Research-Backed Strategies for Startups to Supercharge Audience Engagement

People’s attention spans keep shrinking and the competition for their time, eyes and ears keeps getting fiercer.

Even though brands published an average of 10 posts per day on social media platforms, audience engagement fell from 80% to 70% between 2022 and 2023, according to a recent report. 

Could customers already be tired of endless posts and reels that are not nearly as engaging as they should be?

Clearly, startups need to go above and beyond to capture and retain their audience’s attention. And simply having a great product or service is no longer enough; startups must prioritize audience engagement as a core strategy for driving growth.

Research shows that companies identified as “Engagement Leaders” experienced a staggering 123% revenue increase due to their strategic investments in customer engagement, compared with a mere 30% increase for those who lagged behind. This stark contrast underscores the undeniable impact of prioritizing engagement.

In this article, we explore research-backed strategies that startups can implement to supercharge audience engagement across various marketing touchpoints.

Understanding Your Audience

Before launching into tactics, understanding your audience is non-negotiable if you want to gain their attention.

One of the primary factors to consider at this stage is what success looks like for your startup. And you would know you’re on the right path when your definition of success aligns with what your customers want.

To determine what your customers want, though, you must be prepared to move beyond basic demographic data. They don’t illustrate the complete picture. This is why you should spend more time considering the psychographics instead. Think about your audience’s motivations and why they (should) engage with your brand.

According to a YouTube Advertising report, ads served with intent signals alone have 30% higher consideration lift and 40% higher purchase intent lift than when the same ads are served using demographic signals alone.

Ultimately, understanding your audience boils down to one question: “what drives my customers?”

Content Marketing

To start with, marketers agree that interactive content is more effective at grabbing attention compared to static content, with 81% confirming this sentiment. But that’s just what marketers think, right? Not quite. The data also shows interactive content generates a 52.6% higher engagement rate than static content.

This information should propel you to rethink your content marketing strategy.

Traditional blog posts are good, but if your aim is to maximize audience engagement, then you need to explore diverse, interactive content formats. Podcasts, for instance, are a way to engage your audience in a more personal way, while promoting your brand as an authority.

More so, ephemeral content, like Instagram Stories and Snapchat, do a good job capitalizing on FOMO to drive engagement. And it works. The limited-time nature of this content creates a sense of urgency and encourages immediate interaction.

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Visual Storytelling

Studies show that people tend to respond more favorably to visuals than text alone. In fact, it has been demonstrated that 90% of the information our brains process is visual. So, it’s not surprising that content with visuals is more likely to be shared and reacted to, organically expanding the reach of marketing campaigns.

“Visuals like graphics, cartoons, and photographs transcend cultural and language barriers, making them ideal for reaching global audiences,” says Victor Blasco, CEO of the explainer video company, Yum Yum Videos. “Supplementing raw text with animated video production helps people retain information more effectively especially when explaining complex concepts,” he added.

For effective visual storytelling, it’s important to select elements that evoke the desired emotions and align with the message you want to convey. Also, planning your visual story using a storyboard helps ensure a clear narrative flow and maintain visual consistency.

Design Principles

Still on the visual aspect, startups can apply findings from cognitive psychology to enhance their design by using specific color combinations and layouts scientifically proven to grab attention and improve information retention.

For instance, simple designs, clear navigation, and concise messaging have been shown to help users process information efficiently without feeling overwhelmed. This is particularly important in an age where people are turning more towards short-form content via platforms like TikTok, especially among younger demographics.

And as mentioned earlier, consider the emotional response you want to elicit in your target audience. For example, using warm and inviting colors might be suitable for a wellness app, while bold and energetic colors might be more appropriate for a gaming platform.

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Community Building

Another way to boost your audience engagement is to deliberately build a community around your brand. Creating both online and offline communities around a brand is crucial for fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty among customers. A consistent community provides steady engagement through regular connection.

Offline communities, particularly, are crucial for building real-world connections. Events like trade shows and conferences and strategies like hyper-local marketing are useful for building trust and establishing a loyal customer base through active community involvement and word-of-mouth referrals.

One major advantage of community building is that it encourages reciprocal relationships that strengthen bonds and lead to increased participation.

In the end, people crave authenticity, and the best way to offer them that is through an active community.

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Measuring Engagement

While applying strategies to improve audience engagement, you should also seek to measure the impact of those strategies. This is crucial for sustained success.

Tracking key metrics across different aspects of your startup provides valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and what needs adjustment.

Some key metrics you should be measuring include the following:

• Social media: likes and other reactions, comments, shares, video views and completion rate, click-through rate (CTR), follower growth, etc.

• Website: time on page, conversion rate, bounce rate, traffic sources, etc.

• Email marketing: open rate, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, unsubscribe rate, etc.

Meanwhile, it’s essential to remember that engagement is not just about vanity metrics like likes and followers; it’s about fostering meaningful interactions that ultimately contribute to the growth and success of your startup.

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Building an Engaged Audience Takes Time and Continuous Improvement

Ultimately, successful audience engagement is an ongoing journey, not a destination. Startups that prioritize building genuine relationships, providing value, and consistently adapting to the evolving digital landscape will be best positioned to cultivate a loyal and engaged audience, driving sustainable growth and achieving long-term success.

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