: Twitter
Asking for questions can lead to:
It’s simple, but it works: just posting a great photo will lead to more comments, likes and shares. Not every photo that you share on your social media needs to be perfect, but consider sliding in a super high-quality, engaging shot every once in a while to increase your brand’s perceived value.
Source: Twitter
For example, this photo from National Geographic is a pretty stunning shot of a polar bear sleeping in a bed of flowers. It has a ton of engagement just based on how beautiful the photo is.
Posting good photos will:
Most of your followers are likely following you because they are interested in your specific niche. They’ll be most engaged by content that fits within that niche. For instance, hair accessory brand Supercrush posts lots of hair-related photos and reels.
The how-to reel above is informational and super useful, but also incorporates one of the company’s products. Folks likely follow this brand because they are interested in hair, so this type of content generates a lot of saves: users can look back on it on their next bad hair day.
Being specific to your niche will:
The modern social media users likes to see the real people behind the brands. Humanize your content more by sharing (to your comfort level, of course) personal news or occasions that you are excited about.
This artist celebrated her 33rd birthday by having a 33% off sale on her work, and posted about it on her Instagram. The post likely yielded lots of website visits from people eager to get a deal, but it also has plenty of comments from folks simply wishing her a happy birthday.
Sharing personal news can:
If one of your social marketing goals is to get more shares and saves, think about creating content that is useful and informative. If your followers can learn something through your post, they may want to share that knowledge or save it for future use.
For example, the above Instagram post was widely shared because the content is both comforting and inspiring…
@daniellenguyen_ I will be using this heatless curls rod forever!! Such a game changer and it gives my hair so much volume 💆🏻♀️🎀 #heatlesscurls #heatlesscurlstutorial #hairhacks #thatgirl #heatlesscurlsresults #hairroutine
… and this TikTok has a lot of saves from folks looking for heatless curl hacks.
Posting useful and informative content will lead to:
Post user-generated content to show that you’re not the only one hyping up your brand: your customers and followers are excellent sources for posts (just make sure to ask for permission to repost, if it applies).
UGC could be anything from sharing a post from a person who tagged your brand to finding a positive review and making it into an Instagram post (or, as in the example below, finding a positive and slightly bizarre review and making it into an Instagram post).
Sharing user-generated content can:
At work and in the social world, being timely pays off. Following a current trend or posting something that is relevant to current events is a great strategy for increasing engagement—and all you really need is to spend some time on your platform of choice to get inspiration.
HAMILTON x RIHANNA ❤️🔥#HamiltonAU #Rihanna #Superbowl #MariaReynolds pic.twitter.com/VfVSqsjD40
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) February 24, 2023
The cast of Hamilton Australia got it right in this post. It was tweeted right after the 2023 Superbowl, when professional and amateur dancers alike were doing their best impression of Rihanna’s halftime show. It was liked, retweeted and quoted thousands of times.
Posting topical content will lead to:
How to get your audience to engage with you? Engage with them. Consistently replying to comments establishes a mutual form of communication with your followers—they’ll be more likely to comment on your posts if they think you’ll reply. Crate and Barrel does this well via replying to customer inquiries on their Facebook.
Source: Crate and Barrel Facebook
This isn’t a post idea in and of itself, but it does open up more possibilities for posts you already have. Monitor comments closely (a tool like Hootsuite’s Inbox can help you) and reply as much as possible.
Replying to comments will:
A little meme can go a long way. Consider sharing popular internet memes (and, when possible, relating them to your brand) to appeal to millennial and Gen-Z followers.
Memes are relatable, community-building, and overall give off the impression that you’re not taking your work too seriously—you’re not a regular brand, you’re a cool brand.
Posting memes can:
Okay, don’t actually copy a competitor—we’re looking to get some fun social media engagement, not get involved in a lawsuit. But a friendly nod to others in your industry can be a great way to get viewers to interact with your work.
@thehockeyguys #duet with @thesavbananas Hockey vs. Baseball pt.2. The Bar is RISING
When the Savannah Bananas baseball players made this (truly spectacular) lip-synch TikTok, The Hockey Guys answered with their take on the song. Viewers were encouraged to comment on who did it better, resulting in thousands of comments.
Copying or challenging a competitor will:
Post an opinion you have (serious or silly) to spark conversation in your comments. Audiences often can’t resist sharing their opinion on controversial topics, regardless of how important the topic actually is.
@reevcon looking back I think poodles are more maximalistic but the eclectic type of maximalism — im dead set on the brutalistic choice though
When this TikTok creator started assigning dog breeds to various interior design styles, the platform went nuts: the video is going on ten million views, but it’s the 14 thousand comments that are truly impressive.
For example, one comment that says “I feel like cottage core is a cocker spaniel that’s just me though” has 39 replies. Hundreds of comments argue that the true maximalist dog is the poodle. Does this matter? Not really, but it’s extremely fun to discuss—that’s what makes this content so engaging.
Sharing a hot take will:
A few effective engagement posts for social media are contests or giveaways, polls, and posts that ask specific questions. Posts that are visually beautiful or super funny also generally have high engagement.
If you want more engagement, ask for it. Prompt your followers to comment on your posts, post interactive polls or quizzes that are easy to participate in, or share something informative that your followers will find useful. Make it as simple and clear as possible for your audience to engage with your content.
To increase your engagement on social media, post content that is interactive. This can be from a built-in tool on the platform (for example, the Q&A feature on Instagram or the poll feature on Twitter) or just by encouraging interaction in your regular content (via asking a question or prompting your followers to comment or tag their friends).
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