How to Improve Audience Engagement Online

Every organization wants to get noticed and develop relationships with its audience in order to convert them to customers. But audience engagement can mean different things on the various social media platforms, on your website or on email campaigns. 

In order to improve audience engagement, you first need to define what that looks like to your organization and determine how that will deliver on your business goals. 

What Does Audience Engagement Look Like for Your Organization?

The first step toward improving audience engagement is to look at your baseline metrics for engagement and determine where you want to see improvement.

Baseline Analytics

How is your target audience engaging with your brand? Take a look at which platforms you're using, how they perform for you, review your past email campaign performance, and dig into your website traffic metrics. Find your baseline audience engagement to define your starting point for improvement and see what's currently working and what isn't. 

Understanding Audience Engagement

Once you've done an audit of how your audience interacts with your organization across all platforms, you can start to see the bigger picture of that engagement and how it's driving conversions. Or isn't. 

Take note of the metrics on each social media platform. Then drill down to see how your social presence is driving website traffic, sales or increasing your follower count. 

Not all Audience engagement is created equal 

It's important to remember that not all engagement or metrics relate to business success. For example, increasing the number of social media followers indicates that you're creating eye-catching posts. But if it's not driving traffic to your website or making sales, then what's the point? 

Brand awareness is great, but it doesn't pay the bills.

Understand which social media metrics are important, and focus on improving those.  

Who Is Your Target Audience?

To improve your audience engagement, you need to know who you are currently talking to and know how to reach your ideal customer. 

Define Your Target Audience

Start by defining your ideal customer. Think about what your organization is offering and what problems you are trying to solve. Consider who would benefit the most from what you are selling. What are their demographics? What are their interests?

Are they:

• Urban or rural?
• Teenagers, senior citizens, or somewhere in between?
• Wealthy or on a budget?
• Active or sedentary?
• Outdoorsy or homebodies? 

Categorize

Once you know who your target audience is, think about how you can break that group down into clearly defined subcategories. 

You could also use the different social media platforms and their reach to help categorize your audience. After all, the demographics of Facebook are vastly different from TikTok. 

Personalize

Once you've drilled down into each audience segment, tailor your messages to each group. Work to craft messages that speak directly to each consumer category. Your audience is more likely to engage with your brand online if they feel like you really understand them. 

What Are Your Audience Engagement Goals?

So far, you've gained an understanding of the engagement you're getting and from whom. Now it's time to think about your goals for improving audience engagement. 

Set Audience Engagement Goals

Looking at your baseline metrics, consider your business goals and how your online audience engagement can assist in meeting those goals. 

Are you trying to:

• Drive website traffic?
• Increase sales?
• Launch a new product?
• Gain social media followers?
• Develop customer relationships?
• Earn credibility?

Depending on your goals, develop a coordinated content strategy to reach your target audience. 

What Does Your Audience Want?

Consumers want to interact with and buy from a business they can trust. Earn that trust with authentic, compelling content that inspires action. 

Craft Engaging Content

What you share on your website and social media platforms is who you are. Find your brand voice and use it consistently across all platforms. 

Additionally, focus on content that invites interaction, such as a mix of video, infographics and other easily digestible info. Make it easy to share your content and invite your audience to do so.

And don't be afraid to share your story, as it can help earn credibility in a market driven by authenticity. 

Be PResent On Social Media 

We often talk about social media presence, but actually being available and accessible online can do a lot for brand reputation. It can be easy to focus on what you are putting out into the world but don't miss out on the one-to-one interactions available on social media. If someone retweets you or shares your infographic on Instagram, thank them! Or invite conversation by asking about them and what made them interested in your brand. 

If someone complains about your business online, respond politely and promptly and do what you can to resolve the situation. This is an easily overlooked opportunity to make a public statement with a one-on-one interaction. 

How Can We Help?

The way we interact with each other and brands online has changed drastically over time. Consumers seek to engage with brands, and answering that call (or @, as it were) can help you build a loyal customer base. 

At ArcStone, we know content marketing can seem confusing and overwhelming. We offer a variety of digital marketing services for nonprofits and thoughtful brands. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your organization develop meaningful and profitable customer relationships.