There are so many factors that contribute to brands wanting to work with you like followers, “likes”, but most importantly engagement. A lot of bloggers have it wrong when they play the Instagram game in that they don’t engage.
Engagement is a two-way street. You have to engage with your target audience and receive engagement in return. And when you finally do get that engagement, you better respond equally to each and every comment, message, email, etc.
One of the biggest turn-offs is when a blogger doesn’t engage with his/her audience.
Not only that, but when you don’t engage, your audience doesn’t feel that special connection they feel with another blogger who does. And when engagement drops, so will the brands wanting to work with you. In a brand’s eyes, engagement = sales. So if you want to increase your engagement and get one step closer to making blogging your full-time job, here are 4 things you should do:
Comment on other people’s pictures (not just bloggers).
Yes, a lot of bloggers follow each other, but that isn’t your entire audience. You have friends, family, friends of friends, and complete strangers following you who are not trying to be bloggers. I see a lot of bloggers targeting other bloggers and commenting on each other’s pictures.
It’s great you’re building a community and support for one another, but these bloggers aren’t necessarily looking for style inspiration since they already have a style of their own. The people that are looking for inspiration are most likely non-bloggers like teachers, nurses, lawyers, and stay at home moms who want to spice up their wardrobes, diet, lives, etc.
These are the people you should be paying attention to because they’re the ones who are going to have engaging questions. They’re also the people who are going to click those nice little affiliate links on your blog.
You can find these people by simply searching hashtags or going through your followers and commenting on those people’s pictures.
Show your personality.
Over the years, I realized how tough this one actually is. Bloggers usually have a “persona” they stick to and they try to stay “on brand” at all times so that makes it kind of challenging to show your true colors on social media. Of course, the best solution to this is to always be yourself, but sometimes, that’s harder for some bloggers and easier for others.
Personally, I’m always in my “blog/biz tip” state of mind, (if you follow me on Snap you know what I’m talking about), so it’s hard for me to turn it off and be goofy and show my crazy side…(by crazy I mean making fun of my boyfriend or annoying my family).
You ultimately have to find what works for you and your audience. Find the balance of showing your personality and still adding value.
Ask questions.
Asking questions is a CTA (call to action). It gives your readers/followers the opportunity to get involved in the conversation. This makes your followers feel like you really care about them because you value their opinion enough to ask for it!
In a digital world where you’re bombarded with self-promotion left and right, it’s refreshing to come across a blogger who wants to know what you’re doing or what you think. Remember the zig-zag technique? You can achieve it by asking questions.
In fact, I urge you to ask and answer questions so you connect with people, because after all, that’s what this whole blogging thing is about anyway!
So, here’s my question for you: what gets you excited to engage with bloggers? What makes you hit that comment button? Share with us below!
xx Britt
Follow Me – Blog Instagram Facebook Snapchat @notanothrblonde
You Should Also Read:
How to Raise Your Rates as a Blogger
Snapchat or Instagram Stories? The Best One for Your Blog
How to Brand Yourself (aka Why Branding is #1 in Blogging)
