Communicating with your audience in a timely way is crucial to their engagement with your brand. If you know how and when to reach out to them in an authentic way, not only does it reflect that you know your audience well, it can be the difference between increasing an email’s click-through rate or having it deleted before it’s been read.
The voice of your brands is constantly competing with others, so knowing when to speak up to get the attention of your audience will mean that you’re ahead of your competitors. We’ve put together this handy list so you’ll know how to make sure you’re communicating with your audience at the right time.
How to communicate with your audience at the right time
Understand the best channels
Before you consider the frequency with which you’ll communicate with your audience, it’s important to know which channels of communication will reach them. This might sound a little daunting. There are so many different channels to choose from in the digital space. However, understanding your audience’s habits, and how they spend their time, will help you determine the best method of communication for them.
If your audience is primarily other businesses, LinkedIn might be a good way of sharing your content with them. On the other hand, if you’re a local business with a personal touch, the most authentic way to communicate with your audience could be through email marketing, SMS, or social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
Once you know what channels you’ll be using, you’ll be able to much more easily determine the frequency of your communications. If social media platforms are the best way to communicate with your audience, you may need to share more regularly than if you’re communicating via a blog or email.
Prepare a detailed communications plan
A detailed communications plan will help you decide what information to share and when. It will be especially useful if you communicate with your audience via multiple channels, and can help you keep track of your content. This plan can also respond directly to your goals, so if you want to increase your Instagram followers you’ll know to use hashtags to gain exposure, and to like and comment on other people’s posts to connect with your audiences.
It’s also a good idea to you leave yourself room to include unplanned content. For instance, if there’s a current news event that’s relevant to your brand, or if one of your employees has achieved something worth sharing, post about it to show your audience that you’re giving attention to what’s happening now.
Evaluate your metrics
Every communication channel will have a set of metrics you can use to determine how successful your content is. On social media, you can measure your content’s success through likes and follows, whereas in email marketing engaging content can be measured by open and click through rates, and traffic on your website.
Once you’ve created your communications plan, and you’ve started to communicate with your audience, use these metrics to analyse and improve your plan to find a good balance in communicating with your audience – not too much, or too little. Don’t be afraid to go back and reassess your strategy, or even start from the beginning again. Creating content that resonates with your audience is your priority.
Timely communication is an incredibly important factor in the way you engage with your audience and set your brand apart from the pack. If you need a hand to develop a communications plan or strategy, we’re here to help – get in touch today. If you need to develop content for your website quickly, check out our Blog Builder package.