What the heck is engagement anyways?
When you hop into the world of social media, you start to hear this word everywhere. Engagement. It’s thrown around a lot, but what does it actually mean and how do you do it?
Last month, I helped my co-worker create her own Fendi bag via Bergdorf Goodman’s Facebook page. It was part of a contest where an individual gets to create their own bag and then encourage their friends/fans to vote for their bag. Fendi then created a special limited edition bag for the winner. She created her bag online and encouraged us to vote for it.
She didn’t win, but what she did do was engage with a high-end brand that she probably can’t afford. Why is this important? Because the contest caused her to act, engage the people around her and she now gets updates from Bergdorf Goodman’s Facebook page every day. Through social media, she has developed a rapport with a brand that is not normally on her brand radar. Both Bergdorf Goodman and Fendi are now top-of-mind with my co-worker. She mentioned Fendi about a dozen times since entering the contest.
By developing a unique and exclusive FaceBook contest, Bergdorf Goodman strategically used social media to engage its existing and potential customers. By entering the contest, people have formed an emotional attachment to these brands. That’s exactly what engagement is.
The next time you are thinking about using social media to engage your customers, think about your goals, your objectives and your measurements of success. The more clearly defined path you provide the more success you will have in the sphere of social media.
Have you come up with any interesting ways to engage your audience, or engaged with a brand online? Let us know about it in the comments.
