Engagement signals
In short
Engagement signals are the actions a lead or account takes in response to your marketing and sales activity. Examples include opening and replying to emails, visiting pages, attending webinars, downloading content, and interacting with ads or social posts.
They are first-party data, because you observe them on your own channels. They show interest in you specifically, unlike third-party intent signals, which show interest in a topic across the wider web.
Common engagement signals
- Email: Replies and repeated clicks. Opens alone are unreliable because of privacy features that preload them.
- Website: Visits to pricing, integration, and comparison pages.
- Content: Guide downloads, webinar attendance, and video watch time.
- Sales: Meeting acceptance, call replies, and proposal views.
- Social: Comments, shares, and connection requests.
How to turn engagement into action
Weight by intent strength
A pricing page visit says more than a blog view. A reply says more than a click. Give each signal a score that reflects how close it is to a purchase.
Combine with fit
Engagement from an account outside your ideal customer profile is rarely worth rep time. Rank by fit and engagement together.
Aggregate by account
In B2B, several people from one company engaging in the same week matters more than one person doing so repeatedly.
Set response rules
Define who follows up, how fast, and with what message when a threshold is reached.
Example
Say three people from one target account read a case study, and one of them visits the pricing page. A rule flags the account, notifies the owner, and starts a tailored sequence.
Common mistakes
- Trusting opens: Automatic image loading can inflate open counts.
- Treating all clicks equally: Low-intent actions swamp the high-intent ones.
- No decay: Old engagement should lose weight over time.
Engagement signals FAQs
What are engagement signals?
Engagement signals are actions leads and accounts take with your content, emails, ads, website, and product, such as replies, clicks, visits, and downloads. They show how interested someone is in your company specifically.
What are examples of engagement signals in B2B sales?
Examples include replying to an email, visiting the pricing page, attending a webinar, watching a product video, accepting a meeting, and several colleagues from the same company viewing your content in a short time.
How are engagement signals different from intent signals?
Engagement signals come from interactions with your own channels. Intent signals usually come from outside sources and show research on a topic across the web. Engagement is first-party, and third-party intent is observed elsewhere.
How do you score engagement signals?
Assign points by how close each action is to a purchase, such as more for a pricing visit than a blog view. Add recency decay, aggregate by account, and combine the result with fit so reps focus on the right accounts.
