What is ‘engagement’? And why does it matter?

Martin ShervingtonCommunity Manager,‘Plus Your Life’ and ‘Plus Your Business’

Part 1 - What is engagement?Part 2 - Why does it matter?Part 3 - How to increase it

Part 1What is engagement?

Engagement means someone gives something their attention.

Engagement comes when people relate.

Engagement on Google+ means:+1sCommentsShares

Engagement is also…+1s on commentsHangoutsEventsetc

Part 2 Why does this matter?

a) it enables you to build a relationship with peopleb) it enables people to access a link to your websitec) it enables your content to be potentially seen as relevant in Google Search

Think about is this way...What creates your Google Search results?

‘Relevancy’ is what will create your Search Engine Results.

Yours and everyone else’s Search results are increasingly personalized.

On Google.com you have ‘Search Plus Your World’ which makesit even more tailored to the person searching.

Engagement then is, to somedegree, an indication of ‘relevance’

But it is ‘who’ that engages i.e. deems it most relevant, that matters the most

Part 3How to increase engagement!

Here are a few tips:+mention their nameshare their contentwrite blogs/posts about thembuild your profile firstshare into communities (appropriately)

“So, why didn’t people engage?”A. You don’t have a network builtB. You didn’t use posting into communities as a strategyC. Your content was simply not ‘relatable’.

What to do when people engage with you!

They +1 your post (only)You can say “Hi [+theirname], thanks for the +1”You can also add them to a circle

What to do when people engage with you!

They +1 and/or commentYou can say “Hi [+theirname]Commenting could be seen as higher engagement, so you add to a circle now

What to do when people engage with you!

They ‘share’ your postYou visit their post and thank them for the shareYou also add them to an engagers circle - you will be sharing this publicly

When else do you add people to engagers circle?

You don’t have to ‘circle anyone back’ but if they add you to a public circle, it is a good idea to connect as they are promoting you.

Part 3How to increase engagement?And the importance of images.

Using Trends and Hashtags