Why is Community Engagement Important in Digital Advertising?

Mobile phone users dominate the digital commerce scene globally, and by 2028, 70% of global digital ad spending will be generated by mobiles. That is why brands are adamant about capturing the attention of mobile phone users through digital advertising. You should do the same. However, putting it into practice is more challenging than simply stating it. The digital advertising market is more saturated than ever before. Why? Because building brand loyalty, trust, and long-lasting relationships seems like a thing of the past, at least for those not reading this.

How Can You Build Deeper Connections?

Building deeper connections with your audience may seem daunting. But how about if I told you that there is a way? Yes, you heard me right. If you want to build deeper connections with your audience, then community engagement is the way forward. Community engagement is your knight in shining armor when it comes to digital advertising. In this blog post, I’ll further explain what community engagement is and why it is essential, and at the end, I’ll share some strategies you can use to build community engagement. 

Some benefits?? It can turn your audience into customers and customers into brand advocates. These brand advocates then support your marketing efforts by promoting your brand via word of mouth. How? Read Below.

The Charming Referrals 

And as you know, referrals (word of mouth) are the best type of endorsement. They help brands build trust and loyalty among audiences they are not even targeting directly. Now, you may wonder what community engagement is. That is what I’m here to answer. Read on and learn how you can take your business to new heights using community engagement as your digital advertising wild card.

What is Community Engagement?

Community engagement, in easy words, is the process of building relations with your audience. It entails creating a two-way dialogue between you and your audience. This makes your audience feel valued and more connected. It also promotes a sense of belonging in the community, which in turn promotes your brand through word of mouth. 

But How Can You Build Community Engagement? 

It may sound easy, but creating a community around your brand or business requires commitment and patience. You have to value their feedback and respond to their comments.

The Influence of Quality Content

While building a solid community around your business, your primary focus must be understanding their preferences and needs. Once you know your target audience’s preferences, you create content satisfying their needs. This makes your content more valuable for your audience, hence enhancing engagement. 

Which in turn drives sustainable growth. Social media has a crucial role in this aspect. 74% of millennials say their image of a brand improves who is responsive on social media.

Now that we understand what community engagement is, let’s look at why it is vital in digital advertising.

Importance of Community Engagement

The following Example can help us better understand the importance of community engagement. Soccer teams have thousands, if not millions, of loyal fans worldwide. Have you ever imagined why? Only a few can say it is because the team is their home (city). Then what about most fans who have nothing to do with that city? These fans are so loyal that they’ll support and defend their favorite teams without even having seen them play live in front of their eyes.

Do you know why? 

It is because when they choose/support a team, they become a part of that community. And becoming a part of a community means they feel valued and will support and defend that team no matter what. Brands should strive for this when building a loyal community around them. A community that not only supports but promotes them. Brands should make their audience/customers feel valued so that they are attached to them emotionally and become their brand advocates. All this is possible in today’s highly digital world where reaching your audience isn’t a matter of how but when.

Here are a few reasons why community engagement is important in Digital Advertising.

1. Communities are a goldmine for audience insights. These provide data beyond the traditional analytics, helping you create more targeted campaigns. Actively being a part of the community allows businesses to know their audience’s pain points and leverage those to drive business growth

1. Brand advocacy is another reason why community engagement is crucial in digital advertising. Just like the example of soccer fans given above, being a part of a community fosters a sense of shared purpose and loyalty. This helps businesses grow organically through word of mouth.

1. When audiences feel connected to a brand, it is easier to retain them. They feel a sense of belonging and tend to remain loyal. Communities also enhance user experiences, which improves user satisfaction.

1. Feedback is an essential aspect of community engagement. It provides a direct line of communication between the audience and the brand/business. This helps brands adjust their strategy accordingly.

1. Community engagement can directly be linked with business growth. As the engagement within a community increases, so does its reach, attracting new members. New members mean more reach for the brand, hence more influence, which brands can leverage to drive business growth.

Benefits of Community Engagement

Community engagement in digital advertising offers many benefits, from Brand advocacy to crisis management. Let’s have a look at some benefits;

Enhanced Brand Advocacy

As we have discussed in the example above, brand advocacy is fundamental to community engagement. However, it works two ways, as much as brand advocates help enhance community engagement. Community engagement also promotes customer advocacy.

Loyalty Building

Community engagement is important for a loyal clientele. When brands promote a sense of belonging within the community, the audiences feel compelled to remain faithful to the brand. Not only that, but the audience also positively promotes the brand’s image without the brand having to use paid ads.

Increased Reach

Increase in reach is another benefit of promoting community engagement. As the community grows, so does the brand’s reach. This allows brands to reach an audience that is already interested in them, making it easier to drive sustainable business growth.

Enhanced Emotions and Credibility

Brands should allow an easy approach to their target audience, and building community engagement is an excellent way to do it. This will enable brands to connect emotionally with the audience, creating more brand advocates for the business.

Insights Gathering

Community engagement also helps businesses connect with their audience on a personal and emotional level, which might not be possible through other avenues. This presents a unique opportunity for you as a brand to create campaigns specifically targeted at your audience.

Crisis Management

Having a dedicated community provides a backup if a crisis unfolds. In such challenging scenarios, loyal community members are the deciding factor for the brand to navigate such scenarios.

Strategies to Build Community Engagement

It may seem challenging to build community engagement at first. However, a few strategies can help create an effective community engagement plan for your business.

Understand Your Audience

Understanding your target audience should be paramount when building a community engagement plan. 

• Who is your target audience? 
• What are their preferences? 
• What are their pain points? 

These are the questions that you need to answer. One way to do this is by segmenting your audience based on their interests or preferences. This will allow you to create a more targeted marketing strategy that helps achieve your business objectives. Here are a few ways you can understand your audience.

• Use surveys for focus groups.
• Conduct a thorough research and analysis of your target audience.
• Use different tools offered by various platforms, such as social media analytics from Meta.

Discover effective strategies to build deeper connections with your audience through community engagement.

Create Engaging Content Accordingly

When you have identified your target audience’s needs and preferences, create content that resonates with them personally. This builds trust and emotional attachment to the brand. Creating valuable content for your audience is vital to strengthening the connection between you and your audience. Keep the following points in mind when creating content for your audience.

• Provide useful information
• Your content must fulfill the needs of your audience
• Create content that your audience can relate to

Leverage Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are an excellent way of building community engagement. Most social media platforms like facebook and instagram  provide audience insights to creators (brands/businesses), which they can use to segment their audience and identify their needs/pain points. 

Social media platforms allow the audience to contact and interact with their favorite brands directly. Once the brands respond to their audiences on social media, they feel valued and are more likely to become loyal customers. You need to make them feel that their voices are being heard.

• Always maintain an active presence on social media.
• Use a variety of content formats.
• Let community members who create content and tag your business know that they are valued..
• Promptly respond to messages, comments, and mentions.
• Have fun and entertain your audience whenever possible.
• Create content by leveraging the latest trends and stories. It is crucial to remain on top of the trends your audience is following or is interested in.

Offer Rewards and Benefits

Offering rewards and benefits is a great way for brands to ensure their audience remains active and continuously engages with their content. This increases the organic reach for the brands as social media algorithms push content with high engagement. Hold competitions/trivia and offer benefits or rewards to the winners.

• Offer exclusive benefits to loyal customers.
• Always recognize and appreciate your community members’ efforts.

Conclusion

Community engagement in digital marketing is paramount for businesses looking to stand above the rest and be different. The digital landscape is highly competitive, and community engagement is an excellent way to go. You have to segment your audience based on their interests and provide content they can relate to. Although it may seem daunting, continuous effort and willingness to keep your audience first is the best way to build community engagement. You can start building community engagement around your business by reviewing the strategies shared in the sections above. Once you have built a community around your business, you can leverage them to drive sustainable business growth.