15 Lesser-Known Tips to Improve Brand Engagement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

15 Lesser-Known Tips to Improve Brand Engagement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The following answers are provided by members of  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched  BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.   1. Give Them Something of Value   Millennials are pretty jaded by most company communications. Youre not going to convince them that your company is fun (even if it is) or that your branding is born of anything but a stuffy meeting. Give them something thats clearly of value to them for their participation. Deals, specials, and secret or early launches for your close customers are good options.    Adam Steele,  The Magistrate   2. Get Provocative With Art   If you want more interaction, be bolder in expressing what you stand for through creativity. Your business offers a gift to the world. Express what you offer artistically and people cannot help but respond. Art creates conversation. By expressing yourself this way, the people who are wrong for you will leave you alone, and the people who are right for you will fight to be seen by you.    Corey Blake,  Round Table Companies   3. Display Social Media on Office TVs   Wherever you have a physical location such as your office entrance or retail location, add a TV that displays your social media feed like Twitter and Instagram. The displays will  educate viewers on your brands social media handles and  encourage them to interact with you online. We use these social media displays in our office lobby and tradeshows.    Nanxi Liu,  Enplug   4. Answer Every Question   Were very active on Reddit and other online forums,  answering every question we find about our company, even the negative ones. After 1,000-plus messages during the last four years, we havent converted every critic, but weve made it clear who we are and what we stand for as a company. Its also been a great way to get clear, honest feedback from our users.    Neil Thanedar,  LabDoor   5. Contact Customers for No Reason But to Say Thanks   I find that engagement has gone up after we personally contact our customers to tell them thank you as well as share any new updates on features. They are pleasantly surprised that we are not trying to sell them on anything but just saying we appreciate them.    John Rampton,  Due   6. Get Your Readers Nodding Along   All content should make your readers nod their heads as they read along. If you can get them answering yes as they read, theyre more motivated to act on your call to action at the end. So ask pointed questions that speak to their needs, wants, desires and fears to get them on the same page with your content. This will keep them engaged and coming back for more of the same great information.    Nicole Munoz,  Start Ranking Now   7. Share Video Content   Every brand has a story: Share your brand’s personality through video content. This can be through Facebook Live, or other social media platforms and vlogs. Choose what makes the most sense to your brand, it could be how-to videos or answers to FAQs. Use the style that suits your brand to connect with your audience on a regular basis. Video is the most engaging way to leave a lasting impression.    Stanley Meytin,  True Film Production   8. Ask Questions Instead of the Routine Call-to-Action   A great way to engage readers is to ask for their opinion. Audiences love to share their thoughts, and it will get a vivid conversation going about your brand and content. One way to do this is to pose a question at the end of your article or blog, rather than including a pitch for your company. This is a soft ask that will still garner interest in your product, while also driving discussion.    Elle Kaplan,  LexION Capital   9. Co-Create with Your Audience   Involve your audiences in anything new youre creating, such as a new product or a new resource. Co-create with them or at least ask for their suggestions. This is a sure-fire way of keeping them engaged, as theyll think of your product/company as their own.    Pratham Mittal,  Outgrow   10. Think in Terms of People, Not Audience   When you write a personal letter to someone, what is your open rate going to be? Barring extenuating circumstances, 100%! So, more companies need to talk to individuals, and not to groups. We throw around terms like “audience” all the time, but it will do you a lot of good to think in terms of people, not in terms of segments.    Ismael Wrixen,  FE International   11. Go to Them Instead of Waiting for Them to Come to You   People are on social media and so are brands. Find your audience on social media and comment on their posts. Share their posts, congratulate them on their engagements, and laugh at their jokes. Everyone wants to feel noticed and appreciated. The more a brand notices a customer first, the more that customer feels recognized by the brand.    Renato Libric,  Bouxtie Inc   12. Give Away Free Knowledge   Content marketing has exploded in recent years due to the fact that customers now congregate around brands that have imparted invaluable knowledge they would have otherwise not known. To get people organically excited about your brand and actively engaging with it, drop some wisdom in the form of a blog post, video or uplifting social media update.    Firas Kittaneh,  Amerisleep   13. Solicit Feedback   Send out-of-the-blue emails to customers: What do you like/dislike about our product? or What suggestions do you have for us? You should actively ask them these questions; the alternative is waiting for them to get frustrated enough to reach out to you. Even if theyre generally satisfied, this will give them a positive impression of your customer service and will keep your brand top of mind.    Roger Lee,  Captain401   14. Add Personal Content   We like to do daily posts that are personal to our employees. You not only reach followers of the company, but you expand to your employees’ friends, making for a more relatable post. It also puts more of a personal touch on the company, rather than just being some faceless, nameless corporate entity.    Justin Lefkovitch,  Mirrored Media   15. Do Good Works   Creating partnerships with non-profit organizations can further your positive brand perception while also getting people to engage with you more often. Doing pro-bono work, giving customers and opportunity to participate in raising awareness for various causes and showcasing how our team is making a difference helps people to be educated on your mission. Doing good is  just good business.    Jennifer Mellon,  Trustify