The Free Dictionary defines “engaged” as:
- Employed, occupied, or busy.
- Committed, as to a cause.
- Pledged to marry; betrothed: an engaged couple.
- Involved in conflict or battle.
- Being in gear; meshed.
- Partly embedded in, built into, or attached to another part, as columns on a wall.
When it comes to online engagement, we would typically find ours defined by anyone of those definitions.
The question is this: Which one is best for you?
Personally I would like to be defined by “being in gear; meshed” but quite honestly I feel that I am “Involved in conflict or battle” and my wife probable thinks “Pledged to marry; betrothed: an engaged couple” – (Is blogging your online mistress? eh *grin*)
However engagement goes beyond just blogging. It is also your online presence in Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or in online chats, google wave, comments on other blogs.
Is it measurable? Have you tried using any of these services?
- PostRank measures the engagement of a blog post by analyzing activity on 19 different social networks. In the end you get an engagement score that, if anything, gives an indication of how the post was was distributed. More people mentioning it on twitter, digg or facebook means a higher score.
- UberVU provides “community metrics and analytics” digging deep for reactions to your articles on social networks as well.The result is a Reaction score that will tell you how well people reacted to the article.
- Topsy measures how influential you and your conversations are. If you are influential then people are most likely keen the engage with you, ok maybe for points or something.
- WebMii Takes your first and last Name and gives you a score based on your presence and your name in alt tags across a number of networks. Only problem is that it mixes up result with people that have the same name as you.
- Twitter Grader, Blog Grader, Facebook Grader, and the list goes on. The give you a score and you get to look at the number wondering how to get to the top ten. Does it mean you will be more engaging then? Or do you have to be more engaging to get there? Not sure.
In the end it is really about and impression that you get that you are engaging correctly. No amount of scoring or analytics can truly measure such an intangible thing. Can it?
What do you use to measure engagement? Is engagement important to you?
[Image from Spencer]
Kyle Reed says
I measure it by comments and discussion. I thin stats can be pretty deceiving. I look for engagement through conversation.
PhillipGibb says
Completely Agree with you there. Comments are so much more important than stats. You can put your blog on some blog surfing channel or pay for clicks, but that means nothing.
However then engagement does not stop on your own blog, it is how far you reach out and engage with others on their blogs. Sometimes hard work.
John Saddington says
agreed. that can be helpful too.
Tom says
The short of it is I’m not a big fan of stuff like this. It’s not because there isn’t some value in it (because there is), but because I find my peers’ feedback more valuable.
That said, I think these tools are useful if you’re looking for ways to increase your presence. You can monitor trends, see what’s popular, and find what people are generally finding interesting across the web. This can help you figure out how to tailor your own content.
This can also be called gaming the system, but whatever 😉
PhillipGibb says
Do you actively ask for feedback from your peers? As in physically in the same room or through an online discussion forum – even comments.
It is something I would like to get going because then you can get the real feedback and not the quick and points seeking one.
John Saddington says
great stuff phillip.
Ben Reed says
Social engagement is highly important to me. In fact, I’d put it as one of the main reasons I put stuff out there. If I have no goal of engagement, I almost see social media as worthless…or at least self-serving. If I’m not open for dialog, I think it gives the idea to others that I’m prideful, and think I have the best ideas and solutions.
Instead, I am open for dialog, debate, criticisms, and suggestions. To me, that’s the beauty of social media.
Thanks for posting the tools!
PhillipGibb says
🙂