Engage your audience's content
Engage and share your audience’s content.
Reciprocity is gold in the online space.
How do you feel when someone writes a thought provoking comment on one of your posts?
Feel like it was worth the effort?
Feel like your work is being received in the way you intended?
Feel validated?
Yeah, I do, too.
Every time someone engages my content by sharing how it added value to their lives in one way, shape or form, I’m deeply appreciative that that person took time out of their day to read what I created and actually respond to it.
I do a little happy shake every time I read a comment, :)
It inspires me to continue the effort of building more valuable content that needs to be heard by those I serve.
And that’s why I want to return the favor and reciprocate the love.
Well, let me be clear - it’s not reciprocation built on obligation; it’s built on the idea that everyone has value to offer and I want to acknowledge them for offering value to my life.
Let your audience members know that you are not simply dumping content online and luring people into your world.
After all, relationship building is a two-way street.
Now, when it comes to engaging their posts, what exactly do I mean?
“Nice post.”
“Great article.”
Yes, those are certainly acceptable ways to engage content.
But show them that you appreciate the effort they put into creating that work by illustrating that you’ve read and internalized the value of the post by showing how that content has helped shape your thinking about the subject.
It doesn’t have to be 45 paragraph love letter, but something more substantial than “thanks for sharing” sends a much stronger signal to them that you value their expertise.
If you feel the post or article you engage is a valuable piece of content that could serve to benefit your audience, then share it to your feeds.
Don’t keep the brilliance of your audience members a secret.
Help them spread their message by offering them wider visibility for their thought leadership by letting your audience have a look at it, too.
When you do this, you’re killing two birds with one stone.
First, you’re strengthening the relationship bond with your audience member by letting them know that they’re more than a number on your connection count.
They are an integral part of a community that helps to serve each other.
Second, you’re adding value to the rest of your audience by providing them with insights and expertise that’s outside of your particular sphere of influence.
That way, you’re no longer a one-trick-pony talking about who you are and what you do. You’re developing into a valuable hub of information.
The more value you offer, the stronger the relationship you build with those you serve.
The stronger the relationship, the faster you build connection and rapport.
And the faster you build connection and rapport, the levels of trust they have for you skyrocket.
And when you’ve earned their trust, who will they turn to when they look into investing in specialized help?
Keep all of this in mind the next time that you scroll through your news feeds.
Resist the temptation to simply hit the “like” button or write a trite comment.
Put in a little effort, and that will go a long way in establishing meaningful and long-lasting relationships with those you serve.
Reciprocate the love and magic will happen, :)
PS - For those of you who aren’t in the know, I mail out these blogs 3x a week, and lemme tell you, they’re a real party, so, if you’d like to get in on this,sign up for it here and I’ll throw in a free gift for you, because I care, :)