Running successful online engagement campaigns usually depends on organic virality. Even with paid promotions, a campaign will mainly be considered a success if it has a target number of comments and shares. Your engagement campaign can only achieve target results if your audience interacts with your content and generates theirs uniquely. To guarantee organic audience involvement, here is the biggest component: “the herd phenomenon”.

Just as sheep follow in a herd and act collectively, social media users tend to engage in activities when they see that others have. We agree with Forbes assertion that “human beings are social creatures that are programmed to connect deeply with those in our “pack” or in this case, “herd”. With this connectivity comes an intense expectation to be similar to the pack, or perhaps better said, to “keep up with the Joneses” (or maybe even the Kardashians).” It’s quite simple. So, the big ask is, how do you get people to lead in the participation so others can follow.

Be the good shepherd; get your audience to trust you

A good shepherd provides for his herd and guides them safely. As a brand that wishes to get the most out of your social media pages, it is your responsibility to be the best shepherd to your social media audience. Consider being more user centred. It’s not just about you, it’s about them. Carve your content around topics or issues that users consider valuable and not just self-serving. Engage, to an extent, in social conversations and position yourself as a brand that cares.

If your content does not provide any reasonable ROII (return-on-investment for an interaction) for the reader or is self-serving or simply useless, the reader is likely to disregard it. Once established that you exist for users more than you do for your bottom-line, you are closer to winning the herd on your side and very easily, you will have them participating even without trying.

Be the good shepherd; give rewards they actually need

For reward based online activations, give rewards which will be highly appreciated. For example: if your brand just launched body cream products, using your products as the main incentives may not get significant participation. This is because the audience is not familiar with your products and have little incentive to want them. You can give cash and a pack of your products and compare audience engagement.

 

 

Get the more popular goats to lead, others will follow

How? One word; influencers …maybe two words; micro influencers. Influencer marketing is effective because it capitalizes on our most natural tendencies, emotions and desires. Influencer marketing is word-of-mouth at scale, where people listen to those they trust and those who can use storytelling effectively. Influencers lead the herd on social media, get them involved.

Get a micro influencer group whose members have above 1000 active followers to lead the charge in performing the mechanics of your online activation. Your influencers will begin the conversation as organically as possible and set the tone for the entire activation. TikTok works on this phenomenon. People create or upload original content for others to either duet or use the sound for other lip sync videos. To cause a trend, many people should have used the sound, the hashtag and have gathered views. For example, @officialcrent, is a Ghanaian TikTok user who begun the #letlovelead challenge with David Jones Music ‘I go show you’ a month ago. The hashtag is currently number 3 in TikTok trends with over 2.5 million views. Engaging more popular accounts to lead your activations still proves a solid way to have a successful campaign.

Get Help!

We understand that creating the right content and dealing with influencers can be tough, so we will advice that you get help. Read wide and get help from experts who can help you meet your set targets with ease. It shouldn’t be hard; it should be smart. Check us out – we know how to make the magic happen.

 

 Esinam lives for the arts. She relishes the opportunity to present a killer concept on and off social media, and loves everything that demands employing her creative juices to make life better. With her degree in Directing and Scenic Design (Theatre Arts, UG-Legon), she presents the full package!