My friend Seth Muse over at the Seminary of Hard Knocks recently published 9 Engaging Questions to Ask on Instagram.

In jest, I told him I would publish this list:

7 Answers You Can Respond With To Any Engaging Question On Instagram:

1. Interesting indeed. Given that you are asking this question, is there anything I can pray for you?

2. In the end, do you have any recommendation for me to take it from here?

3. That’s a great question, but don’t you think there’s a much better question you could be asking right now?

4. For right now, I am seeing truth in Philippians 4:11

5. I can understand why you’re asking that question. But can you share the why behind it?

6. Is there a book or podcast you think would be a good resource to help me with this?

7. Not sure how I should respond to this one.

Here’s my engaging question:

WHAT RESPONSE AM I MISSING IN THIS LIST?

There are many people out there touting that they can help you figure out how to increase engagement on social media. I used to say that a ? is greater than a period. And you hear people say all the time you should ask engaging open ended questions so that it reels people in.

But the secret to getting engagement is not just publishing questions.

The secret is actually the opposite: it is to answer and respond to other people’s posts. Constantly.

Time and time again I have gotten on the radar of someone that I want to connect with, whether it be an author, a leader, speaker, consultant, etc. One of the easiest ways is if they blog regularly. All you need to do is follow along, and comment thoughtfully in response to each of the posts that they publish for a certain timeframe. Many times in as little as a few weeks or a month, you can connect and develop a relationship with someone you don’t know personally at the beginning of the process.

You can do the same thing on someone’s Facebook page, group or feed.

You can do the same thing on someone’s Instagram feed.

Just think about it for second. If you are publishing and trying to build a platform, and you are engaging with your “tribe” and audience. It is relatively easy to notice when the same person shows up periodically on a regular basis versus all the random drive-by visitors who comment once and never again.

Even if there’s a healthy amount of discussion on a person’s or brand’s platform, how many people consistently show up with thoughtful and encouraging responses in the comments sections or DM’s. Over and over and over?

Do that on a very regular basis and in the short period of time, you will get on the radar of that brand or personality. That’s where you can start to have a relationship outside the public publish and comments/feedback channels.

IS THIS COUNTERINTUITIVE OR DEFAULT BEHAVIOR FOR YOU?

Leave your comment below and spark the conversation.