The digital world allows us to reach more people than ever, faster than ever. However, anyone who has spent even a little time on social media or in online communities can see how fast they can move, and how many of the interactions on them are short-lived, a meeting of the minds, be it an agreement or an argument, that both sides move on from pretty quickly. If you’re looking to grow your brand presence online and build your own community, you might look for a way to add some meaning to these connections. Here, we’re going to look at a few strategies that might help.
Respond to responses
One of the reasons that people are so quick to move on with the engagements they get online is because they’re not used to them being validated or really engaged with on any level but the superficial. Getting a like on a tweet does offer some small sense of validation and it’s good to know that you’re getting seen, but it’s a quiet assent that ends the conversation. If you’re getting replies to your posts on social media or in your blog, then you should think about how to write actual responses to them. Sometimes, a simple thank you will work well, but can you spot an opportunity to continue the conversation? People who receive replies are more inclined to leave them in the future and, to others, it looks like you’re building a thriving and inviting community.
Pull back the curtain
Online business owners and influencers may want to practice some safe distancing from those that they encounter online. There are safety and privacy reasons to not want to share too much about your life and, in some contexts, it can come across as unprofessional or a little too personal for comfort. However, if you’re getting to the point of building a personal connection and brand, then you can help things by allowing yourself to be authentic and even vulnerable from time to time. Sharing your experiences through storytelling, sharing anecdotes about mistakes made and lessons learned, and asking for feedback on your content can make people a lot more secure in engaging with you on a real level, rather than as just a reader.
Build your professional network
Other people will start to pay attention when they see your brand building connections with others. Social proof works that way. People want to join in when they see a community forming, and sometimes, the best place to start is with other professionals. This can mean others in your industry and field of work but, for influencers and bloggers, you can build connections with brands for this reason as well. If you start working with others, generating content, and conversations, and sharing what you like, then others who share your tastes will be more likely to join in, forming the basis of a real online community.
Shine a spotlight
Aside from having conversations with both your audience and your other brand, you should use your social media presence, or what online presence you have, to highlight others aside from yourself. One good way to get followers to start noticing you more often is to show that you notice them. This can be done by, for instance, retweeting a reply to a tweet of your own, or even looking at the latest posts of someone who has engaged with you and finding someone on their page to share. You can also look at working with user-generated content. It will not only make the individual whose content you are sharing feel seen and appreciated but give a sense that you’re actually engaged in the conversation, not just advertising yourself and your own content.
Multimedia can build a personal connection
Sometimes, you can reach people just fine with words on a screen. However, as any social media expert will tell you, you’re a lot more likely to reach someone on a personal or emotional level if you appeal to their senses. Photos and images are better than text, but making videos can be even more effective, still. This is especially true if people can start to put a face or even just a voice to the opinions and thoughts that you’re sharing. It allows for more of your personality, cadence, and presence to shine through, which means that there’s a lot more for your audience to latch onto.
Don’t lose the signal amongst the noise
When you’re producing content or trying to reach out to people online, there’s always a pressure to take whatever attention or engagement you get, and to leverage that immediately towards your short-term goal. Placing ads on videos, and taking the time to promote content during a conversation, these kinds of things can happen and, indeed, they can be very helpful ways to drive metrics. However, there can be a bit of give-and-take with these instances as well. You could end up putting an end to a conversation or shifting it away from the point that you engaged your audience in the first place. As such, you should be wary about when you try and “upsell” someone on further content or advertisements.
Be kind
It might seem all too simple, but it’s easy to get lost in the general tumult of online association, especially in spaces that tend to invite disagreement as often as they invite agreement. As such, you should try to have a set of social media guidelines that you follow to keep things on a positive or, at the very least, polite foot when you’re posting and commenting to others. Avoid getting caught up in online arguments, it only drags you down and, in most cases, will not get spectators on your side.
There’s no surefire way to engage with someone in a way that’s going to foster a meaningful connection. However, with the tips above, you can make sure that you’re resonating with the people your message is best suited to hit, leaving a longer-lasting impact, which your brand can benefit from.
