Businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. Every company, no matter what its niche, is part of a broader community that includes its partners, customers and even other businesses in its industry and geographic area.
That’s a lot of people that you can (and should) connect with on a regular basis — but doing so in a natural way can often feel easier said than done. You don’t want to be seen as annoying or overly self-promoting.
So, how do you foster real engagement without coming across as intrusive or overly advertorial? An emphasis on some key principles can help you stand out in the right ways.
1. Be Responsive and Focus On Authentic Connections
First, it’s important to start by focusing on the engagements that are already taking place. When someone reaches out on social media or leaves a review on Yelp or Google, are you taking the time to respond? Even more importantly, are you responding with a canned, generic response that could have been generated by AI, or something more personal?
Gitnux reports that 71% of people who have a positive brand experience on social media are then likely to recommend that brand to others.
Simply responding quickly (and authentically) is a basic first step for differentiating your business. According to HubSpot, 39% of social media users expect brands to respond within 60 minutes of getting a message on social media. However, the average brand’s response time is generally around five hours. Make sure someone regularly monitors your online channels to create more opportunities for engagement.
2. Leverage the Power of Brand Ambassadors
You don’t have to do all the talking to engage with your business’ community on social media. Working with influencers as brand ambassadors can help your business spread the word in a way that feels much more natural and appealing to your target audience.
One example of this comes from Hassam-Moussa Rawat, co-founder and CEO of LINGO, a web3 startup that uses blockchain and real-world assets to power a unique vacation rewards program. As he explained, “By carefully targeting brand ambassadors with appeal to our target audience, we’re able to extend our reach to over 300 million people. That’s a lot more than we would have been able to reach with traditional marketing. Even more importantly, because influencers are such trusted voices in their niches, it substantially enhances our own trust and credibility when they talk about our brand. As they retain control over how they present their messaging, it ensures the engagement is real and authentic, rather than feeling like marketing speak.”
One survey found that 81% of consumers said that social media content from influencers and people they know “drove interest in an item or service.”
3. Empower Your Employees to Give Back
The internet isn’t the only place where you can engage with your business’ community.
As Jordan Bishop writes for Business News Daily, “Just as employees want to work for a company that positively impacts the world, today’s consumers prefer supporting companies and brands that are public and transparent about their corporate social responsibility initiatives. Volunteer programs that feature employees connecting with communities through social initiatives are positively received by the public, which can improve a brand’s image organically.”
Businesses should actively look for opportunities to do good in their local area. Employee-led initiatives can be especially impactful by helping your team support causes that are most meaningful to them.
Whether your team plants trees or volunteers at a food bank, keep the focus on the volunteer work itself. Don’t worry about trying to market yourself. As you give meaningful service, you’ll improve employee engagement and enhance your brand image with the people you serve. These results will come naturally as you consistently find ways to serve in your local community.
4. Share Community Stories
People want to be heard and recognized. And when your brand shares stories from its community members, you open up a method of communication that becomes much more interesting and engaging.
This could be something as simple as sharing a client’s story on social media, or something more lasting, like naming a new product line after a long-time employee. Sharing these types of stories (not just the what, but the why) helps personalize your brand and its offerings. It shows that there are real people working behind the scenes and working with your company.
When you share stories that are focused on your appreciation for your customers, partners and employees, it gives them a voice and strengthens their ties to your brand. It also encourages others to share their positive experiences, which generates additional chatter around your business. Best of all, when other people are doing the talking, it becomes much more persuasive than any messaging that comes directly from your owned channels.
Become More Engaging — the Right Way
There are more ways to engage with the different groups that make up your business’ community than you might realize. Perhaps the most important thing you can do, regardless of the type of interaction, is to not always focus exclusively on making a sale.
When you focus on forming natural, authentic relationships with customers, partners and other business leaders, you will build lasting authority in your niche that pays much bigger dividends down the line.
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