If you want to increase engagement with your social media followers, there are two fundamental things you must do: increase followers and reciprocate.
I’ve already talked about increasing followers, so I want to focus on reciprocation today. Reciprocating is basically doing to others what they do to you.
For example, if someone retweets something you tweeted, then you should retweet something they tweeted. If someone repins one of your pins, you should repin one of theirs.
Here are 5 reasons why reciprocating works:
1. It says thank you.
Reciprocating others’ content is a way to say thanks for their comment, or their like, or their retweet, or their repin. Sure you can always say thanks to them, but social engagements work, too.
2. It validates their content.
By retweeting something your follower tweeted, you’re telling that person that you find value in what they posted. It encourages them to post similar content in the future.
3. It gives you content.
By resharing their content, it allows you to populate your social media feeds with content you didn’t need to create.
4. It increases your followers.
If you reshare something your followers share, the content author may follow your account.
5. It encourages them to interact again
Resharing your followers‘ content encourages them to visit your feed again to reciprocate what you have done. And the cycle continues.
Reciprocating social actions is one of the most important things you need to do to succeed on social media. If you don’t give back, and you only take, then people will start to ignore you.
Do you make it a habit to give back to those who give to you? What are your favourite ways to reciprocate social actions with your followers?