Engaging Your Audience

Using your social networks to provide your audience members with exclusive “insider information” not only keeps your brand top of mind for consumers but also helps consumers to feel like they are part of your community. I happen to love fashion, so after entering the Neiman Marcus contest with my best ‘Corporate Identity’ persona using Zoe’s latest collection, I began following the Neiman Marcus Facebook page for fashion trends, tips, fashion week coverage and more – things that interest me as a consumer. And, though your community-building process will continuously evolve, you now have the foundation to begin engaging your audience with content that will inspire participation. Aligning your brand messages and objectives will help you deliver content that interests your audience and give them the opportunity to learn more about your organization. You may be wondering how you’ll tie engaging content – content that does more than just announce your next promotional event or new product launch, but engages your  audience – with meaningful milestones through thought-provoking questions and statements. As a consumer and a marketer, I look for a number of factors before I’ll engage with a brand on any social network. Of course, an opportunity to win a shopping trip with Rachel Zoe as part of the “Oh So Zoe” fashion challenge from Neiman Marcus’ Facebook page is a great way to grab my attention. But once I make that initial engagement with a brand’s page, what’s next? How does the brand keep me, as a consumer, enthralled in their everyday content? The answer: Exclusive information and passion. Fun, creative content helps, too, but crafting each post requires thought and should invite your community to take some sort of action. Continuing with our example “bookseller” brand,  you might post: “We have the entire Hunger Games series in-house, stop in today!” might not produce as much engagement among your community as the following post: “The buzz about the new Hunger Games movie is through the roof! Click ‘like’ if you read the books before you saw the flick. If not stop by today and pick them up, we have the entire series!” Being passionate about your brand on social media is important and will help your audience want to engage with your brand and share your content with their own online communities. Each of these posts informs your audience that your business carries the Hunger Games series and asks them to consider purchasing from you but the second post adds an element of curiosity, excitement and optimism. Additionally, by including a call-to-action (Like this post if…), users will be more likely to engage with your brand. If you aren’t excited about your brand, how can you expect your audience to be?