Companies big and small are scrambling for alternative ways to increase customer engagement. A lot of businesses are moving beyond traditional advertising channels.
It is important to use different mediums strategically to increase customer engagement.
With customers getting increasingly tired of sales pitch after sales pitch, connections have to be prioritized over products.
Given below are some concrete strategies that can help increase customer engagement.
Running Contests on Social Media
An easy way to engage with current and potential customers is to run ‘tag a friend’ contests on social media. Social media pages are sometimes more helpful than actual websites, as it is easier for customers to follow their favorite businesses through social media, and to receive notifications whenever those businesses post.
Hosting a giveaway or a contest from a Facebook or Instagram profile can increase engagement faster than traditional advertising channels.
Surprise giveaways keep audiences on their toes as they encourage them to stay in touch. Gansett’s beer ran an innovative photo contest leading up to Valentine’s day.
To participate, the audience had to share a photo representing what the day meant to them on their social media accounts, and to use the brand’s hashtag. The winner received a dozen roses to give to their loved ones.
Humanize your Brand
The audience can be treated as a group of friends. Instead of being cheesy and cliche, it is important to be authentic and consistent . Threats to life and livelihood during COVID have already changed consumer priorities and preferences.
It would be beneficial to spell out steps that a business is taking to help customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
Customer mailing lists and social media channels are ideal channels to do this.
Sugarfish, a restaurant chain in New York City and Los Angeles, informed customers that it would reassign all employees to make personalized deliveries rather than outsourcing to delivery services.
The idea of familiar associates delivering familiar items on the menu comforted customers.
Run Surveys
A business must read the behavior pattern of customers. Surveys can be an extremely helpful tool to gather data based on which necessary changes can be executed.
If a survey seems like an informal conversation between two people rather than a mechanical data collection system, it will not only appear friendly in tone, but it will also be easier for the participants to read and respond to.
The first question is important as it sets the tone for the remaining survey. This also helps to establish rapport. For instance, a café owner running an audience feedback survey could start with a question that assesses how likely participants would be to recommend their cafe to others.
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