Engagement Strategy

Gone are the days when the customer feedback was confined only to a handful of people. Communication, to say the least, is now unrestrained and flows in form of tweets, status updates on Facebook, blog posts and videos which directly influence the consumer behavior.  With consumer now playing the king, and not just on paper, there is a wide array of platforms to keep him engaged.

Blogs: Blogging, these days is no longer confined to just a hobby. It has come of age and so has its usage. In a world, where one in 5 bloggers adds a new post everyday and more than ¾th of the bloggers practice it to share their expertise, blogging is viewed as a medium to read reviews of movies, books, products and brands.

Here’s how a blog works:

  1. Build a community
  2. Attract customers
  3. Provide customer feedback and response
  4. Enable a great way of asking questions, addressing issues
  5. Give a human voice to the brand
  6. Enable internal communities to share work processes and accomplishments

 

  1. Social Networking Sites: Social Networks are the virtual topic tables at a conference where everyone gives his opinion; the only difference is that these networks are much more complex. If used in the most judicious way, they can work wonders for a brand. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, MySpace would unarguably be the most visited websites. In today’s world of incessant communication and candid conversations, these websites prove to be most successful as they ride on the word- of- mouth propaganda.

    Social networking websites prove to be the easiest and the most effective tools of Online PR. One of the reasons why Social Media Optimization is so effective on social networking sites is because a plethora of communication mediums are readily available to express ideas and opinions. Information moves in a rapid and wide arc on social networking websites, usually relying upon word of mouth to produce a chain of information from user to user.

  2. Videos: YouTube made its debut on the Web in February 2005, making an unmatched scale into the mainstream consciousness. By December of that year, YouTube had already become the most popular video site, and by July of 2006, it was serving 100 million video views per day. In today’s world, where everyone is in haste, technology has replaced psychology and YouTube has replaced TV, videos serve as the best source of entertainment. With videos on how to fix your light bulb to how to fly a plane, they are watched by people across all demographics. The reason they are also popular is also because they usually are not mundane and serve as fun and informative tools to spread the word about your product thereby bridging the gap between the brand and the end user. The videos elbow out other mediums as they give you a chance to be creative, yet at the same time publicize the right views about your product.

  3. Forums: Much like blogs, forums are online discussion sites however they are an evolved form of the traditional bulletin board. Simply stated, it is a platform where everyone is at equal level discussing with others, about any topic under the sun ranging from “favorite travel destination in Europe” to “which music phone to buy” to “best car in the sedan segment”. They are convenient as anyone can start a topic and anyone with the same knowledge level can respond. In addition they are meaningful as they allow the users to discuss their experiences from all across the globe, which may be contradictory yet challenging thereby giving a comprehensive insight on a particular topic.

    With changing mindset of consumers to share their knowledge and experiences candidly, the topics on forums are ever increasing, with almost a new topic every day.  To generate awareness and knowledge about your product through this medium, the biggest challenge lies in identifying a forum discussing interests that can be aligned with capabilities offered by your brand. Forums can be extensively used for Social Media Optimization by targeting interested audiences. Possibly the biggest advantage of forums is their variety and inclusiveness.

  4. Application Development:  Given the infinite scope of the social media, applications prove to be an interactive way to engage the target audience. These applications can vary from a prize winning contest on Facebook or a fun filled game on your website.