ARE YOU CREATING ATTENTION AND ENGAGEMENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA?

Capturing Attention in Social Media

AndreZugay
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read
Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gaining attention in social media for some people is an important part of their reasoning for being in social media. For others attention may be a temporary thing related to an event or a lack of events. In order to capture attention one needs to draw in readers or members of the social media platform. There is a lot of website content and social media content that it is imperative for writers or social media users to stand out in order to capture attention.

In today’s environment of large volumes of specialized online content and social media it can be challenging to capture someone’s attention. Some ways to attract attention to a social media post are to have an enticing title or catch-phrase as the title or bolded first line, or to use bold colors to attract readers. But to keep readers attention beyond an immediate title, phrases or color the writer needs to frame the discussion or topic around what readers can associate with.

Other ways to capture attention include posting to social media at a time when your post will receive top page or be front and center. This will allow for more eyes to see a post, of course the attention grabbers mentioned earlier should be in place as well. Also having a title that invokes an emotion can draw in users. Phrasing the title in a way to use emotion to draw in readers as well as using emotion within the first few seconds of a video or first paragraph of a posting.

Adding credibility, or perceived credibility, to social media postings can allow the readers or user to feel confident in engaging with the author. Reputation “is what builds expectation amongst others, and as such it is one of the main triggers of long-term attention” (DESREUMAUX, 2016). Adding credibility can be accomplished by linking to other sites or social media for the same person or company, or posting information on multiple social media platforms that link to each other.

Creating social media content within groups or forums will focus the content towards a specific group of people. This is more targeted and as a member of a group there may be some credibility built in by being a member or through the profile that can be maintained. Building a network or joining one is a great way to connect with a targeted audience.

Maintaining Engagement in Social Media

After capturing attention on Social Media, the attention will need to be maintained and engaging. This can prove just as challenging as the initial capture of attention. Will the second post, blog or social media content be as engaging and rewarding for its reader? Each subsequent social media content needs to be at least as interesting as the first in order for the reader to keep coming back. There may be new readers or users that may be reading a social media post for the first time but it may not be the first posting of a series, in this case the posting needs to attract attention and make the reader want to read the entire series.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One way to maintain engagement in social media is through the use of video. “Facebook users alone watch 100 million hours of video every single day. And 82% of Twitter users watch video on that network”(Ellering, 2017). Video for many people is more interesting, easier than reading and engages users in social media more than written words do. If done right video should be very interesting, move along at a decent pace and provide some sort of entertainment or educational value.

Other ways to maintain engagement in social media include referencing or linking to other social media or content on the internet, tag other people in photos and videos, include interviews, include lists and even share content with other social media content producers. Posting to social media on some regular frequency will also keep current followers interested instead of them moving on to other social media postings or content. This is also encouraged by the social media platforms as well.

Another way to maintain engagement in social media as well as attract attention, is to use images to relate the posting to something visual. “Images used in your social media are far more likely to evoke emotional reactions in viewers and can portray information more efficiently than text”(Pollard, 2015). The images can be pictures or drawings that attract attention on their own but also tie in with the content of the social media posting.

References

DESREUMAUX, G. (2016, MARCH 23). 7 Triggers To Capture Attention On Social Media And In Everyday Life. Retrieved from WERSM.com: http://wersm.com/7-triggers-to-capture-attention-on-social-media-and-in-everyday-life/

Ellering, N. (2017, June 22). 30 Social Media Engagement Tactics That Will Boost Shares And Conversions. Retrieved from CoSchedule.com: https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-engagement-tactics/

Pollard, C. (2015, May 12). Why Visual Content Is a Social Media Secret Weapon. Retrieved from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/catriona-pollard/why-visual-content-is-a-s_b_7261876.html

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