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Engage: The Word of the Year

Guest post by: Harvey Farr

Article Overview: One can't talk about social media marketing without using the word "engage." Everybody knows that the objective of social media is to "engage" your community. Experts warn against a hard sell or just putting information out there with the hope that people will respond. But what does "engage" really mean and how do you do it?

Engage: The Word of the Year

Most things are easier said than done.

This is particularly true when discussing social media marketing. As soon as social media -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other platforms -- crept into the lives of us all, the corporate world quickly took notice. Since there are hundreds of millions of people all on the same website (Facebook) how can we (this is a corporation speaking) tap into this vast market?

While social media started as a place for friends to talk to friends, it has also become a way for companies to talk to its market. But in order for a company to have friends, it has to create a community. It is must easier for a human being who has nothing to sell to create a community of friends than it is for a company. Why? Because people turn to social media to be "social." That's what it means. They don't turn to social media to be sold a product.

So as marketing gurus give seminars and write books about social media marketing, the word "engage" is front and center. In order to build a community of friends or followers, a company has to "engage" them. And since social media marketing has come on the scene, this word "engage" has overtaken not only the social media conversation, but business in general.

Business executives say they need to engage their co-workers. Political leaders have a need to engage their constituents. Marketers work to engage potential customers.

That is why we see companies often ask a question on Facebook pages and Twitter posts of their followers. There is the hope that people will respond with an idea, a question, or interest in what the company is doing. And, the more responses a company gets to their posts, the more "engaged" are their followers.

But does "engagement" translate to sales?

I would say that the jury is out on that primarily because social media marketing is so new. There is much we need to learn about how it impacts us psychologically and how it can -- or does -- translate into customer action.

In the meantime I am hoping that another word will come along to replace the over-used "engage." Not because it is not accurate, but because we are not sure that engaging people achieves marketing objectives. Yes, there are always exceptions, but we are still finding our way in social media marketing.

Until then, we will continue to engage others.

Your thoughts?

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Article Tags: engage, engagement, marketing, pr, public relations, social media, social media marketing



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How to valuate a business - Hi Garth - here is how we did it at Northern Crown Capital when I was helping them raise venture capital for Toronto-based entrepreneurs. Assume the start date is 2003 so 2008 projections are 5 years out: How Northern Crown Capital Valuates a Business 2008 Financial Projections Earnings Before Tax $5,865,000 Tax Rate 42% Taxes $2,463,300 Net Earnings $3,401,700 Amount Seeking to Raise Today $3,500,000 Discounted Value of Future Opportunity, 5 Years Out 2008 P/E Ratio 15 Value of Company in 2008 $51,025,500 Discount Rate Applied 30% Year 2008 $51,025,500 Year 2007 $35,717,850 Year 2006 $25,002,495 Year 2005 $17,501,747 Year 2004 $12,251,223 Value of Company at Investment in 2003 $12,251,223 Less: Investment Amount $3,500,000 Present Value $8,751,223 Discount for Risk & Private Company 40% Less: Discount for Risk & Private Company $3,500,489 Private Company Value $5,250,734 Present Value (What the Owner Keeps) $5,250,734 60.00% Financing (What the Investor Gets) $3,500,000 40.00% Total $8,750,734 100.00% I hope this helps!
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Connecting with Influential People - Thanks Martin! In "The Little Black Book of Connections", Jeffrey Gitomer suggests the following ways to connect with influential people (page 106): -Third-party introductions (best method). -Writing and publishing content. -Giving seminars/speeches so you can be perceived as an expert in your field and leader. -Attend social and business events. -Say or ask something powerful by doing research ahead of time. -Engage them by offering something of value first. Gitomer also stresses the importance of making more friends as well.
Re: Free Word-Count Tool - Hi David, Thanks for the link. I will only use it anyway if I am not using Microsoft Word


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