Henry and… Engagement
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Engagement… Oh that’s a word that I hear a lot in my field of work. In case you didn’t know, I’m a lifestyle blogger and YouTuber (www.henevia.com, check it out, really), and social media is a big part of my everyday activities. It’s not just about the blog or the channel, if you’re serious about this job, then you also have to be active on many platforms.
Here’s when engagement becomes relevant. It doesn’t matter if you’re on every single platform out there (Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, you name it) if people are not there with you; of course, this is only important if you consider social media and blogging as a job, if you’re there because of pure joy and entertainment, please continue to do so.
When I talk about engagement, I mean getting people interested in what you’re doing, the things you’re sharing. Brands that decide to work with people, do it because (at some point) those people have a connection with their target market and their work can result in amazing content to share or, if they’re lucky, physical actual sales of their products.
Now, engagement doesn’t come easy (unless you’re well connected or are famous), it’s an everyday struggle. With that said, the amount of bloggers out there faking it is increasing. For instance, there are comment pods on Instagram where people share a photo and others agree to comment and like their post in exchange of the same thing done for them, this kind of guarantees more exposure since people are more likely to interact with you if others are doing the same.
However, this is a double-edged blade: what benefit can a brand get if the only people interacting with your posts are other bloggers? The lines start to get a bit blurry here but, by all means, next time you’re wonderings why a not so great blogger has so many comments, consider that he or she might be a part of one (or more) comment pod.
I know how hard this career can be when you don’t get viral or have thousands of dollars to spend on advertising campaigns, blogger giveaways and stuff like that but this is also a race of patience. If you want to become a blogger, YouTuber, Instagrammer or any related positions, take your time, ask for advice, do things right. It won’t be easy or quick but, at least, you’ll be satisfied with what you do and the people who respond to it.
