If you work in or adjacent to marketing, you’ve likely heard of content engagement. This is a broad term used as a metric for success in digital marketing. But how exactly can it help, and what are some practical ways to implement it?
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at content engagement. We’ll define the term broadly and examine some specific ways that it can be used to boost success. We’ll talk about why content engagement is important and share some ways to measure it, as well.
- What is content engagement?
- Why is content engagement important?
- How can I increase my content engagement?
- How can you measure content engagement?
What Is Content Engagement?
The term content engagement is used to define a user’s actions when interacting with a piece of content published on the internet. These interactions can be used to monitor how your internet content reaches your targeted consumer. Examples of engagement include likes, comments, and subscriptions.
So what does this mean for a marketing team? Well, it’s always far easier to sell to someone who’s already shown an interest. Businesses can set up tracking tools on their own websites or social media sites to help pinpoint an audience who might be interested in seeing more offers, or might possibly sign up for emails if they receive a discount code.
Why Is Content Engagement Important?
1.) It’s Proven to Work
Businesses that run blogs get more leads, and almost half of consumers interact 3-5 times with content before they will have an interaction with a sales rep. By putting a name and a “face” online, a company is far more likely to pull in new and valuable leads.
2.) Increases Engagement
It’s not only important to sell to new clients, but to create brand loyalty. By creating new and interesting content regularly, a business has a better chance of holding on to the customers they gain.
3.) Customers Expect It
Online engagement is expected in today’s world. Consumers want to be able to interact with brands on a variety of social media platforms, and the companies that don’t meet this expectation are very likely to fall behind the more progressive brands.
4.) Creates Community and Relationships
People love positive interaction. When a company offers up a funny tweet, an inspirational Facebook post, or an exciting TikTok, their brand can take off. However, it is important to remember when using social media that you need to set a tone based on your audience. Wendy’s burns on Twitter are hilarious, but wouldn’t work as well for a more earnest brand.
5.) Reaches a Wider (and More Receptive) Audience
Content engagement can be personalized and tweaked in thousands of ways. It can be directed to specific streams, or broadened to reach a large group. Playing with different approaches can create a strategy that reaches the people that are most likely to engage, and most likely to buy.
How Can I Increase My Content Engagement?
Understand Your Audience
First and foremost, as is always the case with sales…know who you are selling to. Who is your target demographic? Especially on social platforms, this will drive who is seeing your content. There’s no point in trying to sell grass fed beef in vegan groups or vice-versa.
Optimize Your Content
- Simplify your content so that it’s easier to consume
- Use formats that are easy to scan (infographics, bullet points, small chunks of text)
- Catch the eye with attractive visuals, humorous gifs, memes, etc. and make sure these can be related to your service or product
- Create interaction with quizzes, interactive animations or charts
Use a Marketing Funnel
At the broad top of the marketing funnel, you have your “possibles”…these folks may be somewhat interested, but are not yet invested enough to read through long copy. This is where you can use derivative content to build brand awareness and engage in a way that sets them up for future investment.
In the middle, you’ll engage your users with material that encourages them to learn more about your product or service, and hopefully move them farther into the engagement process.
Finally, at the bottom of the funnel are your customers. You want to continue to offer value to this group, so that they promote your brand and become loyal repeat customers. You can do this through targeted advertising that offers discounts, subscription programs, or other things in which they would find value.
How Can You Measure Content Engagement?
Content engagement management can be done by using marketing analytic tools. These tools help you create more personalized interactions, by allowing you to see what aspects of your website or social media content need more work.
Available Tracking Across Various Sites
Content engagement can be tracked using reach or impressions. This is a common tracker that is implemented across all social media platforms. Use the available analytics for each of these to see how the numbers look for each and every post. You can see which topics, hashtags, or types of posts trend most. Google Analytics will help you track the traffic of your business’ website. Some KPIs to measure include the following:
Average session duration. This metric shows how much time is spent on each page of your website. If people aren’t spending a substantial amount of time, you may need to change up your content to make it more relevant or interesting to the user.
Bounce Rate. A “bounce” is when a user visits your website and then leaves without going anywhere else on the site. Bounce rate measures how many potential leads bounce without engaging. This can be another indicator that you need to spend more time making a connection.
Exit rate. Finally, an exit rate determines where and when a user exits your website. It’s important to keep an eye on this, because a high exit rate can be an indicator that the content of a specific page is failing to keep a user’s interest.
Understand Your Platforms
To get the most value from your content, you want to know how to best use each platform. You can research trends and find out what kind of content gets the most engagement. For example, some platforms may be ideal for video or beautiful pictures (Instagram), others for pithy commentary and hashtags (Twitter). Use this information to maximize your content creation and get the most bang for your buck.
Conclusion
There’s no avoiding content engagement in today’s marketing world. If you know your audience, it’s simple to create content that will maximize sales and brand loyalty in prospective customers. Set up analytics for your company website and set up accounts across a variety of social media platforms. Take some time to look at the metrics and analyze what kind of content reaches your customers best, and your watch your business thrive.
