How to Train your Audience
How to train your audience
Does this sound familiar to you?
You create a post on social asking people to answer a question. Maybe it’s about their weekend plans or asking them if they can relate to the story you just told…. and the only comments you get look like this…
”love it!”
”fun!”
”cute!”
” insert a random emoji here “
and you’re sitting there like, “WHYYYYY can’t you just answer my question and respond the way I want you to?!?!”
Here’s the thing… your audience doesn’t KNOW how you want them to respond. Yes some of those comments might be spammers and bots, but most people aren’t used to leaving comments. So when they want to, they’re not sure what to type… and you know what they DO see? The spam / bot comments that are just emojis or one word that doesn’t relate. They look at those as examples and without realizing it, form the habit of responding in those small/unrelated comments.
crazy , right?
So how do we get them to actually engage how we want, instead of copying the bots? We need to lead by example and just like the spam/bot comments, we train them to respond the way they see US doing it!
Here are 3 ways you can lead by example to train your audience to respond and engage with you the way YOU want them to!
responding to comments
one of the easiest ways to lead by example and show your audience how you want them to respond is by how YOU respond to the comments they leave on your post. Want your audience to respond in 4 words or more when they leave a comment? (pssstt.. you should. 4+ words in a comment shows the algorithm that this is a legit conversation happening and gives you a little boost so more people see your content!) Then respond to their comment in 4+ words. Here’s a few examples…
Their comment: “love it!”
your response: “what did you love the most?! “
Their comment: “so fun”
your response: “omg yes it totally was fun!”
Their comment: “so cute”
your response: “thank you so much”
it might sound strange and pointless, but your audience WILL start to notice and eventually start to follow your lead and leave longer comments!
give some love
you don’t have to wait for people to leave a comment on your post to start showing them how you want to be engaged with. Be proactive and start showing them how to engage by leaving comments on THEIR posts.
Go through your followers list and start to engage on their posts, but make sure to leave comments that mirror how you want them to engage with you! Want them to answer your questions? Make sure to read their captions and leave a meaningful answer to show you actually read the whole thing. Want to get longer comments? Leave comments longer than 4 words. Want them to start a conversation? Leave them a question in a comment to start getting a conversation started first.
Again, you’re leading by example and everyone loves to get some actual meaningful comments!
get a little help
now, let me start this by saying I am not one to recommend engagement pods. They are not a long term solution and end up hurting you in the end…. HOWEVER, we all have a business bestie or two that we hype up without thinking about it and they do the same for us. So enlist your bff to help show your audience how to engage. Ask your business bestie to leave comments on your post that mirror how you want your audience to respond.
Let’s be real - no one wants to be the first to do anything most times. They don’t want to be the odd man out or make a mistake. They want to wait until they see someone else go first and then follow their lead. So, by getting your bff to leave a comment in the way that you want everyone to engage, it sets an example that everyone else will follow!
It might sound crazy, but you honestly can train your audience to give you the engagement you want, simply by leading by example! So give it a try for a few weeks and see what happens!
Oh, and if you’re ready to give this method a try, but a little stuck on what exactly to post that will make them want to engage (like what to ask them, what stories to share, etc.), then click the button below to grab my Post to Engage freebie! It’s 5 social media templates that were created specifically to get your audience to engage with you and save you time when it comes to creating your content! Click that button below and get instant access to the templates!
about the blogger
Hey babe! I’m Courtney Jo! I’m a content creator who coaches babes in biz on how to create their dream life of freedom through content creation, business, and mindset! I’m also an award winning, nationally recognized portrait photographer and I sling some amazing natural hair and skin care products on the side that has changed my confidence and life!
binge the recent posts
I’m Courtney Jo! A business coach, podcaster, photographer and shampoo slinger, with a goal to help boss babes create their dream life through content creation & marketing!
xoxo, Courtney Jo
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