Nurturing a Meaningful Relationship with Your Audience

This blog was updated in Q4 of 2022.

As the Holidays approach, the Engenius team has been thinking a lot about relationships. Relationships are complicated, difficult, and sometimes messy. In the age of information, we are expected to maintain countless connections, and even businesses are expected to nurture meaningful relationships with the entirety of their audiences. It can seem exhausting, but when given enough attention and care these relationships are well worth the effort.

In digital marketing, relationships are maintained through audience engagement. It draws in leads, drives sales, and fosters long-term relationships with loyal and happy customers. More and more companies are recognizing the importance of audience engagement, but it can be difficult to know where to start. We can’t stand the sight of an unfulfilling relationship, so here are some tips to reignite the passion and melt the hearts of your audience.

1. Get to Know Your Target Audience

This may seem like a simple step, but it is arguably the most important and often overlooked. How can you make your audience happy if you don’t know who they are or what they want? The Internet is a communication tool, and if you aren’t speaking your audience’s language you’ll end up confusing and diluting your message. If you need help identifying your people, you’ve come to the right place – we have a short and helpful guide for taking a walk in your customer’s shoes.

2. Have a Strategy

Since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, marketers are spending more and more time on digital marketing activities. Couple that with the fact that many CMOS are predicting 73% of their annual marketing budgets going to digital efforts in 2023, and it becomes clear just how important these activities are to the well-being of a business. That being said, it is critical to have a strategy behind any digital effort. Throwing money at an initiative without a clear plan can often lead to little or no ROI for your organization.

Pro tip: Do research. Business owners that don’t understand the world of digital marketing will often try a bunch of tactics, hoping one will provide great ROI. This approach can waste a great deal of time and money, so do your homework. Does your audience respond well to emails? Are they in an age group that is aware of Snapchat? Are they likely to spend much time evaluating your website design? If you made a podcast every week, would anyone listen? These are important questions to ask, and by reading this blog you’ve already taken a step in the right direction.

3. Stay on Top of the Latest Trends

If you don’t keep your relationship fresh and exciting, you’ll often lose the interest of whomever you want to woo. The same goes for digital marketing and audience engagement. People have a short attention span when it comes to online content, so you have to stay on top of current trends to avoid boring your clientele.

Here are some that you should keep an eye on:

• Video is continuing to grow in online marketing, especially on social media.
• Virtual reality will become mainstream, changing how we think about interactive content and advertising
• Wearable technology is now more common, forcing marketers to reach potential customers through smaller and constantly accessible screens.
• AI (Alexa, Google Home, etc.) is changing how people search for information.

By staying up-to-date on the most popular trends, you can stay ahead of the competition and reach your audience in ways they may never expect.

By following these basic steps, you’ll be well on your way to engaging your audience in thoughtful and effective ways. Already buzzing with ideas on how to captivate your audience? Share any ideas you have, any steps that you think are essential to creating a fantastic relationship with your people with the Engenius team, or if you have any questions we would be happy to answer them!