How valuable is your audience to your business?
The answer is very, but do they know how valuable they are?
If not, you should make the effort to show them. Your audience almost single-handedly determines the success of your business. A loyal audience is an irreplaceable asset to any business.
So how do you genuinely connect with your audience and show them how much you appreciate them?
Well, there is no time like the present to do just that. This is an opportune moment to improve customer loyalty, so here are 5 easy ways to genuinely connect with your users.
Know Your Audience
Before even planning complex strategies to show recognition to your audience, it is important to define who your target is, their likes, and what interests them. Know your audience!
Try to recognize your audience in a way that they will appreciate so it feels more personal. Ask yourself, what do my users value? What content will make their lives better? What is the best way to reach them? Answering these questions will help to narrow down the decision-making process and ensure your efforts are highly targeted for maximum efficacy.
A good way to get to know your audience and find ways to answer these questions is by engaging with them through social media. One great example of this is Instagram stories! Through Instagram stories, your audience can get to know the behind-the-scenes of your business and get to know you.
“People simply seeing other people being themselves—showcasing struggles and successes— is one of the best ways to build connections. Humans are inherently social creatures, which means that they are going to connect with a real person a lot easier than they will with photos and words.” – Like A Voss
Personalization
When you contact someone, be personal with your messaging! Each person in your audience appreciates feeling special, and like a real person that you genuinely want to connect with. Show them that they are a valued part of your business. Simply addressing people by name is an easy yet effective tactic to prove to your audience that they are important to your business. It also helps to humanize you as a business. You’ll notice that humanizing your brand is a constant thread throughout this blog. That’s because humanizing your brand is the number one way to genuinely connect with your users.
“People respond to people – it’s that simple. Steer away from the robotic marketing tactics and instead focus on being relatable, interesting, and most importantly, HUMAN. Have you ever visited a blog and noticed that an “admin” created all of their posts? Who is this “admin” you speak of and do they have a name? Appearing mysterious is just not going to work in your favor in this scenario. Your audience not only wants to understand the “why” behind what your brand is doing, but they also want to get to know your brand itself and the people behind it.” – Crackerjack Marketing
Such an easy touch as personalizing any contact between you and your audience will help your business cut through the online clutter and create real connections.
Valuable Content
What does your audience value? What topics are of interest to them? If you know these two things, you know how to connect with your user. Once you know your audience, you can create content just for them, content that they connect with.
A connection is essential, and leads to long-lasting and loyal relationships. Like any other relationship, it must be nurtured and maintained through mutual efforts. By creating and sharing content that directly interests your target and is in line with their values, you are positioning your brand as a relatable entity that understands its audience.
To maintain this relationship and genuinely connect with your audience, you should humanize your business further through strategies such as storytelling and developing a unique brand voice. People trust other people more than they trust businesses. By leveraging your brand story and creating a narrative that people can support, your audience will feel closer to your business. A unique and human brand voice will also make it easier for users to relate to your brand on a personal level. You will be easily recognizable and the consistency will position your brand as reliable as well.
Start Conversations
Talk to your audience! Don’t just expect engagement when you won’t engage back. Engage with them online and start meaningful conversations. Monitor your social media accounts and see who is talking about your brand. Leave comments on posts and reply to negative feedback.
Some of the best opportunities for customer service occur online. Interacting with your audience in spaces they currently occupy strengthens that sense of familiarity and trust. Interacting and discussing topics that your audience is currently interested in will show that you are relatable and possess similar values to your target.
Ask For Feedback
Want to know if your audience feels valued? Well then, just ask them! Asking for feedback is a great way to find out how your audience is really feeling, while also ensuring that they know their input is valuable.
Show that you care by asking your audience how you can better serve them. They may shed light on tactics that your business may have overlooked or not even considered. No one knows your audience better than they know themselves.
Genuinely connecting with your audience is essential to every business’s success, so think about how you can introduce new strategies to humanize your brand and share your values. Being genuinely you is key!
How do you connect with your audience? What do you think is the most effective method to improve brand loyalty?
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This blog post was originally published in July 2019 and has been edited to improve accuracy and readability.
