Digital Consumer
Digital
Marketing
July 30, 2025
Beyond likes: engagement in customer communication
Many entrepreneurs invest time and energy in producing content that generates immediate interactions, but does not build a lasting presence
In the universe of contemporary digital marketing, the word “engagement” has become a mantra repeated to exhaustion. In consultancies, lectures, training sessions, and interactions with entrepreneurs, it is common to hear phrases like: “I need engagement.” This incessant search for likes, comments, and shares, however, is not always anchored in a strategic understanding of what engaging a customer truly means.
We live in a scenario where visibility has become one of the main symbolic assets for brands and entrepreneurs. A publication that “bombs” on social media, that is, that receives a large volume of public interactions, is usually immediately celebrated as a sign of success. However, it is necessary to problematize: what happens after engagement? Does this visibility generate private conversations? Does it lead to a conversion? Does it provoke a visit, a purchase, a recommendation, or a lasting relationship?
These questions are not merely rhetorical. They point to a growing disconnect between vanity metrics, which are those that measure what is easy to quantify, such as likes and followers, and value metrics, which assess the real impact of communication actions on business objectives. In other words, we are confusing superficial manifestations of attention with true engagement.
What does it mean to engage?
Engagement, in the most strategic sense, is not just a one-time interaction. It is the result of a process of continuous connection, in which the audience not only consumes the content but feels part of it. According to studies in the area of consumer behavior, engagement involves affective, cognitive and behavioral components (Hollebeek, 2011), meaning it is multifaceted and goes beyond a click.
Therefore, it is possible and quite common for content to achieve high reach and public reactions, but not provoke relational continuity. When this happens, we have an ephemeral engagement, which exhausts itself on the surface of the algorithm. It is a performance of relevance, but not necessarily of significant presence in the consumer’s memory and life.
Likes do not guarantee remembrance
In the daily practice of small businesses, this difference between visibility and bond is fundamental. Many entrepreneurs invest time and energy in producing content that generates immediate interactions, but does not build a lasting presence. There is a lack of intentionality in the communication process and, mainly, the understanding that engaging involves much more than provoking a reaction. It involves provoking reflection, identification, recognition, and memory.
It is at this point that strategic content marketing distinguishes itself from merely performative content. Strategically conceived content acts as a bridge between brand positioning and the audience’s real interests. It is built to sustain the brand’s presence in the consumer’s life, not just to generate momentary peaks of attention.
Attention and memory
Attention, as Herbert Simon (1971) has already pointed out, is a scarce resource. In an information-saturated environment, capturing and maintaining someone’s attention is a cognitive and emotional challenge. Therefore, it is necessary to think about formats, narratives, and value propositions that endure over time and are, in fact, memorable.
Being memorable doesn’t just mean having a creative catchphrase or a striking visual. It means establishing a meaningful relationship with the audience, promoting symbolic identification, consistency in messages and coherence in value delivery. A customer who engages with the brand to the point of remembering it spontaneously, recommending it to someone, or interacting again after weeks, demonstrates a qualitatively superior type of engagement.
From metric to strategy
The engagement metric, as presented in social media, is an important indicator, and we won’t deny that. But, by itself, it should not be the end goal. It is fundamental that entrepreneurs start asking deeper questions about the impacts of their content strategies. What did this content generate? Did it contribute to brand building, to the perception of authority, to strengthening the community around the business?
Engaging, therefore, is not just about provoking a response, but about creating an environment conducive to relationship. And this implies constantly listening to the audience, having narrative consistency, authenticity, and presence. More than looking for what “bombs”, perhaps it is time to look for what remains. Because that is what sustains a brand’s relevance in the long term: its ability to be alive in the consumer’s memory, conversation, and experience.
The current challenge of strategic communication lies in balancing the immediacy of social networks with the construction of long-term value. Likes and comments are indeed important, but they should be seen as entry points, not as final destinations. True engagement begins when content ceases to be merely performative and becomes relational.
In an increasingly data-driven market, it is worth remembering that not everything that matters can be measured, and not everything that is measured matters. It is time to redefine engagement as a process of building presence and trust. After all, memorable brands are not made solely with algorithms, but with stories, experiences, and human connections.
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