This blog is number 7 of our 8-part Rhythm Series. You can learn more about what rhythms in business are here and why I believe they are the foundation of any successful, sustainable, scalable creative business. Be sure to click here to subscribe to my email list so you’ll be the first to know when the next blog drops each week.

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Here’s the thing…

You may have your sales rhythms and marketing rhythms dialed in. 

You’ve been:

• getting your brand in front of your audience
• nurturing warm leads
• and closing sales left and right

Until… suddenly you don’t.

Which makes ZERO sense to you because you haven’t changed a thing! But now, your well-oiled machine seems to be stalling out. 

And ya know what?

It can be really freakin’ frustrating!

No, it’s not time to throw away the rhythms you have in place and look for the next shiny new marketing trend. 

You’re just missing one simple, but really important piece of the equation:

ENGAGEMENT.

You see…

You can plop your brand in front of your audience all day, but the messaging that landed 6 months ago may not be working anymore as your industry evolves and your audience’s needs naturally change.

It’s up to you to stay on the pulse of your audience through engagement rhythms so that your sales and marketing rhythms can CONTINUE to be effective.

I get it.

As CEO, you balance a wide range of tasks and responsibilities. Even if you’ve implemented rhythms in your work, it can be really easy to get caught up in your own world, to the point where you’re functioning in a vacuum. 

I bet you’d agree:

There’s a reason so many corporate CEOs seem out of touch with their employees and their audience…

…they’re truly living in a different world!

And no matter if you’re running a Fortune 500 company or a brand new small business with a team of 2 (or even just you!), this can easily happen to you if you aren’t intentional about staying on the pulse of your industry and the people you serve. 

Fortunately:

Engagement rhythms are here to save the day and ensure that you remain connected, grounded, and in-tune with your ideal client now and in the future. 

While your marketing rhythms get you in front of your ideal audience and your sales rhythms help you close the deal, your engagement rhythms are going to ensure your ideal client actually WANTS to hear what you have to say and feels connected to your brand!

With engagement rhythms in place, you can confidently nurture your audience and get feedback to leverage both your marketing and sales rhythms in a way that feels organic, authentic, and purposeful.

Let’s dive in!

What are Engagement Rhythms? 

Engagement rhythms are regular intervals where you intentionally interact with your customers and your audience. 

Engagement includes:

• Sending surveys 
• Coffee chats
• Market research
• Participating in or hosting Clubhouse chats
• Joining Networking Groups
• Discovery Calls
• DMs (direct messages on social platforms)
• Commenting on social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Answering questions on your social platforms

You can, and should, engage with your ideal audience as well as prospective, current, and past clients regularly to ensure your marketing initiatives and offers align with their needs now and in the future. 

Why Engagement Is Essential In Your Creative Business

Engagement is the often-overlooked link between your market research, marketing, and sales initiatives. For many entrepreneurs, it is, quite simply, an afterthought.

Something to get around to when you have extra time…

A task to hand off to an intern….

Something frivolous…

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make! 

Engagement needs to become a priority and not just something you mindlessly tend to while binging your favorite HBO show (Yellowstone, anyone?!) or waiting for your double espresso latte at Starbucks. 

No matter how big or small your business is, engagement can make or break your brand!

It is the foundation for long-term success in any business. 

Why?

Because if you don’t engage with your audience you risk becoming…

• Obsolete

• Irrelevant

• Out of touch

In the blink of an eye!

Let’s explore the benefits of engagement rhythms and how they can positively influence your marketing efforts, inspire creative offers, and directly increase your bottom line.

# 1 Stay in touch

Engagement rhythms will help you stay connected to the people you serve.

Being “out of touch” is never a good thing, especially in your business. 

When people are out-of-touch in any scenario, it makes connection and trust feel impossible. 

As a parent, I am currently very IN TOUCH with what’s popular for the Pre-K/Kindergarten crowd. This demographic is my focus because I happen to have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old.

Naturally, I am invested in their needs and interests in the same way that you are focused on your ideal client’s needs.

Right now… “Stinky and Dirty”, a kid’s show on Amazon Prime about a trash truck and an excavator, is relevant to me so I can appease my truck-obsessed son!

But… 

If you asked me what tv shows are  “hip” right now with the pre-teen demographic, I’d be in over my head.

I’m talking, Cher-level Clueless!

But, check back in about 10 years and I’m sure I’ll be the expert because I’ll have teens by that point!

That is…

If my daughter lets me in on what’s hip (wish me luck, ha!).

Your business is the same. Right now it’s your responsibility to know what makes your ideal client TICK.

You also need to realize that this can and (most likely) will change over time!

Without consistent engagement, it can be really easy to miss the mark when it comes to what your ideal client wants, needs, and expects in your niche. 

You see…

Where so many entrepreneurs go wrong is they get caught up with the business side of their work and lose touch with the client-side of their industry. They end up hiding in the backend of their business, creating offers that simply don’t land!

This leads me to the second benefit of engagement rhythms…

#2 Create Irresistible Offers

Stop assuming what people want, and start asking!

Remember, you’re creating for your audience, NOT for yourself. Just because you like an idea, doesn’t mean it will sell!

Engagement rhythms help you go directly to the source to get feedback, inspiration, and ideas for your current and future offers.

When you engage with your audience regularly, you’ll be able to tune in to their current needs AND start to anticipate what they might need next. 

Tending to engagement rhythms helps you avoid becoming so removed that you lose touch with your audience. Instead of creating in isolation (crossing fingers and toes hoping your new product or service sells!) you’ll be able to create in community. 

Creating in community opens you up to constructive feedback. When you reach out to your ideal client often, you’ll get their eyes on your work and their thoughts so that you can be sure you really understand and cater to their pains, wants, needs, and desires.

Not only does engagement make coming up with new offers EASIER, but it will also make it so much more organic to market and sell this offer.

You’ll be ahead of the curve, enabling you to retain your current clients and appeal to new clients in a way that your competitors may not have even thought of!

#3 Enhance Your Messaging

When you keep in touch and stay on the pulse of your ideal audience, it is so much easier to understand and empathize with the people you serve.

You’ll become fluent in their specific challenges and dreams for the future. This knowledge directly influences your brand messaging to the point where you’ll almost feel like a mindreader!

When you intentionally engage with your audience, you enter into a relationship with them.

Soon enough, you’ll be finishing their sentences (aw, how cute!) and reading their minds.

Kidding (kind of)!

Over time, engagement rhythms teach you how to speak to your audience on their terms. 

You’ll use the same language, be familiar with the same references,  and connect with them in a way that allows you to genuinely relate to their needs and develop empathy for their biggest concerns. As a business owner, this will let  you offer the solutions that will solve their biggest problems.

Your copy, ads and promotions will become more specific so you can easily call in the people who need your product, service, or offer the most. 

It’s basically ongoing market research, marketing, and sales all rolled up into one! 

Engagement rhythms will help you stay on the pulse of what matters to your people and in your industry so you can ensure your messaging is making an impact and speaking to the right people in the right way. 

COO Tip: Use “voice of customer data.” This is a strategic copywriting tool that will make your life so much easier when it comes to writing sales pages, website copy, emails, and even social media captions. Instead of trying to find the right words to sell your offer, look to your clients for inspiration and use the words and phrases they use verbatim. The way they describe their unique challenges and successes will resonate with the audience you’re marketing to making your copywriting that much more effective. They are literally giving you the words to use!

# 4 Market in the right places

In our marketing rhythms blog, we talked a lot about showing up in the spaces that matter to your audience. 

Not sure where to start? 

Ask the people!

Engagement will naturally show you where your audience spends time online and IRL (in real life). This can actually inform your marketing rhythms so that you can pour your attention into the platforms, opportunities, and events your audience participates in. 

A great example is the introduction of REELS on Instagram.

Remember, this wasn’t always a thing!

And when Instagram rolled this new feature out, the marketing and business coaching world imploded for a bit!

Everyone scrambled to figure out how to use reels strategically and effectively. Most importantly, they had to take time to figure out if this platform would matter to their unique niche. 

• Some businesses choose to be tone-deaf and ignore the platform updates. Instead, opting to do it the same way they always had. I get it– adding yet ANOTHER thing to our plates can feel so overwhelming! But, many of these vacuum-living entrepreneurs missed the opportunity to show up where their audience was now spending more and more time. 

On the flip side…

• Others hopped on the bandwagon prematurely only to find this feature didn’t land with their specific audience. And so it was no wonder all of their well-intended efforts fell flat. 

Talking to your audience consistently through engagement rhythms will be like a guiding light, a north star, a compass, helping you to pivot as needed with insight, confidence, and strategy when it comes to marketing and sales. 

# 5 Build Your Brand’s Know/Like/Trust Factor

Engagement is one of the core ways you can warm up and grow your audience when you do it the right way. You’ll build relationships and in turn create a relationship-driven business you’re proud of. 

Relationships are valuable but they aren’t easily won. It’s the reason your skin crawls when that random person you went to high school with pops up out of the blue trying to sell you something. 

For decades she hasn’t been interested in maintaining a relationship of any kind.

But now?

She wants something from you.  

It doesn’t feel good, and it’s honestly the reason MLM marketing gets such a bad rap. This degrades the know/like/trust factor.

And to be honest, it can be easy for you to fall into these patterns too!

You’ve been head down at work and all of a sudden you look at the calendar and realize: it’s launch time!

So you start engaging, seemingly out of nowhere, to an audience who hasn’t been primed for it. It feels abrupt. 

On the other hand…

If you are focused on engaging regularly, no matter if you’re launching or not, your community will know what level of engagement to expect from you. 

When you use intentional rhythms that nurture authentic relationships in this way you BUILD trust, loyalty, familiarity, and likability organically.

Who Your Brand Needs To Engage With

Engagement rhythms tend to fall into two buckets: Your Current/Past Clients and Your Audience. It is helpful to engage with both of these groups regularly to stay connected to your ICA (ideal client avatar) at every point of the customer journey.  

Engage With Current and Past Clients

Engaging with your clients has everything to do with client experience! It’s all about being curious about how you can grow and improve so that you can show up, over-deliver, anticipate their needs while you’re working together and long after the work is done.

We often think, “no news is good news” when it comes to our client work, but often a lack of feedback simply means you haven’t ASKED for feedback. 

Give your clients the opportunity to engage with you during and after your work together.

Get in the habit of reaching out at strategic times to find out how things are going on the client-side of things.

Feedback isn’t just a way to see if things are going “wrong” (although you definitely need that info). It’s also a chance to see what you’re doing right! Opening up a dialogue may help you highlight the services you take for granted because you’re so close to your work!

How to engage with your clients

Look for opportunities to engage with your clients at different intervals. Whether you have a product-based business or a service-based business, these engagement options can help you to understand your clients at every touchpoint.

• Send NPS (net promoter score) surveys. Surveys are a great way to get general insight and at-a-glance information. They will often use 1-10 scales to help you quickly understand how your client is feeling at this stage.

• Request feedback regularly. Don’t wait until the project closes (it’ll be harder to get a response, trust me)! I highly recommend that you send questionnaires at strategic points throughout your project. This kind of client engagement will give you priceless information you need to ensure things are on track, or get them back on track if needed! It will allow you to continuously grow and improve your business. Plus, it will strengthen your client relationships. 

COO Tip: Send questionnaires to your clients right after a big milestone or win! People are more likely to fill them out and most willing to share feedback when they’re full of those warm fuzzy feelings! As a bonus, these often lead to some great testimonials!

• Ask for reviews and testimonials. When people have a great experience, they are usually really excited to spread the word! 
  
  
  • Product-based businesses might direct their clients to post a review on a certain platform. For example, you might request an Amazon review or feedback on Etsy.  When asking for reviews, be sure to encourage your clients to highlight certain features, qualities, and benefits of your product. 
    
    
  • Service-based businesses can ask clients for their permission to share positive feedback on a website or social platform. This kind of social proof is an excellent way to boost your marketing efforts. Platforms like Yelp may also be an appropriate place to direct your clients if you offer a location-based service.  When requesting reviews for a service, ask your clients to reflect on more than just the deliverable or the outcome but the process along the way!

• Ask your client if you can pick their brain with market research interviews! Set up a Zoom call or, if your client is local, you might even take them out to lunch as a thank you for sharing their thoughts. When you sit down to talk to your clients one-on-one, you can get some really valuable insight about your current offers. This is also a great space to get feedback on a new product or service you have in mind. Their opinions and perspectives will be so valuable as you continue to grow, improve, and innovate in your business. 

• Keep in touch. Continue the conversation long after the work is done or the product is purchased. Stay connected with past clients through socials, your email list, and even industry-specific events. When you are invested in supporting your clients in a variety of ways, they’ll feel a genuine rapport and trust. 

Engage With Your Audience & Prospective Clients

The second pool of people you’ll want to engage with regularly is your prospective clients or your target audience. Engaging with future clients happens most often in the online space since this is the most accessible way to connect with new people and expand your audience. 

This is where I start to feel the pushback from my clients…

• But, Erin, I don’t want to be on Instagram for hours!
• Social media is a time sucker!
• Nope, not going down that rabbit hole again!

I HEAR YA!

Social media CAN become a big-time sucker. If you let it. 

But here’s the thing.

Have you ever tried to engage on social media with RHYTHMS?

Probably not. 

It’s the key to making sure social media engagement works FOR you and not AGAINST you. 

Aside from posting regularly as part of your marketing rhythms, you can create sustainable engagement rhythms that will allow you to stay connected to your ideal audience without having to dedicate hours of your time to managing these apps. 

How to engage with your audience and prospective clients

Since most of your engagement with your audience will happen online, here are some helpful things to consider when engaging on social media and email marketing platforms. 

• Respond to all comments you receive! Don’t leave them hanging! 
  
  
• Teach your audience how to engage on your platform with clear calls to action (CTAs) like “comment”, “tell me xyz..”, “share”, etc. Often people aren’t engaging with you because they aren’t sure how or if it is welcome!
  
  
• GENUINELY comment on their posts and show interest! 
  
  
• Reply to DMs within a reasonable amount of time to demonstrate that you’re reliable, reachable, and here to support them!
  
  
• You can survey your audience too! Find out what they want to learn about, what their biggest challenges are, or even ask them about pop culture they find entertaining! You can do this really informally on platforms like Instagram stories or in Facebook groups!
  
  
• Grow your audience and serve them at the same time! Answer questions or respond to posts in the comments. Answering things publicly can actually grow your know/like/trust factor while you’re serving the audience you meet online. It’s a win-win!
  
  
• Set clear expectations and boundaries for yourself! If you worry about going down the rabbit-hole give yourself clear, measurable expectations when it comes to how long you spend engaging. You can even set a timer to hold you accountable. When that timer goes off, you get off the app. Spending short but intentional amounts of time on the app a few times a day is going to be significantly more effective than jumping on for just a minute here and there all day long. 

The Dangers of Engagement Gone Wrong

Before we dive into establishing your own engagement rhythms, I want to be very clear that when engagement is done poorly it actually degrades the know/like/trust factor of your business!

You’ve probably encountered a situation like this:

You hear from someone 4 days in a row. 

It’s no surprise, they’re trying to make a sale and keep you interested in whatever they have to offer. 

There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with this if…

They follow through and continue this high-touch engagement. 

But what most likely happens?

You named it…

THEY GHOST YOU. 

And it feels pretty (pardon my language)… shitty!

Whether it’s true or not… this sends a message LOUD and CLEAR.

And it’s not a good one.

This person is telling you through their engagement actions that they are only going to reach out when they want your money. 

Immediately they have lost your trust.

Let’s make a clear distinction:

Engagement and Engagement Rhythms are not the same. 

Engagement can be sporadic, self-serving, and random. While Engagement Rhythms are consistent, reliable, and in turn, build trust.

Furthermore, it’s important that your engagement rhythms span across your entire customer journey. 

Let’s frame it with a story. 

One of my clients gets RAVING reviews about her sales engagement rhythms. Her sales team is ON it. They reach out regularly, communicate clearly, and never go more than 3 days without touching base with some information, a tip, or check-in to keep the prospective client in the loop. 

Many of her clients say this amazing engagement is one of the MAIN reasons they decided to work with her brand. 

But then we noticed something. 

While her initial feedback was UBER positive… 

…her surveys halfway through were actually pretty negative. 

How could this be?!

Well, it seems the moment the client signed on the dotted line, the sales team naturally bowed out, and the creative team took over. 

The creative team was head down working hard on their new project.

The problem?

The client didn’t see any of that. 

What they did see?

An empty inbox.

They had come to know, like, and expect regular updates and engagement. 

But what they got was crickets (even though the team was working hard behind the scenes).

We realized that the engagement rhythms in these two areas were out of sync with each other. 

As you set your own engagement rhythms, I urge you to be mindful and consistent across all touchpoints. YOU teach your clients and your audience what to expect from you. Make sure the expectations are positive, consistent across the board, and sustainable. 

How To Create Engagement Rhythms In Your Business

It can all feel quite overwhelming if you try to implement all of these engagement strategies at once.

That’s where rhythms come into play. 

You see, so far we’ve explored what engagement rhythms are, why they’re so important, and the many ways that you can actively engage with your clients and your audience. 

NOW it’s time to zoom in on one engagement option at a time so you know where you’ll engage, when you’ll engage, and how often.

We’ll start by assessing if and how you’re currently engaging with your audience, clients, and past clients, where you see room for improvement, and one new rhythm you’ll implement to move the needle forward so that you can begin to engage more sustainably and strategically. 

Let me walk you through this process step-by-step!

Step 1: Assess

Make a list of all the ways you’re engaging currently. It is so easy to beat ourselves up for the million and ten things we feel like we AREN’T doing yet or enough. But taking some time to identify and celebrate where you are already engaging with your audience can boost your confidence and help you build on any foundation you’ve already put in place. 

It may not be what you’d like it to be yet, but we all start somewhere! Why not begin on a positive note?

Take inventory of how you currently engage with your audience, your current clients, and your past clients. Consider engagement rhythms (whether they’re steady rhythms or not) such as:

Social media platforms 

These include places like Instagram, Clubhouse, or LinkedIn. Your list might include: 

• replying to DMs
• commenting on your followers’ content
• connecting with people in your own post comments
• posting questions or surveys in stories
• hosting a Facebook group 
• chatting in a weekly Clubhouse room

Email Marketing 

Are you using email? If you have a marketing platform already like Flodesk or Mailchimp, you’re on the right track! Be sure to include even seemingly small steps like having a business email account! Then consider how you use email:

• To nurture
• To sell
• Communicate (practical purposes)
• To follow up and request feedback

IRL (in real life)

Don’t forget the in-person engagements too! Consider where you physically engage with your community:

• Markets
• Galleries
• Workshops
• Networking events

I hope that reviewing where you are already showing up and connecting will inspire you to engage in these ways deeper and with more consistency.

Step 2: Determine your “drivers”

Drivers are the things that keep your rhythms moving forward. Take time to notice when you tend to each of your current engagements. Notice: 

Time driven

These are engagement rhythms that happen at specific, repeated times like Tuesdays at 10 am or daily. They should be consistent and manageable on your end so that your audience can learn to know/like/trust you. If your current rhythm is happening sporadically, you may consider putting specific time-driven boundaries in place for yourself.

Cadence driven

Cadence-driven engagement rhythms align with specific milestones during a client project or within the customer journey. Cadence-driven rhythms ensure you stay on the pulse of your client experience. This allows you to pivot, support, and innovate so that you can show up and serve your people well. 

Event driven

Event-driven engagement rhythms revolve around an occasion like a product or program launch or a workshop. These engagement rhythms are intentionally nurturing your audience before and while you sell so that your audience is engaged throughout the process. Be careful that your event-driven engagement is supported by cadence and time-driven rhythms so that you come across as authentic and consistent instead of pushy. These rhythms all work together harmoniously to support one another.

Noticing the drivers of each of your engagement rhythms will help you better understand where you can improve, why the engagement is or isn’t resonating, or why you haven’t been able to stay consistent. It’s all excellent data that you can build upon in upcoming steps.

Step 3: Evaluate your available platforms

Often we are blind to the tools and resources available to us and how they can make our lives and our work SO much easier! The answer might have been right in front of you the whole time. Stop trying to lean on your willpower, energy, and inspiration to consistently engage. Look to ways that you can automate, streamline, and systematize your engagement rhythms:

Email segmentation

Your email marketing platform probably offers a way for you to segment your audience. All this means is you can collect information from them along the way to help them self-identify and tell you what they’re looking for or what they are more interested in regarding your services or products. This can help you engage in a more relevant and personal way with your audience and clients.

Email automation

Aside from segmenting your audience, your email marketing tool can also let you automate pre-written emails that you send on repeat. 

You can set triggers (AKA “cadence drivers”) to engage with your people at specific intervals such as at the midpoint of a project, as a reminder that they’ve left something in their cart, or to follow up with them about where they are in the customer journey 3 months down the line. 

Get all of these “to-do’s” out of your head and into an automated system so that you can engage regularly without relying on memory alone!

CRM

Your CRM (Client Relationship Management system) like Dubsado or Honeybook offers way more than just contracts and payment options. These platforms offer easy-to-use forms, questionnaires, and templates to help you engage with your clients in a really professional-looking manner!

Step 4: Optimize Current Rhythms

Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves. 

With your list in hand, ask yourself, “Where can my current engagement rhythms be optimized to work better for me and my audience?” 

Before you introduce anything new, it’s essential that you build on the foundation you already have in place and make sure it is working for you. Consider focusing on one current engagement rhythm at a time until you feel it is at a place where you are comfortable maintaining this rhythm and it serves your audience in a way that makes you feel proud.

Step 5: Introduce New Rhythms

I recommend coming to step 5 at a time when you feel your current engagement rhythms are serving you well. At this point, you can look for areas where engagement has been low. Look for areas where you are not engaging or where your engagement feels out of balance. Start by introducing one new rhythm at a time. When deciding on a rhythm to focus your attention on, consider the following:

Balance Time Drivers

Do you have ongoing engagement rhythms happening in your business that continuously engage your audience? Consider where a regular daily or weekly rhythm could help complement the event drivers you have in place.

Balance Cadence Drivers

Are you missing out on opportunities to get feedback on a project or reach out for a testimonial? If you haven’t been engaging with your current clients, you may decide to prioritize this.

Balance Event Drivers

Maybe you’re engaging regularly, but don’t have a plan in place to help you strategically engage around a product launch or upcoming workshop? Consider how you can engage with your ideal audience so that they feel connected to what you’re offering.

Once you know which driver you’d like to focus on, you can build out your new rhythm with these prompts in mind:

1. When will I engage (daily, weekly, quarterly, at a certain milestone?) Be specific.
2. What actions are involved in this rhythm (DMing, commenting, emailing etc.)
3. What tools will help me engage well (email marketing, CRM, social media, a questionnaire)?
4. Can anything be automated to ensure it is consistent?
5. What do I need to create or build to put this rhythm in place?

Step 6: Set it in motion

Set that new rhythm. Make sure it is clear, actionable, and realistic. Give yourself clear guidelines and boundaries so that you can set yourself up for success. At first, this new rhythm may feel hard to keep up with – stick with it! Allow some time for this new rhythm to take hold. Like any new habit, it won’t happen overnight. Once you feel confident that the rhythm is working for you and your ability to engage with your audience, you may consider pivoting to make sure it is sustainable, increasing the frequency of this rhythm, or introducing another rhythm you’re interested in exploring. 

Your Future State:

What Engagement Rhythms Look Like in My Business 

Sometimes it’s helpful to peek behind the curtain and see how other entrepreneurs run things in their business. 

While my business can and should look different than yours, the ultimate goal will always be the same. No matter which engagement rhythms you choose, these different rhythms nestle together into one larger symphony where they support each other. 

Eventually, you’ll get to a point where you’ve established touchpoints throughout the entire week with regular intervals (rhythms) that let you show up and reach different people on a variety of platforms. 

If you were to look at my Clickup right now you would see:

• I post a blog every Monday
• I email my list every Tuesday
• Then I have a Clubhouse chat every Wednesday
• I put out Insta posts every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
• I share stories on Insta daily

Each of these rhythms by itself probably wouldn’t move the needle forward in my business much. 

But TOGETHER, they are a powerful engagement strategy. 

Your engagement rhythms are going to look different based on your time, the platforms you choose, and the resources available to you. 

The big takeaway:

When engagement rhythms are based on marketing rhythms, they will allow you to engage and respond to how people are interacting with your content. It spurs you to dive into conversation with your audience on these different platforms and explore what they’re sharing on their own accounts. 

Each rhythm fits into a bigger picture so you can show up regularly in a way that feels good for you AND them! It makes it FEEL like you’re everywhere, all the time, without overloading your schedule or capacity.

The goal isn’t to focus on one engagement area. 

The goal is to find the balance so you can interact consistently, on-brand, and develop your know-like-trust factor. 

As you layer in your own rhythms it’s helpful to see the big picture when it comes to how they will all come together in the future.

Re-evaluate engagement rhythms that make the most sense for your business and schedule. 

There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” plan for your engagement rhythms, but there are some tried and true rhythms that just make sense! Here’s some advice to help you choose, implement, and re-evaluate the right rhythms.

1. Start simple, because starting is, honestly, the HARDEST part. Choose one engagement rhythm and commit to it regularly. Commit to building and establishing one engagement rhythm at a time. Layer new rhythms on slowly but surely to ensure you are able to maintain effective engagement rhythms that allow you to keep in touch with your entire audience. Instead of trying to tackle an umbrella like “social media engagement” focus on one platform like LinkedIn or Facebook. I will do this on Daily at 10 am and 2pm for 5 minutes each. 

2. Allow momentum to be your ally! Once you fall into your new rhythms for a few rounds, momentum makes it easier to keep up with them going forward. Be patient. Give your new rhythms time to catch on! Be observant and pay attention to how your audience responds so that you can make adjustments to your rhythms so that they support both you and your audience. 

3. Be Specific. It’s important to specify the details. When will this rhythm occur and how frequently? Get really clear on how you will engage (what tasks will you complete), where you will engage (which platform), when you will engage (a certain day or at a specific milestone), and for how long you will engage (5 minutes? An hour?). A friendly reminder: scrolling isn’t engaging. This should not be a passive action.

For example: Engaging on social media is likely something you’ll want to do weekly and eventually even daily. Other engagement options like sharing surveys with your social media followers, email list, or current clients may become quarterly rhythms that help you gather new information. Testimonial and feedback requests will happen at specific milestones. 

4. Time Block & Use a Timer. Put it on your calendar and set a reminder. Treat this like you would any other appointment. If you wouldn’t cancel on a client, don’t cancel this. When it’s time to engage, set your timer. When that timer goes off, you get off the app– no ifs, ands, or buts! Establish boundaries so that this becomes sustainable.

5. Cluster like tasks. Some engagement tasks may work well together or help you optimize your time. 

For example: If you decide to commit to engaging with your audience on Instagram more regularly, decide what exactly that looks like. Will you respond to DMs and comments on your posts, follow new accounts, interact with their content, share conversation-starters in your stories? Instead of creating separate rhythms for each of these small tasks, it might make more sense to work on these collective tasks during the same block.

6. Make sure it makes sense. Once your engagement rhythm is up and running check-in regularly. Are you finding it to be sustainable? Do you have the capacity to engage in a deeper way?

7. Find a balance in rhythms. Balance your engagement efforts between your current and past clients and your audience. If you’ve spent most of your time engaging with your Instagram audience and this is a well-established rhythm, maybe it’s time to pour attention into engaging with your current clients. With time you’ll find sustainable, regular rhythms for both that offer balance and continuity. Tending to your community on all fronts will ensure your engagement is well-rounded so that you are getting information that spans the full-spectrum of the client journey. 

Let’s Sum it Up

While marketing and sales rhythms are incredibly valuable, engagement rhythms are the pieces that ensure your marketing and sales efforts resonate with your audience now and in the future. When you prioritize engagement you’ll feel more connected to the people you serve which in turn will help you create magnetic offers, strategic brand messaging, and an incredible client experience you can feel proud of. 

Stay Tuned

This blog is part of an 8-part series on creating Rhythms to support your short-term and long-term business goals. So far we’ve explored CEO Time, Financial Rhythms, Sales Rhythms,  Operations Rhythms, Creative Rhythms, Marketing Rhythms, and Engagement Rhythms. 

Next, we’ll chat about communication rhythms in your business. Be sure to subscribe HERE and keep your rhythm-setting momentum going so you can tackle those business goals and resolutions!

I am so excited to help you put rhythms in place for your business this year. I encourage you to…

• Click here to sign up for my email list so you can hop over to the newest blog in this series at the top of each week.
  
  
• Set time aside for the next several weeks (I call it Time Blocking) to apply what you learn and set rhythms that support your unique business flow.
  
  
• Reach out with questions! Click here to email me. I personally respond to every single email and would love to hear from you! Your questions help me share the best content possible (and if you have a question, there’s likely 10 other people who are wondering the same thing. Be their hero and speak up!)

With the right rhythms in place, your business will be humming along in the new year creating space, systems, and strategy that will help you to actively work towards, meet, and even exceed all the goals, resolutions, and dreams you have in mind for the year ahead!

Want to check out our previous rhythms blogs?

THE 8 RHYTHMS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS THIS YEAR (INSTEAD OF RESOLUTIONS)

CEO TIME: WHAT IT IS, WHY YOU NEED IT, AND HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

FINANCES: HOW RHYTHMS WILL HELP YOU SHIFT FROM SCARY “F” WORD TO F YEAH!

SALES RHYTHMS: HOW TO DITCH THE ICK AND SUCCESSFULLY SELL WITH CONFIDENCE & AUTHENTICITY

OPERATIONS RHYTHMS: THE FUEL YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS NEEDS 

CREATIVE RHYTHMS: ARE THEY A PRIORITY OR AN AFTERTHOUGHT IN YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS?

MARKETING RHYTHMS: HOW TO GET IN FRONT OF YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE NOW

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