Engagement marketing is the use of strategic, resourceful content to engage people, and create meaningful interactions over time. Engagement is the key to successful digital marketing. In a society where people see about 3000 messages every day, consumers are learning to tune them out. Of the 3000, a person will remember MAYBE an average of four. People don’t like sales pitches, or marketing, and they generally try to ignore paid advertisements. What’s a marketer to do? Cut through the noise and connect with prospects and potential clients in a meaningful way! Engagement is the key. This can’t just be a new strategy, it needs to be a new way of thinking about how you present your brand to your audience. If you aren’t reaching out and grabbing your audiences’ attention, consider doing these things:
Address your audience as individuals- Orient your content based on your audience’s actions
- Communicate with them consistently over time
- Your posts should be directed towards a specific outcome
- You should be active everywhere your audience is
If well strategized and well executed, this marketing philosophy can become an extremely effective way to create engagement with potential customers and clients and increase your sphere of influence.
Pushy or chill? Which is the better strategy?
Interruption marketing is anything that pops up or otherwise interferes with your day, or your forward progress. It pushes sales pitches out instead of drawing buyers in, and it tries to trick decision-makers into giving their attention to a message instead of trying to earn attention. It’s gimmicky and loud where it should be reliable and chill. Reliable and chill may not be an instant revenue-builder, but it is measurable. But it’s not a marketing lotto ticket. You are building an audience, nurturing relationships, and establishing expertise. All of these things are important and they take time.
Your brand needs to be able to reach people who are looking for exactly the kind of information your brand is uniquely positioned to provide, and who are tired of being spammed.
Consider these points:
- To gain exposure – Business owners who blog increase exposure for their business in a number of ways. Creating blog content on a regular basis for your website gives Google something new to index, thus increasing your website’s visibility in search results. Creating blog content for other publications in your industry gives new, relevant audiences the opportunity to discover you and your business. This exposure gives you more traffic that you can convert into leads and customers.
- Build authority – For those that want to speak at events in their industry or become an author, blogging is a platform that you can use to build authority. As you blog about the niche you are most knowledgeable about, people will begin to recognize you as an authority in that niche. This recognition will lead to interviews, podcasts, and ultimately invitations to speak and contracts to publish a book.
The reality is that consumers spend an average of 79 days gathering information before making a major purchase. During those two to three months, they are also developing relationships with the brands and influencers that are consistently providing the information and assistance they need. Being a resource for information to your potential clients and customers will help them trust you and want to spend their money with you.
Under a prevailing mistrust of traditional advertising, engagement marketing helps brands find a new way to engage decision makers, establish a respectable reputation, and earn the market’s trust.
Advertising that gets people to take action takes work and focus and engagement is the key! The effort will make you a more popular blogger and/or social media poster and MAYBE a more profitable businessperson overall. If your business needs help with engagement marketing or any type of advertising or marketing strategy, contact Denise Hood at 434 964 7511 or send this CONTACT FORM.
See also Effective Business Blogging, Improve Your Website SEO
