Despite popular belief, modern marketing is not about disrupting your followers or trying to be the loudest voice in the room. Those who treat their marketing like one-way conversations will inevitably crash and burn as today’s followers and customers crave conversation.
Unfortunately, many businesses miss the mark as they try to crank out as much content as possible without taking a step back to think about what their followers and leads really want.
The solution is to pursue channels that allow marketers to interact with their customers and leads, essentially coming down to their level and having a meaningful dialogue versus marketing at them. As such, there are a wealth of platforms and options available for modern businesses today looking to reach their followers on a more personal level.
So, what sort of marketing channels are we talking about?
Developing Interactive Content
Your leads and followers should have some sort of stake in your content, plain and simple. If you’ve struggled for engagement in the past, consider some new avenues you can take with your content such as…
- Leveraging an interactive marketing platform: in an era of marketing dominated by visual content, pin-style platforms represent a prime way for new followers to discover and engage with your brand
- Encouraging user-generated content: from customer photos to product reviews, sometimes your best content is created on behalf of your followers rather than yourself
- Embracing Q&A content: beyond positioning yourself as a problem solver, frequently answering questions on behalf of your customers represents a surefire way to get on the level with your fans
Again, publishing a blog or social post here and there with no follow-up simply doesn’t cut it anymore. If you want to squeeze the most out of your marketing content, you’re going to need to provide a way for your followers to respond in some way, shape or form.
Getting a Handle on Hashtags
Hashtags are perhaps one of the easiest ways to clue yourself in on what your followers are up to. Brands who want to truly stay up on the latest trends should regularly check out what types of content are popping up in relevant industry hashtags. For example, those in the Internet marketing space should regularly check out the “#digitalmarketing” and “#growthhacking” tags to see what the biggest players in the industry are taking about.
The hidden power of hashtags shines through when you realize that these tags also clue you in on what types of content your followers want. Meanwhile, you can also use these hashtags to find followers to boost and potential questions to answer for your base. Considering that Twitter posts with hashtags receive twice the engagement versus those without them, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be part of your marketing arsenal.
Taking Advantage of Video
The viral nature of video marketing is too powerful to ignore; however, the barrier of entry seems pretty high, doesn’t it? Between pricey editing equipment and the fact that most people tend to be camera shy, the hesitance to embrace video marketing is certainly understandable.
That being said, the ROI and engagement of video marketing are telling in terms of how much today’s audiences want to interact with brands on a visual level. This is especially true in the case of Facebook Live, as Facebook’s audience is glued to video versus any other type of content.
Facebook Live is the prime platform for marketers to get on the level with their followers and take advantage of what video has to offer. But why Facebook versus YouTube? Consider that…
- Facebook Live videos are typically “off the cuff” and don’t require any sort of fancy editing or script: as the content is organic in nature, you don’t have to worry as much about polishing your videos
- Viewers can react and comment on your content in real-time, representing the ever-so-important interactive element of marketing that so many businesses today miss out on
- Due to the fact that your audience is likely already on Facebook, you don’t have to spend needless time trying to chase viewers since they’re already built into the platform.
Modern marketers need to understand sooner rather the importance of interactive content and platforms which bring them closer to their audiences. These three innovative ideas could be potentially transformative to your marketing strategy if you give them the proper attention.
