Looking at how your fans interact with your posts is fundamental to your marketing plans. It helps you put yourselves into their shoes, and realise just how and why they’re viewing your content.
Likes
In the past, post and page likes were the best way of gauging how successful a post or page was. However in recent years their importance has been less and less favoured by algorithms. This doesn’t mean they’re completely redundant; they are still a valuable form of interaction and show which posts your audience connect with more.
Analyse previous posts with lots of likes and find out what was successful about them; was it the format? Tone of voice? The topic or theme?
When you’ve found out what resonated with your audience, make and post more if it. Try and encourage more interaction too so you’re getting more than just likes. Ask questions, create conversations and connect with your fans.
Saves
Saves have been coined as a ‘super-like’ and have become the new interaction of preference for algorithms. Any saved posts are added to a users’ library, which they can easily find and come back to, and are a fantastic indicator of good quality content that fans are loving.
If one of your posts with lots of saves, you’ve hit the jackpot. This is content that your fans are loving. Consider making more similar posts, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to bombard your audience with content as this is a quick turn off.
Shares
Shares are another valuable piece of interaction; they are great at spreading your content beyond your social media reach. If fans connect with your content and posts enough, they’ll want to share it and tell their friends about it too.
As well as expanding your content’s reach, shares are great because you can see who has shared your content, and any comments they’ve shared it with too. These insights can give you a better understanding of who’s connecting well with your content (so much so they want to tell even more people about it!). Any associated comments in the shares will also educate you about what people like most about your content, or why they’re loving your material so much.
Comments
Comments embody what your fans think about your content and help aid discussion. By learning what your fans think of your content, you can tailor future ideas towards what they like most, a win for both you and your audience.
Discussion and conversations are also key to marketing your content, they’re fantastic at creating lasting relationships with your audience as well as giving your fans an insight into your brand and tone of voice.
Playlists
For musicians, seeing which user-generated playlists your music has made it’s way onto it’s a gamechanger. Analytical tools such as Spotify for Artists allow you to see which playlists your music has been added to.
These insights provide you with knowledge of what contexts your music is listened to in, what genres your music slots into and what other artists your audience is listening to.
These are super useful analytics that you can use for a huge range of applications, for example, when creating targeted ad campaigns; Target people who are fans of artists that your music sits alongside in these user generated playlists.
Pins
Pinterest’s pins are like the visual versions of playlists; brands and content creators can view the context in which their content sits, along with what their fans are loving and saving for later. Each ‘pin’ can be added to a board of which the user can title and pin other content in.
You can easily see what other products, visuals and aesthetics your content sits within; perfect for influencing what future content to post and to inform your marketing decisions.
For example, if you’re a food blogger and your recipe is being pinned in a lot of vegan Pinterest boards, consider posting a themed series of vegan recipes to appeal to this fan base.
Long story short, any interaction is good interaction. It doesn’t matter if it’s a like, share or comment; the more engagement you have the better your posts will perform.
And most importantly, make sure you’re having fun with the content you post and you’re staying true to yourself and your brand. That is, after all, why your fans are following you.
