How to build relationships online - using content
Let’s make this VERY clear…. I mean business connections and relationships. I am no relationship guru. BUT I am when it comes to marketing and content marketing!
Of course, we know it is ALL about connection when it comes to marketing and selling within our business. We know businesses that offer the extra level of support and have that strong relationship with their followers, generate more sales and overall have better trust and loyalty with their clients and customers.
Now more than EVER, relationships with our followers is SO important. Being in social isolation due to COVID-19 is making us realise how important connections really are! Which means businesses are thinking outside the square to produce content that is engaging and overall builds more connections with their audience!
Alright, let’s take a look at how we can build more relationships with our followers on the online world!
Social media
Social media is NO doubt where you are doing the most of your connection and relationship building, and that won’t change anytime soon we know that! But what are the most beneficial ways to create connection using social media?
Voice messaging
Voice is HUGE for the future of business! Whether it is using Alexis etc. to make purchases online or using the voice command to speak to friends OR Google search things online, it is MASSIVE.
So it is all about the adaption of voice messaging into your marketing. Your voice is more genuine than your text and words (even though the inner writer in me hates admitting that). When it comes to creating relationships with your audience, sending voice messages to clients and potential really creates that extra level of connection!
Personally, I love it! And it is a good way to save time. It is more personal and allows me to show my personality to my followers. Voice message also makes you feel less sales-y if you are trying to offer a product or service.
Engagement stories
Stories are also super popular on social media. Never take a story for granted! They allow you to interact with your followers on a personal level. You can use the poll or quiz features to get insight into what your audience wants from you!
Pair that with a voice message asking them more questions around their quiz or poll response and you have my friend created a beautiful basis for a connection. Using stories to engage your audience allows them to feel included in your brand! These are very powerful.
In addition, creating stories into videos with your face in it (or someone from your business) is a great way to create connection. People will know who is behind the content.
Of course, beware of bots, they ALWAYS reply to things on Instagram, it is getting too much.
Replying to comments
Surely we know this one! Always reply to comments, ask questions and have conversations on your comments or the comments of other people’s content (that is lead gen right there)
Not just liking but replying!! It creates a level of conversation with your audience you wouldn’t have already had! Then from there, you can build on the relationship in direct messages!! These are effective and build more connection.
Asking questions in your captions
Creating a level of engagement in your social media content will ALWAYS help to build better connections, and of course, it will promote people to comment where you can have a deeper conversation.
So, where appropriate ask a question to your audience. Of course, don’t just do it for the sake of engagement but do it where you think your audience would like to have input. The more you create engagement in your content, the more comment and the higher chance and opportunity you have at building meaningful connections with your audience.
Going live and asking for questions
The live feature is one selected social media channel have, but it a great way to develop a relationship. You can do live Q&A session on the live feature and allow people to join in on the conversation, whether it is a request to join the video OR they write a comment in the feed.
Going live allows people to see you and interact with the person behind the brand. Remember it is all about seeing and connecting with you. Over video it allows you to show your face and your personality.
Emails
As Anna said in a previous blog and podcast, email marketing is still SO important, especially for relationship building. If you treat your subscribers as your VIP members of your content, you will deliver truly amazing work that people will really enjoy interacting with.
So how do you start to build this content your audience will love?
Video
Recently I did a survey (see below when I talk about this) and one of the comments was more video in my email marketing!! So I whipped up a short video to put my face to the emails in a more engaging way!
It was very well received and my click rates for my emails have continued to improve and develop in this time! Video is a good way for people who don’t have loads of time but still want to engage in your content!
They don’t have to be long, just a short sharp video to keep people feeling connected to you and your brand. Of course, as I said video is a good way to put a person to the brand.
Surveys
As I mentioned, I did this and it worked really well! It also gives your audience the power to feel more connected to your business. Market research is ALWAYS so important.
You don’t have to do these just for emails. You can use Facebook groups and your stories to ask people want they want to see more of from you! Polls work well as you give people the option to vote rather than write what they want.
Video
We know the impact of video and how important it is to incorporate into our content marketing strategy. We know displaying ourselves and our business in video format creates more connection and interaction!
So let’s kick it up a notch!
Ask questions
Whether you are live or not, ask questions! Ask for people’s insights and thoughts! Of course, this relates to comment generating and also creates a higher level of engagement. We also know when we see comments on a post, we are more likely to comment ourselves.
The more engagement you get, the higher chance you have of building connections with your followers, and of course allows you to have more conversations with them!
Show an insight to who you are
Give behind the scenes, share stories and create the connection by sharing who you are what you are about. People will find you a lot more relatable and it allows you to continue to build on this across all of your platforms. Don’t just do this in your videos, do it across your blogs and other social media content.
The more you share that is relevant to your business, the more people will trust you and also feel connected, like they know you!
YouTube Interaction
You will see when you load a video to YouTube now, you can add poll questions, you can also do this on Facebook.
Adding these will help you build a conversation with your followers and viewers of your video. It will allow them to have a say without physically commenting! You can also use these questions for market research to further develop your understanding of your audience. The more you know, the easier it is to build a relationship with them!
What can you start actioning?
There truly is SO much you can do to build relationships with your audience. But don’t be afraid to do the 1% rather than always going for the BIG ways to connect. Sometimes a simple voice message or a reply on a comment is all your audience will need to feel connected.
Be real, be you, know your brand and be authentic to it! When you share your insights, it allows people to put a person and energy to the business rather than just a logo.
Some other things you might want to try include:
Doing virtual calls and live demonstrations
Do you have a free opt-in offer? Maybe you use this time to create some free live demos on it! Or create more by having live masterclasses for people to enjoy. It will allow them to not only feel more connected to you, but it can mean more potential clients for you!
Virtual calls are a great way to have conversations!
Pillars (educate, engage)
We know how much I LOVE the pillars, read more about them here! But right now to build relationships, you might just focus on the educate and engage part of the pillars. Maybe you don’t want to sell right now. So, build relationships by engaging with your audience and educating them with free added value they can use!!
Have a brand voice to connect
Of course, having a brand voice will help you build connections with people who are aligned to you! So that is why knowing your brand voice is so important! If you aren’t sure what that looks like, I have the perfect brand voice guide for you!
Once you establish your voice, you will find you start building more connections with aligned followers!
Have a plan
Yes yes, we know we need a plan! A content marketing strategy so we know where we are showing up, what we are saying and how we will be consistent with this! Once you have a plan, you know when you will be connecting with your audience! A content marketing strategy is SO important.
If you want to start on a plan, please download my free content plan here! It comes with a few explainer videos!
Share the user-generated content (UGC)
We all know that UGC is the most authentic pieces of content you could have in your business! So if you notice someone creates content for your business (positive content), share it!! Not only will it continue to build on the relationship with the person BUT it will show others of your connection!
Connect with people in your industry
Don’t be afraid of people in your industry! There is a piece of the pie for everyone! Make sure you connect and interact with people within your niche or industry! It is a really great way to continue to build relationships whether they will buy from you or not! Connection will really set you apart from the rest.
Collaborate
Definitely collaborate with people in the entrepreneurial and business world where appropriate! This taps you into a whole other level of connection and audience! You could find yourself connecting with people you would have never otherwise known! Podcasts, blogs, masterclasses, webinars – the collaboration list is endless.
Ask yourself “what can I offer”?
Also, you want to ask yourself, what can I offer right now? In this current climate, is it a free offer, a mini-course or a series of classes? Of course, our connections are critical so you need to give them something to help them!
We are seeing so many businesses currently offering SO much to their following. As I said in a previous blog, “what your business does now will path the way for your future and how you are seen”. It is so true!
Final thoughts
Do I need to say more?? Realy there is NO excuses for not building the most amazing relationships with your audience. Maybe you are stress there is too much to respond to? Hire a VA to help with community managing! It is SO important that we respond, reply and connect. OR maybe you like doing it? Hire someone to take another job off your hands.
At the end of the day, ask the people want they need from you. Build connections around this! Your audience is telling you want they want, you just need to listen more closely.
Think outside the box with the content you can provide and if you are struggling to do that, ask your audience OR just be there for them. Create content they can engage with and respond to engage back!
It isn’t rocket science, it is just the best thing for your growth!
Do you want to chat about this more? Do you need help setting up your content for relationship and connection building? Make sure you connect with us!