Let’s Revisit Engagement (Because It’s Evolved)
The majority of people working in social media know that engagement matters—but ask ten people to define it, and you’ll likely get ten different answers.
That’s not because they’re doing it wrong. It’s because engagement has evolved. It’s no longer solely about likes and shares—it’s about meaningful interaction, community response, and the invisible signals that shape how content travels. And with platforms constantly shifting, even seasoned pros can find themselves second-guessing what really counts.
So if you’ve ever found yourself wondering is this the kind of engagement that actually matters?—you’re not behind. You’re asking the right questions. This blog post is your permission to pause, clear things up, fill in the blanks, get clear on the basics, and help you spot (and spark) the kind of engagement that moves the needle—not just the algorithm.
What Social Media Engagement Actually Means
Engagement is any interaction between a user (your audience) and your content. Not all engagement is created equal, and each channel has their own engagement metrics that are important to understand to tell the right story.
Another way to think about this is by creating buckets of engagement into three categories—passive, active and generative.
- Passive engagement—views—the audience is consuming the content by reading the articles or watching videos, but not leaving a visible social media mark.
- Active engagement—likes, comments, shares, saves, poll votes, mentions—the audience is directly interacting and participating with the content.
- Generative engagement—reviews, testimonials, posts, photos, videos, mentions—the audience is creating something based on their experience with the brand or content.
Each of these is a part of a successful social media strategy and it’s important to aim for a balance between all three. Passive engagement helps with initial awareness, active engagement is critical for building relationships and driving advocacy, and generative engagement is the cherry on top where your audience become creators and present their unique perspectives and experiences.
The numbers will never not be important, however they don’t tell the full story. It’s also about the connections that you have with your audience. The DMs that you get about content that you’ve shared or answering questions to support them. The stories your audience shares about their experiences with your brand where you’re not tagged. The opportunities you’re finding to support your sales team. The connections you’re making on behalf of your company and leadership team.
There’s many pieces to the puzzle, which is why focusing on what matters most for each campaign is important to understand and communicate to ensure you have the right support.
Up next: I’ll pull back the curtain on what really counts as engagement, why it fuels brand magic, and which actions matter most. ✨Spoiler✨ not all clicks are created equal.
