When it comes to social media, an engagement post is a smart piece of content to dot into your calendar.

The algorithm takes into account past posts when deciding how many people should see your current post. To give that post a boost, especially when it’s something you need people to see, putting an engagement post ahead of it can help. So getting in the habit of having several in your back pocket and timing them to help you will get you much further with your social media program.

But not all engagement posts are created equal. Some have the potential to get you further towards your goal and some have the potential to take you further away from it.

So what’s the difference?

The Question

This is personally one of my favorite engagement post. It lets you get to know your fans a bit more and at the same time they get to know each other. If you ever want to feel good, watch them say, “Me too,” to each other in the comments. But I digress.

The misunderstanding with this kind of engagement post is that people think any question will do. As long as it sparks engagement, right? Well, I find that if you get a little too far off topic, you keep going and keep going until you ask something like, “What’s your favorite color?” And that question is just irrelevant and gross.

What is a good question then? Think more about what you need when you ask this question. Look at what you have coming up that needs content and stories. Ask questions that will engage your fans while you’re also trying to get what you need. It will save you some work and chasing down these stories.

And you don’t have to ask the question in a way that will get you the full story. You can just ask it in a way that will give you an idea of who you should be asking for a story. Whatever will get you the most engagement from your community while also giving you leads for future content.

The Meme

I see this too much. Too. Much. A brand will post a random meme that has nothing to do with them or their fans. They just want to jump on the latest trend and will jump from one thing to the next without thinking about it. The saddest part of this is that I know certain social media managers consider that a strategy.

The problem is that you’ve now become a meme page, and your content looks like all of the other ten thousand meme pages that are out there. And if you don’t stand out from everyone else, fans will no longer care. They’ll go to a more original meme page eventually and leave you.

It’s okay to throw a meme in once in awhile. Just take it and put a spin an original spin on it. Tie it back to your organization, product and/or fans. In other words, make it relevant to what you do. And if you have to do a ton of gymnastics to bend the meme towards anything relevant, then it is not the meme for you.

You should be choosy about these trends. Pick the ones that best fit what you do and leave the other ones. Any meme you add to your calendar should feel effortless and the real work should go towards your other content.

The Motivational Post

I’m seeing less of this from brands, which is great. But it’s not dead.

These motivational posts tend to be more problematic than anything. They start tiptoeing into toxic positivity and tend to have very one-sided views. When you think you’re just telling your fans to be their best self, sometimes it ignores their very real lived experiences. For that reason, I’d veer away from this kind of posting.

Try factoids. To me, they’re just as great for engagement, but with less controversy. Fans love to share facts about something they’re passionate about with their own networks. So the shares will be just as good as any motivational post. And you won’t be hurting anyone’s mental health at the same time, which is always a good thing.

In the end, you really do need to keep these engagement posts in your arsenal. Just make sure they’re actually getting you somewhere instead of being one-offs that don’t really help anyone.

What is your favorite type of engagement post?