The following answers are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s 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. You’re 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 that’s 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 brand’s social media handles and encourage them to interact with you online. We use these social media displays in our office lobby and tradeshows.”
4. Answer Every Question
“We’re 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 haven’t converted every critic, but we’ve made it clear who we are and what we stand for as a company. It’s also been a great way to get clear, honest feedback from our users.”
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.”
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, they’re 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 you’re 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 they’ll 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 they’re 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
