Engagement is the holy grail of digital content. But what can organisations do build interest in their digital content? We asked the experts at krunch.co for their advice.
Engagement is the holy grail of digital content. An engaged customer is a customer who can be entertained, educated and, most importantly, converted.
But how can Kiwi organisations build their engagement? We asked the experts at krunch.co for their advice:
1. Understand the customer
To build up a conceptual foundation, organisations should consider undertaking heavy customer behaviour research prior to publishing any content. By understanding all the ins and outs of the customer – from their likes/dislikes to where they enjoy hanging out online – this can help achieve that ‘spot-on’ first touch with customers, which will then attract them to engage and recall.
- Alenza Xinnia, digital media campaign manager
2. Stay relevant
Relevance is the ultimate key. A piece of content’s message, as well as its creative, needs to be relevant to each consumer segment. Digital targeting capabilities and adtech AI have made it easier to identify and locate specific customers online, so businesses can relatively easily create segmented content for each of their customer profiles.
Relevance of message also applies to the channel on which the audience is being targeted. Facebook, for example, is a place for entertainment and browsing, so content must be created for this purpose. Marketers that can understand the motivations behind being on a specific channel and then create content accordingly stand in good stead to win attention.
- Oscar Shiblaq, senior digital campaign manager
3. Stand out
The importance of outstanding visuals cannot be underestimated, closely followed by engaging, sharp and, above all, relevant copy.
That might seem a simplistic view to take, but an eye-catching lead ad, eDM or banner should be just that – something that grabs the attention and refuses to let go. Once an audience member is enthralled, quality copy can be utilised to draw them in yet further. From here, a conversion becomes a far more realistic prospect, if not a foregone conclusion.
- Shane Roberts, production manager
4. Offer unique ads for unique customers
There are a few things to think about when attracting engagement for digital ads.
Firstly, when handling video, organisations must understand how video formats will look when published. For example, on mobile, vertical videos take up more real estate. In comparison, square placements take up more space on desktop.
Additionally, all video content – though most importantly for mobile – must be engaging without sound. According to a Verizon Media/Publicis Media report, 69% of people watch videos without sound in public, and 25% watch without sound in private. On top of that, 80% said they are more likely to watch an entire video if there are captions. Captions are, therefore, an absolute must.
To engage an individual, marketers shouldn’t serve them the same ad creative as everybody else, but rather they should try and make it as relevant as possible by tweaking images, video or copy to suit the customer. This makes the ads specifically relevant to the life-stages and/or interests of the audience, which in turn should increase customer engagement and brand perception.
- Nabeel Dada, digital campaign manager
5. Don’t forget out of home
Out of home advertising such as billboards are hard to measure, but they are still an important piece of the brand-building, and engagement-building, puzzle. They present an opportunity to target customers when in places that they would otherwise not be engaging with digital media, such as commuting to work, running through the airport, or walking down the street.
Digital billboards in particular are an incredibly useful tool. They can be updated frequently, sometimes daily, to adapt to changing factors, for example time of day, weather, trending topics. However, marketers must remember that all billboards must have strong imagery with a simple message – complexity won’t work, as audience members don’t engage for very long.
The most effective digital billboard campaigns target billboards in major hubs (CBD, airport, along commuter routes) and play the long game – consistent advertising over a long period of time plants and nurtures the seeds of a brand in customers’ minds, so that when they see other digital content, like a blog article on Facebook, they are already ready to engage.
- Martin Gillman, head of media
