Typical engagement rates considered solid are 1-3%, strong at 3-5%, and exceptional above 5%. To be above 5%, brands do various creative campaigns. One thing I found in my research is that every campaign was personalized.
What Famous Brands Did:
- Spotify’s Wrapped campaign gave each user a personalised music summary for the year. This led to millions of unique shares.
- Coca-Cola’s “Happy Tears” campaign invited followers to nominate people who made them cry happy tears. They then sent those nominees exclusive themed kits.
- GoPro often shares adventure content from users and runs contests. This encourages fans to share their unique stories using its products.
This type of social media content strategy is always welcome and loved by the audience. Because it infuses a sense of being valued in them.
Interact & Understand your Audience
Just as we all need language to talk and understand each other. Social media is all about communicating with your audience via every post.
It’s vital that you give it a thought before creating a single post.
Centripe’s strong analytics show you when your followers are most active. You’ll learn what content they like and which posts they ignore.
73% of brands using AI-assisted content report tangible lifts in engagement rates, with 90% experiencing meaningful time savings.
It’s not just about gender or age. It’s about their pain points, friends’ suggestions, online reviews, and aspirations.
There is no point in showing irrelevant ads to a prospect.
Find out where your audience spends their time and what they enjoy. Then, create posts that match their interests.
Get answers to these questions: What keeps them up at night? What makes them laugh? What problems are they trying to solve?
These things help you connect with them personally, so they’ll start seeing you as a brand.
The Power of Storytelling
Humans are fond of stories. I believe we remember stories much better than just facts and figures.
Every piece of content should tell a story. Share behinbehind-the-scenes the scenes look at the process, a customer success story, or a personal tale.
Business isn’t just about selling your products. Your brand gains value when customers talk about you.
I will give you an example.
My friend asked me, ‘I want to buy a shoes, can you suggest me?’ My instant reply was ‘Buy Nike’
Most of us vouch for brands because they are connected with us.
Stories create emotional connections. They make your brand relatable and memorable.
Let your audience see the authentic, human side of what you do. This vulnerability builds trust and turns followers into loyal advocates.
Visual Content: Capturing Attention in Seconds
‘THE FIRST 3 SECONDS’ decide whether someone will watch the reel or video.
You have mere seconds to capture someone’s attention. High-quality visuals are non-negotiable.
Invest in creative photography, alluring graphics, and captivating videos.
Your visual content must be instantly recognisable as yours. Use consistent colours, fonts, and styles that show your brand identity.
Short-form videos are dominating social media platforms. That’s why major platforms like YouTube and Instagram have added this feature.
These videos generate significantly higher engagement than static posts.
Here’s what you can do.
Try out various formats. You could use tutorials, day-in-the-life clips, quick tips, or fun skits that fit your niche.
Ask your followers to share their experiences with your product or service. Then, reshare their content.
This way the community feels valued and seen.
Elements for Creating Engaging Social Media Content:
Captions:
Short and clever captions boost user engagement by 23% compared to longer texts.
Stuff that are fun to read and easy to understand are more welcome.
It doesn’t sound like a machine. Talk in a casual way as if you are talking to your friend. People interact more in that way.
Emoji
Do you know, posts with emojis get way more likes and comments?
Like 33% more! Emojis make your posts fun and show how you’re feeling. Just don’t go crazy with them – use enough to make your post friendly, but not so many that people can’t figure out what you’re saying.
Limiting emojis to three per post keeps it readable and professional.
Personalization
When you use people’s actual names or give them suggestions based on what they like, they’re way more likely to comment and interact with you – like almost 50% more!
Nearly 48% of consumers say they interact more with brands now. This has been possible because of the personalization that the brands are moving to.
Think about what your followers actually care about and make posts about that stuff. Talk to them like real people, not just random strangers on the internet.
When you do this, people feel like you actually get them, and they’ll want to talk back to you.
Video
Video content gets twice the shares of images or text. Short videos under 60 seconds have the highest completion rates. Keep videos short and focused to hold attention. Make your message easy to understand and enjoyable to watch.
Seventy-eight percent of users prefer learning about new products through short video content.
Images
High-quality images boost engagement by 35%. Also, Instagram carousel posts do 18% better than single images. Choose visuals that are clear and meaningful. Strong images should complement and enhance your message, making your content more memorable.
Images that use brand colors and authentic scenes help drive recognition in the feed.
Timing and Consistency Matter
Creating engaging social media content is about setting the foundation of your brand.
The next step is when to post and how often you should.
Develop a content calendar that ensures regular posting without burning out.
Use social media analytics to find out when your audience is most active. Then, schedule your posts accordingly.
DON’T SACRIFICE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.
It’s better to share three great pieces of content each week than to post daily mediocre ones that weaken your brand.
The Engagement Loop: Creating Two-Way Conversations
Being dependent on manual work is something I don’t recommend.
What if the customer posted a comment or query at 4 am. And your team of course isn’t available. If the query isn’t answered early, majority of the customers move to another brand.
Hence, deploy AI by Centripe, that answers to comments in a personalized way, so that they get genuine answers.
Make polls where people can vote on stuff, create fun quizzes, or post stories where they can actually do something instead of just watching.
Try going live sometimes! When you’re live, people can talk to you right then and there. It feels way more real than a regular video because it’s happening right now.
Going live is perfect for answering questions, showing people how to do something, or giving them a sneak peek at cool stuff. When your followers see the real you in the moment, they’ll feel like they actually know you – not just your posts.
Leveraging Trends Without Losing Authenticity
Content linked to trending topics gets up to 41% more engagement and visibility on many platforms.
We don’t like to see same thing again and again. That’s with everyone. Dedicate one person in finding the trends and then create the content as soon as possible. POST IT!
Go with the trends and join them quickly. But this does not mean that you have to follow every trends. Go with relevancy.
Something that you can be creative and promote your products with.
Value-Driven Content: Educate, Entertain, Inspire
Before you share anything online, stop and think: Will this actually help someone? Will it make them smile or laugh? Will it get them excited about something? The best posts do more than one of these things.
Show your followers cool tips and tricks. If you know how to do something, teach them! Make it super easy to understand – no confusing stuff.
You could make a post with pictures and steps, or write a bunch of connected posts that teach something new.
Testing, Learning, and Evolving
Never get stuck with one thing. If something is working today it doesn’t mean it will work tomorrow too.
Algorithms change, audience’s taste shifts, social media platforms favour trends.
Always stay curious and innovative. Check different content types, notice the reach at different posting times, and formats.
Change strategy based on data. Some of the best performing content might surprise you.
Building Community, Not Just Followers
Creating engaging social media content is about having a community that talks about your brand and loves it.
Don’t just go after numbers. Ask your team to develop meaningful connections. A smaller, engaged audience is infinitely more valuable than a large, passive one.
Share their stories and create content that unites everyone. When people feel they belong to something bigger, they become your strongest supporters.
Conclusion
Creating engaging social media content should be done by a dedicated team in hybrid mode. Take help of AI and automation to make it fast and accurate. The process involves learning, experimenting, and connecting.
Get to know your audience well. Share real stories, offer steady value, and create honest conversations.
Let your human touch show in all you create. Engagement will follow naturally. This calls for social media connection with new people too.
