Engagement Marketing: The Step Beyond Disruption Marketing

Whenever a company introduces a new product, the usual intent is to disrupt the market. Meaning, the customers are usually tapped into by knock-head strategies.

For example, did you see Volvo’s latest “Highway Robbery” Youtube advertisement? The company installed a hybrid system that generated electricity from passing cars, which was used to charge Volvo XC90 Hybrid.

The company actually thanked the road users whenever they passed by the installation site.

In a nutshell, they disrupted the usual market scenario about electric and hybrid cars.

But, there’s a catch too – the company also employed something else.

Instead of promoting their Ads through the usual digital media, Volvo tapped into the customers that passed by.

Like, already mentioned, they thanked every passerby car, personally. If a “Jeep” passed by the site, the board in front said – “Thank you. Jeep”. Likewise, they thanked other car owners too.

And the best part is, no car owner realized that they were charging an XC 90 until the company released a short promo of their campaign.

Now, this is next-level marketing. Or as we like to call it – engagement marketing.

Let’s understand what it is.

Engagement Marketing: Overview

Also known as experiential marketing, the practice uses strategic content to engage the audience.

Like in the example mentioned above, Volvo tapped into every road user that generated an ampere for them.

As a result, the audience (customers) interact with brands. Thus, creating a lasting impression on customers’ minds of the brands.

Typically, the strategy employs high-quality content to target specific audience groups, inducing a two-way conversation between businesses, marketers, and customers.

In a nutshell, the key is to encourage the customers to engage with businesses or the brands they would remember.

But, how exactly do you do it?

Keep reading to find out.

Engagement Marketing: The Steps Involved

Here is a step-by-step guide for you to get started with your engagement marketing plan.

Step 1. Know Your Audience

Though it is a no-brainer, it’s still worth mentioning here.

Knowing your target audience indeed helps position your brand in the market. Besides, you can use these insights to create the right product for your marketing efforts to be successful.

You’d need to understand your ideal customer. The more you know them, the better.

Volvo tapped into customers from other companies and create value for their brand by thanking each of them personally.

You can also do something similar for your brand.

For example, you can run a quick survey about your target audience’s sentiments and what they like. And accordingly, you can tap into their stronger emotion – you know what matters more.

The key here is to not only tap into your customers’ intellect but also their emotions. Yes, people love when they are appreciated for their choices and decisions.

Step 2. Set Your Goals

The second most important thing to decide when taking up engagement marketing is setting your goals.

You need to know what you wish to achieve through your marketing campaign.

For example, you can use Experiential Marketing to create lasting experiences for your target audience. Or you can drive more sales through it. Or, if nothing else, you would like to increase your brand’s visibility among your audience.

Whatever you decide to achieve through your marketing campaign would determine what content you need to create.

And likewise, you’d need to plan the execution of your campaign.

Apart from this, you’d also need to track and measure your previous performance. It would help you improvise your campaign for better returns.

Step 3. Create Stellar Content

Once you have your goals in mind, now you need to create content according to them.

Of course, your initial research on your target audience would also come in handy when you’re creating content. Meaning you’d need to consider what type of content makes your audience fall in love.

Here’s an essential tip for you; if you believe your campaign is not performing well or as expected, don’t hesitate to replace it or scrap it away.

Remember, your priority should be the goals you set for your marketing campaign. And your campaign strategies are the most critical factor that would decide the overall success of your experiential marketing.

Step 4. Take Part In Conversation

Implementing steps 1-3 above should help you engage your audience. But, engagement is just one aspect of your overall marketing.

We are trying to tell you that if your audience is not converting, there’s no point in putting efforts into marketing. Remember, the ultimate goal for any marketing plan is to help with sales and customer retention.

For this, you need to step up further and get involved in conversations with your audience.

Your execution until now is probably getting you enough queries from your audience. But, if they are not responded to, they may never convert.

So, in a nutshell, you (brand) need to be a part of the communication process.

Besides, being an active part of the conversation should also help you get more mileage out of your engagements. Meaning, you should reach out to the people they know and who might also be interested in your product or services.

What’s Next In Experiential Marketing?

By now, you have a great idea about what’s working for your brand and what’s not.

And hopefully, you are already interacting with your target audience for better conversions.

But, you need to be extra vigilant when you’re employing engagement marketing.

It is worth mentioning here that engagement marketing is not limited to online modules only. Indeed you can use it for both your online and offline marketing campaigns.

It is exactly what Volvo did. Their “Highway Robbery” project was the offline module. And how they promoted their idea online was the other part of the picture.

The bottom line

Engagement marketing, in a nutshell, produces longer-lasting and far-reaching benefits for your business. The benefits are no longer limited to lead generation and sales. Indeed, it is more about nurturing a relationship with the customers.

So, take your brand to the heights by embracing and engaging your customers as contributors to your brand’s growth.