How data can be used to connect brands with their audience | Social
Brands are beginning to view engagement as one of the most important metric on social media. They're realising that the more they encourage their audience to interact with them, the more likely it is to lead to sales as well as brand loyalty. As brands focus on increasing customer engagement, they also need to know their audience beyond demographics. As such, audience insight should be at the core of every marketing strategy.
 Lauretta Ndlovu |
Consumers are cautious of the brands they interact with, which makes reaching and engaging with them even harder. Platforms, like Facebook, are making things easier by gathering key data on their user's online behaviour. This has allowed social networks to understand the audience and provide more relevant content to their feeds. Aside from these platforms, brands are leveraging the same data to study their consumers' behaviour and attitudes and gaining key insight for relevant content creation. Simply put, audience insight is being used to determine when and where to communicate with consumers, which impacts the brands overall KPI targets.
Activia does audience insight right
The “It Starts Inside” campaign by Activia is a great example of a strategy that puts people at the core of brand messaging. The brand conducted a study that revealed 80% of women in the US, aged 25 to 55, agreed they were their own worst critics. Activia then interviewed women about their experience with self-doubt as well as the strength and determination they had to achieve their goals. As a result, the “Tell Me I Can't” video helped Activia build an emotional connection with its audience.
Getting the basics right
Research has shown how the path to purchase journey has evolved over time. According to a survey conducted by Financial Mail, 88% of connected South Africans use the Internet to find products they want. The same study also found that:
- 45% use the internet to purchase a product.
- 40% check prices online, then buy in a traditional store.
- 57% say they need shops and services to be available at all times.
This data just goes to show how important a brand's online presence is and why it should tweak its strategy to ensure it's accessible to the potential consumer. With consumer behaviours and interest constantly changing, audience profiling should also be reviewed and updated annually.
Tips on how to drive engagement
If you're a marketer trying to get the best out of your digital strategy, use data to determine your audience's interest and attitude. This will allow you to engage with consumers in a natural way. Focus on the channels where your audience is most active on, which can be determined by behavioural data.
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