How starting a conversation boosts social media engagement

How can PR pros break the ice and start a conversation?

Even the most extroverted among us face big challenges in creating brand engagement. The obstacles standing between us and brand engagement often include:

There are typically three ways you can spark a conversation on social media: You can join an existing conversation, ask provocative questions or share topical news to encourage people to share an opinion or ask a question of their own. Any of these strategies can lead to high levels of brand engagement.

For conversations to be meaningful, they must be relevant. Small talk is awkward, but if you have something valuable to say then the conversation can be anything but.

Social media monitoring tools can help you find those customers, prospect and influencers speaking about your industry. You can then join relevant conversations and boost brand engagement. Alternatively, a hashtag search on Twitter is also a great way of discovering relatable chatter.

Example entry points into existing conversations (plus follow-up questions):

A community member who retweets content that you’ve posted offers the perfect chance to increase brand engagement by simply asking them questions about the article. If you show an interest in them and their ideas, chances are they will show an interest in you.