Want Engagement? Be Engaged.

By Sean Ogle •  Updated: 08/10/18 •  4 min read

Want Engagement_ Be Engaged.It’s easy to fool yourself.

Wait, fool isn’t a harsh enough word.

Lie.

Yeah, it’s easy to lie to yourself.

While that statement can be true in just about any scenario, the context I’m referring to it in has to do with social media.

These days it’s all about engagement.

Everyone. Is. Talking. About. It.

Compared to five years ago, engagement on blogs is down.

Usage of social media is up.

But lately, even in social media, engagement is getting harder to come by.

As social sites like Instagram are constantly tweaking their algorithm, and more people than ever are trying to become “influencers” what was once easy, suddenly becomes more difficult.

And the people who win? They’re the ones who work.

You’re Trying. But Are You Really?

For my golf site, Breaking Eighty, Instagram has been the single biggest growth factor I have.

Yet for some reason, I didn’t embrace it in the same way here at Location Rebel.

I made a push a couple of years ago to try and build up the account and get it going.

I told myself that I was committed to making it work, and growing. And then I became frustrated and disillusioned when it didn’t.

Despite telling myself that I was engaged with it, and really working to grow it, if I’m honest with myself, I half assed it, and expected it to be easier.

“I can post some photos a few times a week, and that will be enough to really make this work!”

Bullshit.

Another lie has been my engagement on our YouTube channel, which has had a bit more success.

You see, I was engaged at times with aspects of it. But I didn’t, and haven’t, gone all in.

There’s no social media platform in existence in 2018 where once a week will cut it.

You want to succeed on Instagram? Multiple posts a day. Stories. Comments. Engage.

Want YouTube success? 2-3 videos a week is the minimum. In that world, once a week isn’t engaged. No matter what you tell yourself.

These days for as simple as the influencers of the world make it seem, growing a successful following on Instagram or YouTube is harder than ever.

There’s an unbelievable amount of noise and competition out there. There are thousands of people doing the same thing as you who are treating it like a full time job.

That’s what you’re up against.

So, unfortunately, half-assing a few posts a week isn’t going to cut it. Even for someone like me who already has a large, established brand to kickstart things.

Success in one medium does not guarantee success in another.

Want Engagement? Be Engaged.

So here it is. Here’s the secret to growing a social media account these days:

If you want engagement, be engaged.

I can throw out any number of cliche pieces of advice for growing an audience.

Leverage your personality!

Find Your Niche!

Collaborate with others!

Post regularly!

But the precursor to all of that comes down to the basics:

Be engaged.

Be engaged in all aspects of creating.

The research.

The creation.

The promotion.

The relationship building.

The learning.

The testing.

It’s not enough to be engaged in any one of those things. You have to be engaged and excited about all of it.

That is how you get engagement. You have to give it long before you get it.

So if you’ve been struggling to grow anything online these days, ask yourself one simple question:

Are you engaged?

I mean, really, truly, honestly, 110% engaged and committed to what you’re doing?

Because these days? Anything less probably won’t be good enough.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.
Learn How to Make Your First $1,000 Freelance Writing (in 30 Days or Less)

Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Location Rebel. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

3 comments on "Want Engagement? Be Engaged."

  1. Alex Attrill says:

    Totally true so many people trying to do the same things but in a different and unique way it’s easy to get lost in the noise and become frustrated and overwhelmed, so do not try to be engaged on too many fronts at the beginning

    Get good and by good I mean really engage and connect with people on a personal level and build relationships on your favorite platform (FB, Instagram, Twitter etc) then move to the next platform and do the same, Don’t forget these are people like you with hopes and dreams and fears so talk to them don’t pitch them find out what you can do for them that connects with you and what your doing.

    then rinse and repeat, setting time aside or scheduling active social time for your social marketing, as you grow you will meet people along the way who can help take some of the burden/tasks of your hands by joining your team as team member/employee.

    Relationships count in this business and in any business are the things along with hard work that will get us all where we want to be in life

  2. Ernst says:

    Even if you are 110% committed, and that commitment shows online: the question is if online engagement is actually seen, or experienced, as engagement. If it is not then updated social media channels, updated blobs and emails might go into a black hole.

    The people that I deal with in my line of work want to heard, understood, listened to, not talked to. They want to feel the engagement with an actual person, not an online presence.

  3. paul finch says:

    Want to boost your sales with digital marketing? Well, that’s possible if you choose the right strategies for your business. Selecting the right digital marketing strategies can improve engagement, attract your target audience, yield more conversions, and result in sales.
    As a business owner, you want to make as much money as possible. Unique ways to increase sales After all, you can use a healthy profit to recruit more workers, grow your operations, or give back to the community. But often, it takes money to make money.

    Here are the top 20 unique ways to increase sales even when customers are reluctant to spend their money:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *