Want Engagement? Be Engaged.

It’s easy to fool yourself.

Wait, fool isn’t a harsh enough word.

Lie.

Yeah, it’s easy to lie to yourself.

While that statement can be true in just about any scenario, the context I’m referring to it in has to do with social media.

These days it’s all about engagement.

Everyone. Is. Talking. About. It.

Compared to five years ago, engagement on blogs is down.

Usage of social media is up.

But lately, even in social media, engagement is getting harder to come by.

As social sites like Instagram are constantly tweaking their algorithm, and more people than ever are trying to become “influencers” what was once easy, suddenly becomes more difficult.

And the people who win? They’re the ones who work.

You’re Trying. But Are You Really?

For my golf site, Breaking Eighty, Instagram has been the single biggest growth factor I have.

Yet for some reason, I didn’t embrace it in the same way here at Location Rebel.

I made a push a couple of years ago to try and build up the account and get it going.

I told myself that I was committed to making it work, and growing. And then I became frustrated and disillusioned when it didn’t.

Despite telling myself that I was engaged with it, and really working to grow it, if I’m honest with myself, I half assed it, and expected it to be easier.

“I can post some photos a few times a week, and that will be enough to really make this work!”

Bullshit.

Another lie has been my engagement on our YouTube channel, which has had a bit more success.

You see, I was engaged at times with aspects of it. But I didn’t, and haven’t, gone all in.

There’s no social media platform in existence in 2018 where once a week will cut it.

You want to succeed on Instagram? Multiple posts a day. Stories. Comments. Engage.

Want YouTube success? 2-3 videos a week is the minimum. In that world, once a week isn’t engaged. No matter what you tell yourself.

These days for as simple as the influencers of the world make it seem, growing a successful following on Instagram or YouTube is harder than ever.

There’s an unbelievable amount of noise and competition out there. There are thousands of people doing the same thing as you who are treating it like a full time job.

That’s what you’re up against.

So, unfortunately, half-assing a few posts a week isn’t going to cut it. Even for someone like me who already has a large, established brand to kickstart things.

Success in one medium does not guarantee success in another.

Want Engagement? Be Engaged.

So here it is. Here’s the secret to growing a social media account these days:

If you want engagement, be engaged.

I can throw out any number of cliche pieces of advice for growing an audience.

Leverage your personality!

Find Your Niche!

Collaborate with others!

Post regularly!

But the precursor to all of that comes down to the basics:

Be engaged.

Be engaged in all aspects of creating.

The research.

The creation.

The promotion.

The relationship building.

The learning.

The testing.

It’s not enough to be engaged in any one of those things. You have to be engaged and excited about all of it.

That is how you get engagement. You have to give it long before you get it.

So if you’ve been struggling to grow anything online these days, ask yourself one simple question:

Are you engaged?

I mean, really, truly, honestly, 110% engaged and committed to what you’re doing?

Because these days? Anything less probably won’t be good enough.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.