How To Engage People In Social Media Conversations

Seriously? Phill’s Giving Social Media Success Advice?

If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t take myself too seriously. I don’t take you too seriously either.

Get over it. I have. 🙂

So, How Do You Engage People In Social Media Conversations?

I’ve spent a few years growing up with social media. Facebook (shouty), Twitter (likened to a pub full of people, mostly interesting, some bonkers, some fake and you can easily drift around between conversations or just stand and watch), Google Plus (my favourite) and I’ve dabbled with a few of the others.

My experience, gained through the last few years of targeted, not-so-targeted and utterly random sharing of ideas, tells me what engages people more than anything else… so I’m going to give you the benefit of my experience. If you want to truly generate meaningful exchanges of invaluable information, maybe you’d better try another channel. If, however, you simply want to get people to respond to your thoughts, here’s what’s generated the best conversations for me:

 1. Biscuits.

Every time. Mention that you’re having a biscuit. Better still. Take a photo of it. BOOM! Responses. I’m telling you. Every time. Meaningful? Arguably not. Insightful? Not unless you’re a biscuit preference researcher. Fun? Yeah man.

Apparently a jammy teacake is 3 WeightWatchers points. Yes? And?

 2. Tattoos.

I’m not into tattoos. Saying this online almost always starts a discussion. Go figure. No, YOU go figure. I don’t care. But sometimes the discussions are pretty interesting.

3. Draw a picture of someone falling over / off a bike.

No really. I did this because I was having a sandwich, it was raining and I really needed a break from just looking at a computer screen. Then of course I posted it to a couple of social media sites. People LOVED it! Well, a bit.

I’m probably going to actually get a T-Shirt of my drawing made. Then I’ll post a picture of the T-Shirt to a couple of social media sites. Madness.

4. Take photos of bees having sex.

Not mine. But I saw it work for someone else. Apparently they don’t actually have sex, only the Queens procreate in the hive, but I bet they do it for fun and what the Queen doesn’t know won’t hurt her, am I right? I mean, who wants to collect pollen all day every day? Jees. Lighten up, bees. Live a little.

What Can You Do With This Amazing New Knowledge?

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for the silver bullet of social media success, you’ve come to the wrong place. I guess the main benefit you could draw from this article is the news that most people I connect with seem to use social media to provoke an interest in things which are a bit odd.

Scanning for news and views is great, but if you’re looking for responses, post something unusual which will make people stop and think, or else provoke a reaction with an opinion. Don’t forget though: people will dump you if you’re an idiot. I know I will. If you want to be liked, be likable.

So, give it a go. Tell ’em Phill sent you 🙂