Marketing today has come a long way. It is not just enough to communicate with your customers anymore. In order to leave a lasting impression on your customers, brands need to go above and beyond with their marketing and actually engage their customers in conversations. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are critical platforms that facilitate these conversations. These platforms bring the brand closer to their customers and lead the way to create a more involved and engaged audience.
Having an engaged audience is extremely important for a brand today. Research shows that a customer who is engaged is more likely to buy from the brand. They are also more likely to promote your brand to their friends and family and give your brand more visibility. This is extremely beneficial as it will help build a strong and trustable name among customers.
So now, let’s talk about the various actionable steps brands could take to involve customers in their marketing:
Talk About Your Brand Story
Stories are powerful. They give your audience a glimpse into your brand and where it comes from. Talk to your audience about your brand vision and values. Tell them about your journey, including the failures and struggles you faced along the way. This will not only inspire them but help them build an emotional connection with your brand. Stories are also easy to remember and will help your brand leave a lasting impression on the mind of your target audience.
Give Your Customers A Glimpse of What Goes on Behind-The-Scenes
Taking your customers on your brand journey is one of the best ways of keeping them involved in your brand. Do so by showing them what goes on behind the scenes, in your office or in your factory. Introduce them to the key members of your staff and get them involved.
Take Polls and Ask for Their Opinions
If your brand is on Instagram, use the poll option on stories to find out what your audience liked better. If you’re designing a new product, ask them to vote on small things like the colours the product comes in, the kind of pictures or content they would like to see on your feed and anything else where you would love some feedback from your loyal audience. You can also use features like questions on Instagram stories to get answers to specific questions from your audience. This will create additional trust and be pivotal in building a stronger relationship with them.
Add Value Through Helpful, Inspirational and Shareable Content
When designing your content, make sure to think of how it will benefit your audience—sharing tips, hacks and inspirational messages make content more save-able and shareable. Think of how your content can add some kind of value to your target audience’s life. Once you’re thinking from that perspective, you will be able to create the right content that will be helpful to your followers. This content will also bring you more followers who would come to your account for this helpful and inspirational content and establish you as a leader in your niche.
Ask Them to Tag You in Niche-Specific Posts
User-generated content is an amazing way of building a trusted relationship with them and ensuring that your brand is on their mind when they think of your particular niche. Go ahead and ask your followers to tag you in their posts related to your niche. You could even create a special hashtag for them to use for a chance to get featured on your brand page. This makes the audience feel more involved and helps develop a sense of loyalty.
Host Contents and Do Giveaways
Contests and giveaways on Social Media are extremely popular as they can help you grow your account while giving back something to your loyal customers. You can use your account to run a fun contest and ask your followers to share the word with their friends and followers for a chance to win the giveaway. This has proved to be an extremely powerful way of cross-promoting your brand and finding new leads for your business.
