Facebook is an ideal starting point to grow and nurture relationships because Millennials spend a significant amount of time on the network. The broad selection of capabilities for both desktop and mobile devices means that engagement can come in many forms on an ongoing basis. This feature is mostly unique to Facebook. You can adopt several engagement strategies to build these relationships, including
- Hypertargeting
- Exclusivity
- Responsiveness
- Consistency
- Value
Hypertargeting
Hypertargeting is one of the most effective ways to build a relationship with your audience. It shows that you care about your fans and followers, which causes them to relate to your brand on a level that extends beyond an appreciation for the product or service. This connection is something that builds a much longer lasting relationship with your followers.Exclusivity
Sharing exclusive offers, content, and information with your fans and followers makes them feel special. It encourages them to pay closer attention to what you’re sharing. Building up your audience by providing it with something unique — whether it’s an invite to an exclusive event, a special offer that is only available to your fans, or access to content before the general public — creates a very close connection to your brand.Responsiveness
Don’t leave your most loyal audience members hanging. When a fan, follower, or customer reaches out to you on Facebook (whether it’s on Messenger, in a post, or in a comment), you should be ready to respond. Small gestures go a very long way in building relationships. Simply liking a comment or answering a question can have a profound effect on a fan or follower.Obviously, when a crisis strikes, your engagement and responsiveness strategy will significantly change. But under normal circumstances, these examples are considered positive brand experiences and should be practiced on a regular basis.
Consistency
Your editorial calendar won’t necessarily contain planned content every single day. If your content strategy doesn’t call for daily posts, then it isn’t something you should force. What you’ll want to do is maintain a consistent stream of content flowing into the News Feeds of your audience members.Sporadic posts hinder your potential growth rate from two angles:
- Sharing content randomly doesn’t encourage your audience to expect new material. If they know that something like a Tuesday tip is coming, organic engagement will be significantly higher. Without that consistency, organic reach can plateau, and you’ll find it particularly difficult to increase it.
- A lack of uniformity makes it tough for your audience to determine when your content has been shared. Therefore, competitors who regularly share content can overshadow the visibility of your brand.
Value
Millennials highly value experience. When they feel a connection to a brand, they get more out of the engagement than a simple exchange. Therefore, the relationship between the Millennial consumer and the brand deepens.The best way to encourage this trust is to always provide tangible value in the content you share. This value can come in many forms. It can be something as simple as sharing a bit of information that helps make life easier — for example, life hacks, tips, or tricks of the trade. Or, it can be something more detailed and robust, like a complicated process explained in an instructional video.
Several of the content types above are designed to improve the day-to-day life of your audience. Instructional videos or quick tips are excellent ways of strengthening the relationship with Millennials. The content is not overtly self-promotional, but it does highlight your expertise in a given field. It also encourages your audience to continually engage with your brand, particularly when it’s clear that you share content that goes beyond the sales pitch.