To Marketers Everywhere,
We’re probably a lot like you. Work-obsessed, multi-tasking, out-of-the-box-thinking, analytic fiends. We’re marketers. And we think we should probably start a support group for people who can’t watch a TV commercial without calculating ROI and have Facebook’s TOS memorized.
But until then, we wanted to hook up our fellow brothers and sisters of the marketing mind. And we’re excited to share what we’ve done.
The Digitally Engaged Consumer Research Series was created, because we saw a need in our own work for these insights. We’ve been exhausted by the digital treasure hunt of sorting through a ridiculous amount of already available research and information on various consumer segments. We wanted a quick guide that would summarize key channels and online incentives that drive different segments to try, buy and share products. But it didn’t exist.... so we made it. We dug into some secondary research, getting the best of what was already out there, and then we did some research of our own. And because we like good Karma, we’re sharing.
The BIG TAKEAWAY: We think it’s time brands start placing more emphasis on consumer engagement. Here’s why:
1. Acquisition is wasted without an engagement strategy: Most brands have established a fan base, followers, email subscribers, etc. but without focus on engagement, that effort is wasted on a stale audience.
2. Consumers need more compelling reasons to engage: We’re constantly competing for consumer attention and new channels are emerging all the time. To rise above the noise, brands need to start providing reasons why consumers should pay attention. For example: A lot of brands are adding “Visit Us on Facebook” to their TV commercials without giving any additional information as if visiting your brand on Facebook is incredibly exciting (no offense).
3. Engagement isn’t just about customers anymore: Before social, engagement strategies only existed within the realm of customer lifecycle marketing and attracting new consumers was predominantly focused on push marketing. Today, brands are more discoverable and consumers leverage opportunities online to learn more and interact with them before becoming customers.
4. Traditional digital acquisition tactics only take you so far: We know the marketing funnel isn’t anywhere near as straightforward as awareness, consideration, trial and purchase. Online strategies focused only on driving conversion attract consumers further down the purchase path. Today, brands can leverage various engagement strategies to attract new consumers.