Hi! Lauren Kaye here, with this week’s Content and Coffee with Brafton. Today, I want to talk about social engagement. Click play to watch the video below, or read the full text. 

No – I’m not talking about your Facebook friends who won’t stop posting pictures of their weddings, I mean digital content that people want to read and share. 

You know that different posts you publish get varying levels of engagement, but have you actually dug into content analytics reports to find out what common thread ties together your most successful posts? According to the Adobe Digital Index Social Intelligence Report, you might find that it’s less about the topic or tone and more about the format.

Take social media content that contains images or videos. These kinds of posts see the most Likes, comments and shares. Image-based updates have 600 times higher engagement rates than posts that only contain text, with video content close behind. Even adding a link to your social content can drastically boost engagement, compared to text-only posts.

We’re glad to report this because it means this post will receive more engagement when it’s shared on networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. I mean, you clicked it, right?

The good news is that most brands are doing the same. They have caught onto image trend, and are riding the visual bandwagon to stronger ROI. The study found there were 8 percent more posts with images in Q3 2013 than at the same time last year.

The bad news is that marketers seem to be missing the boat where other content formats, like videos, are concerned. Brands actually produced fewer posts with streaming media this year, a decision that might be leaving money on the table.

You’ve probably noticed that social media platforms are getting crowded as adoption rates climb. It’s crucial that you produce and promote the most engaging formats if you want people to tune into your messaging and buy from your brand.

Catch you next week, and happy content marketing!

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.