Engagement Marketing is a new genre of marketing that is enabled by the ease of access and interactivity of the internet, and by the penetration of internet usage in every aspect of our lives. Some call it Conversational Marketing. We like to call it Partnership Marketing. Even Dialogue Marketing orTwo-way Marketing fits the bill. Folks at Hubspot call it Inbound Marketing. So what is this thing?. What’s behind these buzzphrases?.

We think it is best to describe it in terms of its essential attributes. Here are the 7 essential characteristics of Engagement Marketing:

  1. There is a Dialogue between the Brand and the Consumers
    Its a two-way street. Consumers talk. Brands listen and respond. Brands talk. Consumers listen and respond. Openness & transparency are the hallmarks of the conversation. Any “acting”, “staging”, or “hidden agenda” is harmful in the long run. Trust leads to loyalty and tolerance. So Brands that build trust will do well.
    Brands should be willing to accept that the dialogue may not always be rosy. The Brands that work through a tough conversation with openness, honesty and willingness to listen and act will get ahead. Dell did a remarkable job in going from Dell Hell to Dell Swell. Brands that shy away from “critical” conversations, or those that try to suppress problems invariably end up losing Brand Equity. Look at how Skoda decided to deal with a customer complaint, and the gigantic proportions this issue has gained.
    This goes to show that, in the brave new world, Brands no longer have the control over Branding that they did in the past.
  2. There is value in the conversation for both the Brand and the Consumers
    Consumers are in it because they perceive value in it. It could be some content for free; something entertaining; a new product they get to try out first; information about how to use a product; the emotional satisfaction of letting their feedback out where it counts; the pride of flexing their intellectual muscles in terms of new ideas; the fun of sharing their experience, their collections, their knowledge; etc.
    Brands are in it because they learn about how they are doing, about what exactly they should be building, and most of all because there is no better way to build a robust, healthy business than by nurturing a base of happy customers and leads.
  3. Quality of the Consumer audience is more important than Quantity
    The conversation is meaningful when it is conducted with genuine interest. A handful of engaged participants can lead to a lot more value than a huge mass of disinterested individuals.
  4. Brands are in the conversation to listen more than to talk
    They listen, respond and listen some more. They are not eager to sell, sell, sell. A good listener has many friends.
  5. The entire Company is behind the Conversation
    Its not just the Marketing department. Product design, customer service, quality assurance, manufacturing, sales, etc have as much to do with the conversation as Marketing.
  6. It is a continuous, living, breathing process
    It is not just a campaign with a start & stop date. It takes constant work and nurturing. The Brand gets value out of it in proportion to the effort that is put into it.
  7. All Engagement Marketing is Social Media Marketing, but not all Social Media Marketing is Engagement Marketing
    Case in point: an ad blast on Facebook has no engagement factor to it.

The knight in shining armour when it comes to this mode of Marketing is Dell. Just look at all their efforts on building and empowering a community.

We believe Engagement Marketing should be an essential component of any Marketing Mix, alongside the traditional methods that focus on sending one-way Marketing messages to a mass or niche audience. We’ve built BrandAdda to nurture and promote this new form of marketing. Watch for our next post on why Engagement Marketing is good for Brands.