Happy Friday everyone! It feels good to wrapping up this very busy week. For this week’s Weekly Wrap Up we are sharing articles we’ve read and advice we’ve received about how to positively engage with our online audience.
This week’s Wrap Up was inspired by the really great article, “What Marketing is Now Really About” by Jason Thibeault on MarketingProfs. We shared it earlier this week on Twitter and Facebook, but the article deserves a second mention. The author does a great job of describing the difference between forming and building relationships with customers, and the role content marketing plays. He discusses how “relationships are the new currency” and “what builds the best relationships”. It’s a great read if you haven’t read it yet.
Earlier this week we hosted the webinar Lessons from the Field: Enabling Your Channel to Sell More with Luanne Tierney. A marketing innovator and expert she always has fantastic advice. When talking about using LinkedIn, Luanne reminded us to be ourselves and to not ignore the nuances that make us unique. She said to share those nuances when we engage online because it is about being authentic and engaging authentically. To watch the full webinar, visit here.
Visuals, like pictures and videos, help companies to engage with customers on a different level. We believe that visuals add a level of transparency that can not otherwise be communicated with just text. The Content Marketing Institute has some great examples on how and why companies should use more visuals in their marketing effort. My favorite example is how visuals can humanize the brand. “Compelling visual content helps to humanize an otherwise faceless company and give people a reason to interact with it. It can also help to give consumers new ways to relate to your business”.
And now with Twitter rolling out their new feature, the ability to mute the people you follow on Twitter, it is even more important than ever to have a strong relationship with your online audience that is built on trust and loyalty. As Luanne Tierney said, engage authentically with your audience. Appreciate and respect that they have chosen to follow you, and honor that by being helpful, by sharing valuable content, content they like and not taking your online relationship for granted. Inc.com has more information about the latest update from Twitter.
Have a great weekend!