How many members does your directory website currently have? Not all membership websites get off to a roaring start. There are, however, proven ways to get the ball rolling.
To boost member engagement, it’s necessary for you to invest time, attention and interact with your members to provide them with meaningful experiences. The more you engage with the members of your directory group, the greater chance you have for long-term success.
An ever-increasing number of organizations are focussing more on customer engagement in hopes of improving customer retention. But what does “engagement” even mean?
When we refer to “engagement” we mostly refer to the way an individual is participating and acting online with regard to website visits, page views, social media mentions, etc. If you’d like to increase member engagement in this distracting online world, consider reaching out to an influencer.
Social Media Influencers Are the Hottest New Trend
The first types of people that come to mind when consumers hear about others being refered to as “influencers” are actresses, athletes and socialites. Nevertheless, influencers come from various environments. They can be bloggers, public figures or online personalities who have a gift when it comes to creating likable and engaging content.
Influencers are in the mainstream and they have great influence in social media networks.
Before explaining how to leverage influencer marketing to increase member engagement, it’s important to understand why it has become such a popular marketing strategy. If you think about celebrity endorsements and word-of-mouth marketing, you’ll immediately recognize the potential benefits. Influencers generate conversation, drive engagement and set trends. With the help of influencer marketing, you can build your own community where members are genuinely interested and willing to collaborate.
Rethink Your Marketing Strategy – Influencer Marketing 101
Your membership website has a better chance of thriving if you take advantage of industry trends. Imagine what it would be like if you had an efficient conversational channel directly into your target audience… You could share interesting content, ask them for their opinions, discover what’s relevant to them in the industry and more. Working with an influencer sounds great and has proven to be fruitful for many, but there can be some obstacles to overcome in terms of putting the plan into action.
So, how can you leverage influencer marketing? Keep on reading to find out…
Keep Your Audience In Mind When Looking for Social Media Influencers
Influencers can help you get in front of your target audience, meaning that it’s a great way to reach new people and drive more traffic to your website. Take the time to understand what kind of information your audience wants to receive. Put simply, know your audience before reaching out to a social media influencer. Make an effort to answer the following questions:
- Who are your members?
- What do they like to watch, retweet, share, etc?
- Who are they following?
If you can answer these substantive questions, you’ll have an easier time finding an appropriate influencer to work with. Influencer marketing is a wasted investment if you’re not working with the right person.
It’s recommended to take a close look at important metrics before you make up your mind. You’ve probably already collected a decent amount of information about your members – they’ve engaged with your organization in the past, your community, other users in your directory, etc. Use that data to get an understanding of their behavior. Consider aspects such as demographics, page likes, social media usage and so on. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’re keeping your directory up to date and have an understanding of what your members are looking for.
Become the Driving Force Behind Content Creation
Think about the value that your website provides to your members. It’s more important than ever to offer value. This is why with influencer marketing it’s vital to team up with an influential creator who aligns with your organization’s mission.
The more content that’s out there, the better. The result is increased traffic and better converting leads, not to mention more leads. Many organizations are using YouTube these days to share their message directly with their target audience. It’s the second largest social platform worldwide as far as the number of users is concerned – about 79% of Internet users have a YouTube account.
The point is that you have an increased opportunity to reach out to your target audience if you become the driving force behind your own own content creation. Share funny clips or educate your target audience in a highly-engaging visual way. YouTube has created the platform for sharing personal, educational and informative videos, but you can also give away coupons and free things that your members and target audience can benefit from.
When you create valuable content for your members to consume, the influencers you eventually work with will be able to gain competitive insight and your members will regard you as an expert in your industry… It’s what you’d typically call a win-win scenario.
Engagement is highly correlated to loyalty. Given that loyalty helps you grow, there’s no better time than now to start making changes with respect to how you engage with each member. This means everyone from those who’ve been with you from the very get-go to new members.
— Marie Fincher
Head of Content, Writer at TrustMyPaper and WritingJudge
It’s not difficult to see that content with no purpose won’t be effective for both growing your membership community and keeping your current members happy. Engaging and valuable content is all about obtaining measurable results like:
- Likes
- Comments
- Mentions
- Clicks
- Sales
- Conversions
It’s All About Trust
You would never think to take a recommendation from someone you don’t know. You trust your better judgement. Online life is like real life in the sense that you like what your friends liked and are more likely to trust something that you see many other people liked – this is what we call “social proof”. People have the tendency to place their full trust in social media influencers. Why is that? Because they tend to engage in honest practices and they’re typically experts in their field.
Since your membership is the lifeline of your organization, you’ll want to build authentic influencer relationships. Influencer marketing isn’t pushy… far from it, actually. People don’t have a problem with influencers sharing, for example, a coupon code that their followers can use to save money on their next purchase. They simply don’t see such actions as pushy or spammy. When you use an influencer, you encourage their followers and your members to trust you. It gives you a certain “authority”.
The bottom line is that people often trust what social media influencers have to say. When you get the chance to seize this opportunity, it’s better not to let it pass you by. Influencer marketing can help you build high levels of trust with your target audience. And trust is paramount because it provides your potential members with a feeling of safety and credibility. You can establish this trust potential members with the help of an influencer.
In summary, increasing member engagement doesn’t always need to be a challenge. Influencer marketing is just one of the many marketing strategies you can try. It’s not limited to brands and large corporations… You may find that it could give your membership community that edge you’ve been looking for.
|
Author: Kristin Savage Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she works as a freelance writer at GrabMyEssay. Kristin runs her own blog. View All Articles |
