How to Engage your Audience: The Secrets Behind Connecting Brands and People

What is it that makes one stop scrolling on a newsfeed and read a caption? Why are we inclined to like individual posts and not others? What exactly is it about some content that makes it perform better than other pieces? It's the appeal and value they bring to our lives.

A huge aspect of social media is the visual cues we get from videos and photos. To build a great post, it's always best to have quality visuals. Clear, crisp images and videos are some of the best tools to gain someone's attention. Depending on your brand, the feeling behind the post and the marketing strategy of the visuals might vary in lighting, color, and subject, but these all play a part in bringing together a visual masterpiece that will stir a reaction which will cause users to stop scrolling in their feed.

Once you've got the attention of your audience, it's time to captivate them even further with words. Take the opportunity that a show-stopping photo provides to educate your audience and form a relationship with them. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. Think about who they are, their needs, what they should know that they don't know about your brand, and the best method of delivery for this information. Create personas that reflect the types of people who purchase your service or product and mimic what appeals to them. Also, think about problems that your audience has that your brand can help them solve. Present them with a solution to help make their lives easier. Frame your product as a solution to their problem. Think about what you can do for your audience, what they care about, what their incentives are for making a purchase based on what they can gain. This is a huge motivation for people. Do they save on time with what you're offering them? Do they gain prestige from being associated with your luxurious product, or will they be seen as easier going, and is that something that interests them? Whatever you have to offer, frame it as a solution to their problems, allow your product or services to become something that will make their lives easier.

Another thing to keep in mind is the purpose of your post. Why is it that you are posting? Is it to educate your audience? Is it to entertain, or is it both? Education is vital because when the consumer is aware, they can make an informed decision that aligns with their goals in life. A goal of any brand is always going to be awareness to some extent. That awareness comes from education about your brand. But other purposes like entertainment are also valuable. If brand awareness is something you've already got in the bag, then entertaining your audience can lead to high engagement rates on social media and strong relationships with your customers. Your material will change based on your goals.

A final point to look at is how your content connects with your audience. When a brand becomes cold and separated, it's hard for your audience to feel close to that brand. To combat this, humanize your brand. Bring in people to give their testimonies, put a human face, a smile, behind your brand, and notice how people react. Most people want to feel close to others. No matter what your brand is, it's made by people for people; make sure to let your audience in on that. They might feel warmer towards your brand, which gives you an "in" on being able to cultivate an opportunity that arises out of those warm feelings.

Keep these points in mind the next time you set out to create spectacular content that performs well, tells a story, and, most of all, connect your brand and audience so that you can reap the benefits on social media like brand awareness and engagement.