engagement-playbook

name	engagement-playbook
description	Builds engagement strategies with comment response templates, DM scripts, and community interaction frameworks. Use when you need a systematic approach to social media engagement.
allowed-tools	Read Write Glob
metadata	{"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"}

Engagement Playbook

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a systematic engagement plan for social media interactions
• Build response templates for common comments, DMs, and mentions
• Design a daily engagement routine that drives growth
• Develop frameworks for meaningful community interactions

DO NOT use this skill for content creation, posting schedules, or paid advertising. This is for engagement — the conversations and interactions around your content.

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Core Principle

ENGAGEMENT IS NOT ABOUT RESPONDING — IT IS ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. EVERY INTERACTION SHOULD MAKE THE OTHER PERSON FEEL SEEN AND VALUED.

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Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

Input	What to Ask	Default
Platforms	"Which platforms do you need engagement strategies for?"	Primary social platform
Time budget	"How many minutes per day can you spend engaging?"	30 minutes
Business goal	"What should engagement drive? Followers, leads, community, sales?"	Followers and leads
Common interactions	"What types of comments and DMs do you typically receive?"	General audience questions
Brand voice	"How should your replies sound? Casual, professional, witty?"	Friendly and helpful

GATE: Confirm brief before building playbook.

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Phase 2: Outline

Playbook Sections

1. Daily Engagement Routine — timed activities for each day
2. Comment Response Templates — for your own posts
3. Outbound Engagement — commenting on others' content
4. DM Frameworks — scripts for inbound and outbound DMs
5. Community Interaction — engaging in groups and threads
6. Crisis / Negative Comment Handling — how to respond to criticism

GATE: Approve sections before writing.

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Phase 3: Write

1. Daily Engagement Routine

## 30-Minute Daily Engagement Routine

**First 10 minutes: Respond**
- Reply to all comments on your posts from the last 24 hours
- Respond to DMs using the templates below
- Like and reply to story mentions or tags

**Next 10 minutes: Engage outbound**
- Comment on 5-10 posts from target accounts (peers, prospects, industry leaders)
- Leave meaningful comments (not "Great post!" — see outbound templates)
- Share or repost 1 piece of content from your network with added commentary

**Final 10 minutes: Discover**
- Browse relevant hashtags or topics for new accounts to engage with
- Save content ideas inspired by what you see
- Follow 3-5 new relevant accounts

2. Comment Response Templates

## Responding to Comments on Your Posts

### Someone agrees with your point
Template: "[Acknowledge] + [Add a specific detail or ask a follow-up]"
Example: "Exactly right — and the part most people miss is [detail]. What's been your experience with this?"

### Someone asks a question
Template: "[Answer directly] + [Add a resource or next step]"
Example: "Great question. [Direct answer]. I actually covered this in more detail here: [link]. Does that help?"

### Someone shares their experience
Template: "[Validate their experience] + [Ask to learn more]"
Example: "That's a great example — especially the part about [specific detail they shared]. How long did it take you to see results?"

### Someone disagrees
Template: "[Acknowledge their perspective] + [Restate your position calmly] + [Find common ground]"
Example: "I can see where you're coming from. My take is based on [experience/data]. I think we'd probably agree that [common ground]. What do you think?"

### Simple praise ("Great post!")
Template: "[Thank them] + [Ask a question to deepen the conversation]"
Example: "Thank you! Curious — which point resonated most with you?"

3. Outbound Engagement Templates

## Commenting on Others' Posts

**NEVER:** "Great post!" / "Love this!" / emoji-only replies

**ALWAYS:** Add value, share a related insight, or ask a thoughtful question.

### Templates

**Add your experience:**
"This matches what I've seen too — we tried [related thing] and found that [insight]. [Question about their experience]."

**Expand on their point:**
"Building on this — [additional insight or data point]. I think the key is [your take]."

**Respectfully challenge:**
"Interesting perspective. I've seen it play out differently — [your counter-experience]. Have you tried [alternative approach]?"

**Ask a smart question:**
"Really solid breakdown. Curious about [specific detail] — how did you approach [specific aspect]?"

4. DM Frameworks

## Inbound DMs

### Someone asks about your service/product
"Thanks for reaching out! [Answer their question in 1-2 sentences]. The best next step would be [specific action — link, call, etc.]. Want me to send you [specific resource]?"

### Someone asks for free advice
"Great question! Here's a quick take: [Brief answer]. For a deeper dive, I'd recommend [resource/content/service]. Hope that helps!"

### Someone pitches you
"Thanks for thinking of me! I'm not looking for [what they're selling] right now, but I appreciate the outreach."

## Outbound DMs (use sparingly)

### After meaningful engagement (NOT cold outreach)
"Hey [Name] — loved your comment on [specific post]. [Reference something specific they said]. I'm working on [related thing] and thought you might find [resource] useful. No pitch, just thought of you."

5. Negative Comment Handling

## Handling Criticism and Negativity

### Constructive criticism
Respond: Acknowledge the feedback, thank them, explain your reasoning or what you would change.

### Trolling or bad faith
Respond: One calm, factual response (for your audience's benefit, not theirs). Then disengage.

### Genuine complaints (about your product/service)
Respond: Acknowledge the issue publicly, take the resolution to DMs. "I hear you — that shouldn't have happened. DMing you now to fix this."

### Rule: NEVER delete negative comments unless they violate community guidelines. Deleting criticism looks worse than addressing it.

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Phase 4: Polish

1. Playbook Checklist

## Engagement Playbook Checklist

- [ ] Daily routine fits within stated time budget
- [ ] Comment response templates cover 5+ common scenarios
- [ ] Outbound engagement templates add value (not generic praise)
- [ ] DM frameworks cover inbound questions and outbound outreach
- [ ] Negative comment handling plan is defined
- [ ] All templates match the brand voice
- [ ] Templates are adaptable (not copy-paste word-for-word)
- [ ] Routine includes both responding and proactive engagement

2. Weekly Review Template

## Weekly Engagement Review

- Conversations started: [N]
- Meaningful replies sent: [N]
- New connections made: [N]
- DMs sent / received: [N]
- Leads generated from engagement: [N]
- Top performing interaction this week: [Description]

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Example: Engagement Routine for a Business Coach on LinkedIn

Daily routine (30 min):
- 10 min: Reply to all post comments, answer DMs
- 10 min: Comment on 10 posts from target clients and peers
- 10 min: Browse #entrepreneurship and engage with new accounts

Outbound comment example:
Post about hiring struggles → "This is spot on. We went through the same thing at our agency — what finally worked was [specific change]. Saved us 20 hours/month on recruiting alone. Are you using any structured interview frameworks?"

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Anti-Patterns

• "Great post!" comments — zero-value engagement does not build relationships or visibility. Always add something.
• Engaging only on your own posts — proactive outbound engagement is where growth happens.
• Copy-pasting templates word for word — templates are starting points, not scripts. Personalize every response.
• Cold DM pitching — unsolicited sales DMs damage your reputation. Earn the right to DM through public engagement first.
• Ignoring negative comments — silence looks like agreement or cowardice. Address criticism calmly and move on.
• Engaging inconsistently — 2 hours one day, nothing for a week kills momentum.

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Recovery

• No time for engagement: Reduce to 15 minutes daily. Focus on responding to comments on your own posts and 5 outbound comments.
• Running out of things to say: Keep a swipe file of great comments you see from others. Adapt their approach.
• Getting trolled frequently: Implement a one-response rule — respond once for your audience's benefit, then disengage.
• DMs are overwhelming: Create a FAQ document and link to it. Respond to unique questions personally, batch the rest.
• Engagement is not converting: Track which types of engagement lead to profile visits and follows. Double down on those.