In order to establish lasting in-person human connections, you must communicate using your five senses. However, when you consider today’s modern era and how everything, including connections, have migrated onto an online realm, how do you maintain and establish memorable human relationships through digital channels?
It can be easy for you and your business to get lost inside the online space. But, figuring out a smart way to carry over the in-person connections you have with your consumers onto digital platforms will allow your business to make an even stronger impact.
What Digital Channels To Use
- Social Media – These days, almost everyone you meet or market to is active on at least one social media platform. These platforms give our audience a lens into who we are, what our business is, what experience we have, and what our values are. Text, photos, and video content can help us start conversations with any audience and allow us to show a more personal side of who we are. The social media channels you utilize should be the ones that are the most organic to your brand, your audience, and your product. For example, if your customers are largely B2B professionals (like engineers or people in other similar professional services), then LinkedIn is a great platform to use. However, if your consumer base is between the ages of 16 to 24, then you may want to shift your efforts towards platforms like TikTok.
- Company Website – Your website is often a customer’s first encounter with your brand. Be concise about who you are, what you do, and why. In today’s world, it’s imperative that you remain authentic with your communication style. Visitors don’t want to see, hear, or read your corporate jargon. They want your website to be clear and concise, and they also want to see upfront how you can solve their problems. So, be sure to think in terms of consumer pain points and solutions. Keep your website easy to navigate, even on a smartphone.
- Search – This is how people often find your website in the first place. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can help make you visible to anybody searching for topics related to your business or products—it’s usually a customer’s first touch point for gaining an introduction to who you are, what you stand for and why they should be interested in what you have to offer.
Four Ways to Attract Your Consumers
- Inbound Marketing–Give your prospects and customers the opportunity to create their own journey and to learn about your company through their own digital research. This type of organic introduction is the best way to start an emotional connection.
- Digital Vision– Allow yourself the ability to have a wide scope over your digital audience by conducting thorough target audience research. Ask yourself questions like: Who is your audience? And what are their true pain points and challenges? Once you do your research and capture this information, you can create content that will resonate specifically with your audience on a more intimate level.
- Brand Perception–This is how other consumers view your brand; it includes anything from comments about your brand posted on social media, to reviews about your products on sites like Amazon, and comments about your business operations on Glassdoor. Use social media monitoring tools or even a simple brand perception survey on your website to know what other people think about your brand. If you’re not a fan of the feedback you receive, begin changing the narrative.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)–Now through a variety of sales and marketing interfaces and platforms that integrate the use of AI, we can track the behaviors of our prospects and our current consumers. We can then use this information to better advertise and communicate with them.
Understanding which digital channels to use and what strategies to implement on those digital channels will allow your company to properly cater to the needs and wants of today’s consumers. As the world becomes more modernized each year, its important to gain a deep understanding of how you can personally connect with people behind their digital screens. Brands who understand how to connect with their audiences both in-person, and digitally will be those who succeed in the modern era.