How to Crush Audience Engagement in 2023

Let me guess – you’ve been trying to increase audience engagement for what feels like forever, but you’re just not seeing the results you had hoped for. You know that engaging your audience is no longer just “nice-to-have” –  it’s critical if you want to stand out from the competition and build a loyal following. But, you feel like you’ve tried everything and just don’t know where to go next.

Don’t give up just yet! We’ve got your back. With so many ever-changing tactics and strategies, it’s hard to know where to start, let alone what delivers results. That’s why in this post, we’re covering the art of audience engagement, and sharing 11 of our favorite ways to crush audience engagement in 2023 and beyond!

Quick Takeaways

• B2B businesses increase audience engagement by creating high quality content that adds value to the lives of their audience members
• The benefits of increased engagement include enhanced brand awareness, established thought leadership, increased customer loyalty, lead generation, and revenue growth
• 54% of decision makers say they spend more than one hour per week reviewing thought leadership content
• Measure your engagement by tracking website analytics, social media analytics, email marketing metrics, surveys, and feedback to identify areas for improvement
• Crush your audience engagement by sharing valuable content, using eye-catching visuals, personalizing content, hosting webinars, collaborating with industry influencers, and more

Level up your content marketing game and start making meaningful connections to crush your audience engagement in 2023.

What Is Audience Engagement?

When we talk about audience engagement, we’re referring to the way businesses build and nurture their relationships with their audience members. B2B businesses encourage audience engagement by creating high quality content and experiences that capture and keep the attention of their audience.

In the B2B world, content that encourages audience engagement can take many forms, like:

• Blog posts
• Webinars
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Videos
• Infographics

Regardless of its form, creating content that shares specifications, comparisons, and success stories of your products or services will help B2B decision makers find value in your solution. The main goal of your content should always be to create a two-way conversation with your audience that provides value and builds their trust in your brand.

Image Source: 99 Firms

If you’re new to B2B marketing, focusing on value and trust may not seem like that big of a deal. But in reality, value and trust form the foundation of a positive reputation for your brand. They work together to increase the likelihood of prospects consistently choosing your product over competitors.

So ultimately, increasing audience engagement and building a meaningful relationship with your audience leads to increased brand awareness, loyalty, and revenue. Sounds pretty good, right?

Audience Engagement: The Benefits

Okay, so you know what audience engagement is and why it’s important, but what really happens when you focus on engaging your audience?

Here’s the basics:

• Increased brand awareness. When you create experiences that resonate with your audience and add value to their lives, you can increase exposure for your brand.
• Established thought leadership. 54% of decision makers say they spend more than one hour per week reviewing thought leadership content. Sharing valuable insights with your audience will help establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry, ultimately establishing trust and credibility with your audience.
• Increased customer loyalty. Building long term relationships and increasing customer loyalty starts with engaging your audience and sharing valuable content on a regular basis.
• More qualified leads. As you establish your brand as a trusted source of information and solutions, you will see an increase in lead generation.
• Increased sales. As more prospects become engaged with your brand, you can drive more sales and revenue growth over time.

The sooner you start focusing on audience engagement, the sooner you can position your business for long-term success in your industry.

Measuring Audience Engagement

If you’ve read our posts before, then you know we love a good analysis. That’s because it’s the most reliable way to measure your effort. Without taking a close look at your process and measuring your results, there’s no concrete way to tell whether your changes made a positive impact.

The same goes for audience engagement. You can gain valuable insights into how your audience is responding to your content, which will ultimately help you refine your approach and improve your results over time.

• Website analytics. At MIG, we use website analytics tools, like Google Analytics, to track metrics like page views, bounce rates, and time-spent on site to learn more about how engaged our website visitors are.
• Social media analytics. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook also provide analytics tools you can use to track metrics. Track your likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates to measure engagement with your social media content.
• Email marketing metrics. For email campaigns, measure your engagement by tracking open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
• Surveys and feedback. Surveys and feedback forms are another great way to gather insights directly from your audience about their content and experiences, allowing you to better understand the impact of your content.
• Sales and revenue metrics. Lastly, measure your audience engagement by tracking how your content and experiences are impacting your business’s sales and revenue growth over time.

Keeping an eye on these metrics will help you understand what works, identify areas for improvement, track progress over time, and clearly demonstrate your ROI.

11 Ways To Crush Audience Engagement in 2023

Start delivering value and building trust with your audience with these 11 ways to crush audience engagement!

1. Create Valuable Content

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – sharing valuable content consistently is key. When you create informative content that cures the pain points of your audience, you also establish trust and credibility, ultimately encouraging engagement.

Whether you’re sharing blog posts or filming TikTok videos, your target audience is more likely to remember your brand if your content is valuable. Helpful content also promotes audience interaction, so don’t forget to include a call-to-action that offers an incentive or encourages readers to learn more!

2. Use Eye-Catching Visuals

Eye-catching visuals are super powerful tools when it comes to audience engagement. Weaving visuals into your content will help capture the attention of your target audience, making your content more memorable.

Before sharing your next blog post, don’t forget to add:

• Images
• Graphs
• Videos
• Infographics

Use them in social media posts, emails, or website content to break up long blocks of text, ultimately making your content more enjoyable to consume. Not to mention, they are also great for conveying complex information in an easy-to-understand way!

3. Optimize For Mobile

With more and more people consuming content on their cell phones, mobile-optimized content is non-negotiable.

Mobile-optimized content is designed to fit the smaller screens of mobile devices, making content much easier to consume and navigate. Content that is not optimized for mobile can be difficult to read, making readers more likely to abandon it in favor of a competitor’s mobile-friendly content.

Image Source: The Creative Department

Make sure your content is optimized for mobile to increase load times, enhance the user experience, and keep your readers engaged.

4. Use Social Media

In 2023, there are an estimated 4.89 billion social media users worldwide. This means that with social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, you have direct, 24/7 access to your target audience. Taking advantage of these marketing channels can make a major impact on audience engagement.

Sharing your valuable content on social media will help increase your visibility and reach a larger audience. It also serves as a great way to meet and collaborate with influencers and thought leaders.

5. Personalize Your Content

Today’s consumer likes to feel special. So why not curate your high quality content to your audience’s personal preferences?

Tailoring your content and experiences to the specific interests of your audience allows you to speak directly to each member. Collect consumer data to understand their pain points and preferences, and create personalized content that is meaningful to your audience.

In doing so, you will prove to your audience members that you understand their needs and are committed to providing solutions, ultimately establishing your brand as a trusted partner and thought leader. That’s a win-win in our book!

6. Host Webinars

Webinars are a great way to connect with your audience on a more personal level, ultimately building a stronger relationship.

Hosting a webinar will allow you to share in-depth insight and thought leadership on areas that interest your target audience. You can also answer questions and ask for live feedback, fostering a sense of community and engagement.

Lastly, webinars are ideal if you want to bulk up your email list and generate more leads. By asking attendees to register in advance, you can take note of their contact information and use it in future marketing efforts.

7. Use Interactive Content

A quick interactive experience can do wonders for your engagement. Encouraging participation and feedback via quizzes, polls, and surveys will not only enhance engagement, but also provide valuable insight and data that you can use to improve your marketing efforts.

Share a daily poll on Instagram or send a personalized quiz in your next newsletter, and watch your visibility and engagement reach new heights!

Image Source: Planoly

8. Respond to Comments and Messages

Remember, audience engagement is a two-way street. This may seem straightforward, but you’d be surprised to know how many businesses overlook the importance of responding to their audience.

When you address your audience’s comments and messages, you demonstrate that you value their feedback and opinions. This helps build a meaningful sense of community, and strengthens your relationship with your audience.

9. Collaborate with Industry Influencers

You’ve probably heard that “you are who you surround yourself with”, and this especially holds true in the world of B2B influencers.

Who has a large following in your community? Who has a strong reputation? Collaborating with influential industry players will not only establish your own brand as a thought leader, but also help you gain access to new audience members.

Our advice: partner up with industry experts who have strong reputations, and watch your audience and engagement grow over time. Here’s an example of the power of B2B influencer marketing:

Video Source: TopRank Marketing TV

10. Use Email Marketing

We already talked about personalization, so we won’t dive too deep into the subject again – but know that email marketing is a prime opportunity to engage audience members with personalized messages.

What we haven’t discussed yet is how sharing exclusive content and offers, like discounts or free downloads, is a great way to incentivize your audience to engage with your brand. And, as you probably guessed, email marketing is an ideal delivery method for these kinds of offers.

Lastly, email marketing is key to increasing audience engagement because it provides a way for B2B businesses to track engagement and make data-driven decisions about future marketing efforts. When you combine personalization, exclusive offers, and reliable metrics, you have the perfect recipe for increased audience engagement.

11. Continuously Measure and Adjust

We just couldn’t stop ourselves from reminding you how important it is to track and measure your results! It’s the only reliable way to identify areas for improvement, and ultimately curate an effective content marketing strategy that encourages audience engagement.

Start Engaging Your Audience Today!

Ah, you’re finally ready to crush audience engagement! Remember, when you build and nurture customer relationships with valuable content and experiences, you put your business on a direct path to increased audience engagement and revenue growth.

Are you ready to boost audience engagement? One of the best ways to keep your readers engaged is to publish high quality content consistently. Get started today by checking out our weekly blog content service, or schedule a free consultation now to learn more!