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Cultivating a Brand Community Through Interactive Content Marketing

Different forms of marketing continue to grow as consumers have become more digital and social savvy. It’s increasingly important to ensure your brand is employing the right marketing strategies. Interactive content marketing (ICM) is a terrific way to involve your target audience in a way that requires their active participation. This creates a community around your brand which can be incredibly valuable. Here are three ways you can incorporate ICM into your overall marketing strategy:

  1. Contests and giveaways
    This is a fun way to generate interest, get your products into consumers’ hands and to prompt user-generated content (UGC). Contests and giveaways work to increase engagement as well. In fact, it’s estimated that an average of 34 percent of new followers can be acquired with a contest or giveaway. Additionally, brands can gain an average of 17,500 fans through organizing this type of campaign on their fan pages. Finally, it was found that Instagram accounts that hold contests grow their follower base 70 percent faster over a three-month period that accounts that don’t. As far as building additional engagement and promoting a brand community, a research study showed that Instagram contests get 3.5 times the likes and 64 times more comments than a regular post. So, not only are contests a great way to engage in general, but they can help reinvigorate your brand’s online presence if you’re experiencing a lull or decline in interest and engagement.
  2. Polls and surveys
    Polls and surveys are an interactive way to gauge consumer attitudes about your brand or get deeper insights into what consumers are looking for from your company. Not only that, but often consumers like to see what others think as well, so posting the results of your polls or surveys can spark additional conversation and community engagement.
  3. Quizzes
    Want to find a way to personalize your other content? A quiz can help you learn more about your customers and gain information to help you create a more personalized and tailored experience. For example, one of our associates recently had a quiz posted to her Instagram account to determine her design aesthetic. It prompted her to provide her email address to receive her results. Now she is subscribed to their email marketing efforts and receives highly personalized email content which adds value to her experience with the brand.

Is your brand ready for ICM?
We already know that ICM is a powerful tool to cultivate a brand community, but is it right for your brand? To start, you’ll always want to consider your brand’s marketing goals. ICM is a great way to build awareness and engagement around your brand, which can lead to sales and lead generation. It can help brands grow and expand their social communities. ICM isn’t just for B2C either, B2B companies have also found success with ICM tactics.

Another thing to consider is that you need to be prepared to spend money, time and resources on this new addition to your marketing mix. Producing quality ICM does take up resources, so it’s a good idea to look at your budget and bandwidth before jumping in.

If you need help determining if interactive content marketing is right for your brand and to create an ICM strategy, give us a call to connect with one of our branding experts!

Connect with a Beyond Fifteen Marketing Specialist today!

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