{"id":735,"date":"2019-12-06T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/?p=735"},"modified":"2022-12-07T06:05:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T06:05:50","slug":"5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips to Connect With Your Online Audience and Build a Stronger Bond"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How much time, commitment, and research do you invest in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upscribe.io\/blog\/why-you-should-care-about-how-your-customer-engages-with-your-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">customer engagement<\/a> strategy?<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadly, too many businesses fail to dedicate enough of all three in their plans. In fact, one survey revealed over <a href=\"https:\/\/acquire.io\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-customer-engagement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">50 percent of companies have no formal customer-engagement strategy<\/a> in place whatsoever. And even more companies have no idea how many consumers they have lost in the past year from lack of engagement.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a big mistake when fully-engaged customers account for <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/services\/169331\/customer-engagement.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">almost one-quarter<\/a> of revenue, profitability, and relationship growth. Not to mention that it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/customer-acquisition-retention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">five times more expensive<\/a> to find new buyers than to keep current ones.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what can you do to connect with your online audience and build a stronger bond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>1. Don\u2019t Make It All About Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Engaging your audience demands far more than just promoting your products or services. It can\u2019t be all business all the time.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may seem contradictory, but it\u2019s true. <strong>Connecting with your audience and strengthening your business-customer relationships means recognizing followers as human beings, rather than faceless shoppers.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re talking specifically about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social media<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/welcome-email-strategy-5-things-to-remember-when-crafting-an-email-to-start-a-conversation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">marketing emails\/newsletters<\/a> here. Try sharing content that you think your audience will appreciate without it bearing an obvious link to your business.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you specialize in catering services, don\u2019t be afraid to post videos based around cooking tips or lists covering \u201cthe 10 worst birthday cakes ever\u201d (for example). Make them smile. Make them think. Make them laugh. Heck, make them <em>cry <\/em>if you need to.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research reveals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.socialmediaexaminer.com\/how-consumers-respond-to-brands-on-social-media-new-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">42 percent of customers questioned<\/a> made a purchase after a brand shared educational content<\/li><li>36 percent of consumers found businesses \u201cbeing funny\u201d engaging<\/li><li>38 percent of buyers responded well to companies sharing interesting visuals&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The key is, a significant part of your audience is likely to feel a stronger connection to your business when you diversify your content and activities, instead of pushing your products\/services ad nauseam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>2. Survey Your Audience to Identify Needs, Expectations and Service Gaps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the simplest ways to find out what your target customers want and like is to ask them.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By picking your audience\u2019s brains, you can find opportunities to forge tighter connections and deliver a stronger customer experience. And a staggering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/RightNow\/2011-customer-experience-impact-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">86 percent of people<\/a> will pay up to one-quarter more for this.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Invite customers to take part in a survey over social media and\/or after they make a purchase. But keep these key factors in mind:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Keep your surveys short \u2014 comprehensive research conducted by Vision Critical found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visioncritical.com\/blog\/stats-customer-surveys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">more than half of people<\/a> won\u2019t spend any longer than three minutes completing one<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>87 percent of consumers who agree to respond to a survey are keen to have a say in a brand\u2019s future<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Make sure all surveys are optimized for mobile devices, as nearly one-quarter are completed via smartphone&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Ask only the most relevant questions to find ways to improve your customer support, range of products\/services, communication channels, social-media response times and other vital aspects of strong engagement; take action on responses and seize opportunities to deliver a better experience&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>3. Support Good Causes to Show There\u2019s More to Your Brand Than Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A survey conducted by Foresters found 82 percent of customers questioned were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thirdsector.co.uk\/consumers-favour-companies-support-charities-says-study\/fundraising\/article\/1183955\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">more likely to choose a business that supported charities<\/a> and its local community.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting a charity and engaging with community activities or initiatives may show your business cares about more than the bottom line. It also provides a valuable opportunity to generate positive press and interact with a broader range of people on matters unrelated to day-to-day business.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Undertaking activities, hosting events and running competitions to benefit charities offers a wealth of material to inspire content. Create:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Blog posts<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Press releases<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Videos covering the charity and your company\u2019s efforts to support it<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Audio interviews with representatives of the charity to help promote it<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, invite followers on social media to suggest fundraising ideas (running a marathon, hosting a bake sale, finding brave volunteers for a sponsored skydive, etc.) for further engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>4. Host Webinars to Demonstrate Thought-Leadership and Encourage Interaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>73 percent of leaders in sales and marketing cite <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.gotomeeting.com\/7-webinar-benchmarks-every-marketer-should-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>webinars as the most effective technique to generate quality leads<\/strong><\/a><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any viewers who stick with the webinar for around an hour (the average length) may visit your site, choose to support your business or (at the very least) return for further webinars in the future.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some key factors to bear in mind when planning webinars:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Promote your webinar a few weeks in advance, but don\u2019t forget to share reminders across social media and your website regularly, as more than half of registrations take place the week before the webinar<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The best time for webinars is between 10 am &#8211; 11 am, ideally on a Wednesday or Thursday<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Invite registrants to submit questions for a Q&amp;A session, to make viewers feel part of the conversation and increase engagement<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Appoint a host who speaks clearly, can remain calm when performing to an audience and is able to keep a conversation going over a long period&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>5. Thank Customers For Choosing Your Brand and Reward Loyalty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, showing gratitude to customers for their interest is another powerful technique to build connections.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Research by HubSpot found sending thank-you emails to customers after they perform a desirable action (such as making a purchase or registering for a newsletter) <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/blog\/tabid\/6307\/bid\/33725\/Why-Thank-You-Emails-Are-the-Untapped-Gold-Mine-of-Email-Marketing.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">achieves an open rate of 42 percent and a CTR of 14 percent<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HubSpot compared this with standard marketing emails, which led to an open rate of 12 percent and a CTR of just 6 percent.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a more basic level, thank-you messages can help to make customers feel more valued and respected. Your business is taking a step to acknowledge them rather than treating buyers as anonymous drones (especially when emails are personalized). You may want to include a discount against future purchases, too, for extra impact.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Building a stronger connection with your online audience takes time, effort and persistence. But it will pay off if you\u2019re committed enough.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the five tips explored above to increase your engagement, drive more traffic to your site and improve your ability to convert visitors. Never let yourself or your team become complacent and take buyers for granted \u2014 they may have plenty of other businesses to choose from.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Do you have any tips of your own to help businesses connect with online audiences? Share your ideas below!<\/em><\/strong><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How much time, commitment, and research do you invest in your customer engagement strategy? Sadly, too many businesses fail to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Tips to Connect With Your Online Audience and Build a Stronger Bond - Regex SEO Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips to Connect With Your Online Audience and Build a Stronger Bond - Regex SEO Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How much time, commitment, and research do you invest in your customer engagement strategy? Sadly, too many businesses fail to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Regex SEO Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-06T08:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-07T06:05:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darcy Cudmore\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Regex SEO Blog\",\"description\":\"Your SEO, SEM and SMM Information Source\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/\",\"name\":\"5 Tips to Connect With Your Online Audience and Build a Stronger Bond - Regex SEO Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-06T08:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-07T06:05:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/570d511d621dc671704252b88603f110\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-connect-with-your-online-audience-and-build-a-stronger-bond\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/570d511d621dc671704252b88603f110\",\"name\":\"Darcy Cudmore\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.regexseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/39243796-astronaut-welcomes-vector-illustration--150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Darcy Cudmore\"},\"description\":\"Darcy is a Journalism graduate working in PR and Writing. 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