Engagement

As I continue to read Measure What Matters by Katie Paine, the idea of engagement has been brought up in numerous occasions.  Engagement can have many definitions while taking into account a variety of components.  For example, engagement can mean the number of retweets of a Twitter account, the number of comments on a blog or the number of times the site is actually visited.

Katie Paine explains there are different levels and intensities of engagement.  These include lurking, casual, active, committed and loyalist.  In my opinion, many consumers fall within the first two categories.  I definitely fall under the category of lurker.  When utilizing Facebook, I may like the specific page of a business.   I may have heard good things about the company or are interested in what the company has to offer.  By doing this, a relationship has been formed.  However, with this relationship I have no commitment or loyalty to the company or brand.

Another category that I fall into is casual engagement.  Many people partake in this category by following an account on Twitter or subscribing to a blog.  An individual has passed the lurking stage and is interested in the brand.  Again, no further expectation is involved.  The downfall with this stage is most relationships end here.  I am guilty of this habit.  I follow an account on Twitter but don’t do anything past reading the occasional tweets.  I become passive in my engagement which ends the relationship.  Overall, engagement is a hot topic in social media.  In order to properly measure engagement, one must understand the various types and levels.  By gaining this understanding, a business can implement a strong social media strategy.