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How to Meaningfully Connect with your Audience Online

How to be more authentic and build meaningful connections

At this time and age, you are almost forced to have an online presence, no matter what kind of business you have. Times have changed, and you have to invest time in social media presence and branding. 

The only thing in the world we never get enough of and can’t buy more of is time – so use it wisely, especially for building your online presence while meaningfully connecting with an audience online.

But how do you build an active community and make them want to follow you? Something that makes them want to come back, like their regular binge-watch TV show’s.

Be yourself.

We often fall into the marketing schemes of portraying a perfect illusion: that perfect vacation, holiday event, or even family. While you can build a few fans and followers based on that, they often won’t last because they can see that just about everywhere.

What actually can make them stay and follow you is: your story.

The real and raw story behind those perfect pictures. How you got there or much you had to endure.

Let me explain this further: humans want to connect naturally. They want to have a feeling of belonging and something they can relate to. The typical person has struggles and “not so perfect times”. However, what is missing in their life’s is how to get away from it and move towards a more balanced, fulfilled lifestyle.

They want to be inspired by someone who was in their shoes and can relate to.

Therefore, show and tell your audience what and why you’re doing things the way you do. What makes you unique compared to other entrepreneurs? Self-reflection is essential because you want to make sure you can provide your audience the type of content they crave.

Depending on what kind of entrepreneur you are, it can make your backstory vary. If you’re an influencer, your backstory should be your personal one, compared to a business whose backstory would be their story behind their business idea.

Questions like:

–       What made you decide to do this?

–       What were your struggles and how did you solve them?

–       Did you have help? Inspirations? Mentors? 

Share it! It’s what makes you human and separates you from those “American dream” commercials.

Get your audience to be invested in your life. Make them want to come back and check on you.

Don’t be a superhero. 

You don’t have to be part of the avengers for your audience to be invested in you. In fact, they’re craving someone normal like them that achieved their dream. This shows them that if you can do it, they can as well.

If you portray yourself as a superhuman, it will make them think their dreams are unattainable.

Being authentic is more than just sharing your struggles and story; it’s about being real and not putting on a facade. Sooner or later, they will find out and leave. 

This doesn’t mean that you can’t share your fancy car or house, the things you achieved and are proud of. You should! However, keep your face while doing it and visualize how you overcame your hardships to get where you are. 

Visualizing their desired outcomes in life motivates people to take action.

The more often we look at something and think of it, the faster our subconscious mind can start to believe it.

Think of the dramatic change of aspect in movies. When you see the backstory of a millionaire and how he endured all the hardships and hard work. We can almost immediately sympathize with him because we know what it feels like to be there, but seeing him now successful gives us hope. Hope that we can also get there. So, we immediately become invested and analyze exactly what he did to get there.

Similar to TV shows, you keep coming back to watch further, correct?

That’s because they’re designed to be addictive. That’s the same effect you want to achieve for yourself through your content.

Consider enrolling in my risk-free 7-day Founder Program, where I will personally coach you and help you get clarity on your ideal social media presence.

How do you get and stay there?

Earlier I mentioned that humans crave nothing more than a community feeling. It’s in our nature; it’s called social interest, which describes how we only truly feel fulfilled once we socialize with others and feel like we are a productive part of society — that craving to be in a community and build trust between one another.

Social media is a gateway for your audience to connect with you.

Facebook groups or Club House are the easiest way to connect with your audience, depending on the business type. It’s a strong tool to build a community based on trust and authenticity. 

It’s not just about posting content, but also meaningfully engaging with them.

Answer questions and listen to concerns, which builds further leadership.

My personal tip: Go Live.

Not only will that make your audience feel closer to you, but they will know that you appreciate them. You’re going that extra step to connect with them – that will make you stand out.

Give them that sense of belonging and validation.

How to build a sense of belonging

These are my three favorite ways on how to build that sense of belonging and community.

1.     Build a community

What’s the easiest way to build a community? Something that connects them. However, it doesn’t stop with your business, but rather with something personal related to you.

Analyze some of the famous YouTube influencers; you will quickly find insider jokes or knowledge. It is something that belongs to them because they’re the only ones who truly know the real meaning behind it – whether it’s a phrase or a word.

2.     Listen to your audience

Listen to your audience about what they want to know more about. This type of content is called User-Generated, because you let your audience decide what they want to see or hear.

Q&A Lives is an excellent way for that because your fans can ask questions while you’d answer them on the spot. If you’re not comfortable with that, consider making a post before going live and ask what they want you to talk about. That way, you can prepare and still validate their wants and needs.

3.     Special Events

Standing out in a crowded online space is not easy; however, by hosting special events such as giveaways, competitions or challenges can bring you closer to your audiences, and it also connects your audience with each other.

Choose a special and unique price pertaining to you, so they can’t get or win it anywhere else. 

This is also an excellent opportunity to increase following and exposure to a new audience by sharing these events within a multitude of social platforms.

Unsure about this process and how to approach it? Book a clarity session with one of our marketing team members to get guidance for your business.

What to do if you have a big audience and can’t keep up?

Having timed engagement will help, meaning you will be crystal clear with your audience about the times you will release new content and engage with them. 

This is a great strategy because it allows you to create engagement shortly after posting, which is excellent for most platforms as the performance is determined within the first hour. 

Further, it also provides you immediate feedback about the quality of your content. If you have less engagement, you know your audience was less interested in this.

Adjust it and incorporate new strategies immediately.

Utilizing these methods will create a feeling of abundance and belonging, which in return will increase your conversion numbers. Once you create that bond of trust, you will create loyal followers. Especially with a tool like social media that brings you closer to your audience, you want to utilize it and get the most out of it. I hope this helps. But if you still have questions, click here to schedule a free consultation for help clarifying these processes and develop a deeper understanding for the community and feeling of belonging.

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