All We Need To Know About Digital Engagement Strategy

Table of Contents

What is digital engagement?

Digital engagement is an act of disseminating content on digital channels to engage with the target audience on a deeper level, fostering stronger connections and building trust over time.

Digital engagement involves interactive communication or a conversation between the brand and its customers. In other words, digital engagement should be built as a dialogue, which begins with the brand sending a message to its audience through digital media, prompting customers to engage with the content by responding in different ways such as liking, sharing, buying, etc.

3 Pillars of Digital Engagement

To optimise the effectiveness of digital engagement strategy, brands have to consider 3 core dimensions of engagement, namely cognition, affection, and behaviour. The concept was first introduced in 2002 by Schelechty in the context of education. Since then, it has been widely applied in marketing to understand and measure how customers engage with brands.

Cognition: refers to the mental effort involved when people interact with digital marketing content (e.g. branded news, price and product comparisons, product features and specifications, etc.).
Affection: represents customers’ emotional responses and attitudes towards brands after engaging with their communication efforts (e.g. trust, loyalty, word-of-mouth, etc.).
Behaviour: refers to the actions taken by consumers as a result of their interaction with marketing efforts (e.g. making purchases, signing up for newsletters, etc.).

Overall, a successful digital engagement strategy should resonate with what customers are concerned about, foster a meaningful connection with them, and eventually drive desired actions that are profitable for the brand.

Optimise digital engagement with an omnichannel experience

Nowadays, a digital customer journey is becoming more complicated with various touchpoints, including both online channels and physical stores. Even though over 2.5 billion shoppers prefer to make their purchases online these days, two-thirds of them still go to brick-and-mortar stores to pick up their items and enjoy the feeling of physical shopping. This calls for an omnichannel approach which ensures consistency and seamless integration of physical and digital engagement across channels and devices.

As digital customers prioritise multi-channel shopping, creating an effective omnichannel experience can result in a higher purchase frequency and increase average sales by 13%. International Data Corporation reports that businesses can enjoy 30% higher customer lifetime value by optimising their digital engagement with omnichannel retailing.

Key priorities of an omnichannel strategy for digital engagement

1. Embrace the concept of ‘click-and-mortar’ engagement

The ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ industry is forecast to reach US$703 billion by 2027, accounting for around 9% of E-commerce sales nowadays. To thrive in such an environment, businesses should remove barriers that may exist between online and physical channels to ensure an interconnected experience regardless of how and where customers choose to engage with the brand.

Personalised customer experience across touchpoints: the understanding of customer insights is compulsory no matter what channel customers interact with, from in-store sales assistance to e-commerce platforms, they are all key to digital engagement.
Cross-channel communications: consistency is key, ensuring that customers have the same thoughts, feelings and behaviours towards the brand no matter where they receive the messages.

2. Value first, profit second

Digital customers are empowered by social media, digital channels, etc. to be more active. They have become core brand ambassadors who are always willing to engage with brand-related content and even share it with others. Yet, they only do that if brands give them value that is not only relevant to what they care about but also extremely important to their lives. Profit is not the goal of the relationship, it is the outcome of the relationship. A seamless omnichannel experience will be the value that businesses can provide their customers in exchange for a better relationship and later on, profit.

The value of flexibility

Customers engage with service providers that offer them flexibility. This means that brands should allow them to either enjoy their shopping on various channels or perform many buying tasks on one channel.

For instance, some customers may browse products online, and then visit a physical store to try them out before purchasing on a mobile app. Some may search for product information, place orders, and track deliveries using only mobile apps.

The value of transparency

A clear understanding of the role each channel plays is essential to digital engagement. The clarity of channel roles, such as website for product browsing, mobile app for purchases, social media for customer support, etc., saves time and effort for customers throughout their buying journeys which have been so complex and time-consuming nowadays.

The value of consistency

People prefer to see the brand’s consistency in terms of services and support no matter what channel they visit. The feelings they have towards the in-store assistance should not be different from the ones they have towards e-commerce support. If people love your online sales support but dislike how you treat them in-store, then your outcome of digital engagement is still negative.

Key channels for an effective digital engagement strategy

Digital Engagement With Social Media

Social Media Marketing has been a cornerstone for effective digital engagement strategies. With billions of users across different platforms, it presents huge opportunities for brands to connect, interact, and build relationships with their audience.

1. Understand key motivations behind social media engagement

A study in 2013 on the use-and-gratification theory suggests around 10 primary motivations for social media engagement, including social interaction, information seeking, entertaining and relaxation, communication, opinion sharing, etc. Only when the brand can fully understand why its customers go online can it develop an optimised engagement strategy. The following presents some commonly known factors behind social media use.

Social Interaction: 88% of digital users nowadays go online to interact with their friends or other users who share the same interests and hobbies. These individuals are motivated to engage with social media content primarily for interpersonal communication and social communities.
Information seeking: being a central hub for news and information exchange, many people opt for social media to self-educate and improve their expertise in specific fields (e.g. political news on X/ formerly Twitter, professional news on LinkedIn, etc.).
Entertainment & Relaxation: undoubtedly, a large proportion of social media users find these platforms entertaining and joyful due to a plethora of funny videos, memes, and games, to name a few.
Opinion expression: thanks to its interactive and vast-reach nature, social media is a popular channel for digital users to voice their perspectives on any topic. It’s a good way to raise their self-esteem and recognition from others.

Overall, understanding what drives customers to engage with online content on social media is vital for digital engagement strategies as it helps brands figure out the balance between informational content and emotional content, and better resonate with customers on a deeper level.

2. A balance between rational vs. emotional engagement

Digital customers engage with diverse types of content, ranging from product and service offerings to user-generated content and even online activities like contests and challenges. Yet, I still highly recommend brands balance their content strategy (think vs. feel).

To explain, informational posts are important to help inform users about product specifications, and features, stimulating their processing of information and resulting in better brand perception and awareness. Meanwhile, emotional content helps evoke emotions such as joy, excitement, or empathy, creating a more memorable experience which leads to a positive attitude and fosters a sense of social community.

In other words, a balance between these types of content is recommended to optimise the digital engagement strategy on social media.

Digital Engagement With Online Community

Virtual communities on social media platforms such as Facebook have been growing as a key channel to bolster online users’ engagement and participation. The biggest advantage of online groups over physical groups lies in their non-geographical nature. Virtual communities are specific, interactive, and social engagement. 76% of Internet users say they attend at least one online group on social media. Thus, understanding the motivations of online community engagement helps brands make more informed decisions with their digital engagement activities.

1. User-community identification

One of the key reasons behind group engagement is user-community identification, which implies people get involved in a group that gives them a sense of belonging. This concept refers to the need for social interaction when using social media. In other words, online users prefer to engage with content that resonates with their interests, concerns, and identities.

We, as human beings, crave connections and social belonging. Attending online groups that align with our values gives us more confidence to express our opinions and share our stories with other like-minded members.

So one of the key tactics brands should employ to maximise digital engagement is to make their virtual communities meaningful and relevant to customers. This can include providing a clear description and vision of the group from the beginning, ensuring the quality and consistency of content, and motivating members to contribute to the group with rewards and recognition.

2. Use-and-gratification

The theory of use-and-gratification depicts people’s psychological needs expected to be satisfied by social media and virtual group participation. Simply speaking, online users will be driven to engage with virtual communities if they know they can earn something back such as entertainment, relaxation, recognition from brands and members, coupons, etc.

Digital customers pay much attention to what benefits they get when contributing to the group. What does this concept imply to us? Well, brands should first conduct thorough research to understand their customers’ motivations and needs. Brands then can attract and engage group members by offering incentives that align with their needs and preferences. This could include exclusive discounts, promotional offers, early access to new products or content, or opportunities to participate in contests or giveaways.

Digital Engagement With Email Marketing

There is a rumour that email marketing is fading away, but I do not think so. Believe it or not, 89% of marketers still prefer to use email as a strategic channel for lead generation, and around 60% of customers make buying decisions based on email’s influence.

1. Don’t sell on email. Email marketing is not for selling!

Email marketing is a powerful channel to help brands build relationships and foster customer loyalty. Yet, email marketing is not advertising! So the first critical decision brands have to make to optimise their engagement strategy is to stop selling and yelling at customers through email.

Of course, brands can provide their customers with new products or service offerings to engage with them cognitively and build awareness. But, let customers decide whether they buy it or not. Don’t yell at them and annoy them with ‘scammy’ language such as ‘Buy Now’, ‘Click Here To Buy’, ‘You are a winner!’, etc.

2. Personalisation is key to higher email engagement

A survey in 2018 figures that adding customers’ first names to the email subject line can increase the open rate by up to 20%. This means that customers are willing to engage with emails that are specifically tailored to their interests. Personalised emails strongly motivate recipients to process the provided messages and form better perceptions of the senders.

Using Recipient’s name: addressing the recipient by their first name in the subject line and within the email itself adds a personal touch.
Segmentation: dividing the email list into smaller segments based on demographics, purchase history, browsing behaviour, or engagement level allows brands to send targeted and relevant content to each group.
Tailored Offers: give customers relevant offers to meet their current needs and pain points (e.g. discounts for those who are financially strict, etc.).
Feedback Requests: allows customers to engage and respond to their experience with recent purchases.

Digital Engagement With Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing is never out of fashion. People use their smartphones and engage with their applications daily. Yet, mobile applications are often taken for granted by most marketers nowadays when it comes to enhancing digital engagement even though 90% of users actively engage with the apps that are relevant to them.

App gamification can transform digital engagement

Gamifying an application can significantly increase user engagement. App gamification is the integration of game-like elements and mechanics into non-game applications to enhance user engagement and motivation. Over the last few years, this approach has become a key priority of app developers thanks to its incredible outcomes in terms of engagement. Some common gamifying elements include challenges, progress bars, rewards, milestones, social sharing features, etc.

One key reason given by a study on app gamification lies in the psychological need to feel competent and immersed in the virtual world. For example, when users interact with game-like elements such as leaderboards, they experience a sense of competence or mastery as they strive to improve their performance and climb the rankings. In other words, achieving high scores or winning the games over others gives users a sense of accomplishment, keeping them motivated to engage with the app.

How can we measure digital engagement?

1. Website Analytics

Brands often utilise web analytics tools like Google Analytics to track various metrics related to website engagement. This includes metrics such as website traffic, page views, bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates. By analysing these metrics, brands can gain insights into how users are interacting with their website and identify areas for improvement.

2. Social Media Analytics

Brands monitor engagement metrics on social media platforms such as likes, comments, shares, retweets, mentions, and follower growth. Social media analytics tools provide valuable data on audience demographics, engagement trends, and content performance. Brands can use this data to assess the impact of their social media campaigns, identify popular content types, and adjust their strategy to better resonate with their audience.

3. Feedback and Surveys

Many companies collect feedback from customers and measure their engagement activities through surveys, and reviews. Some use social media comments to gauge satisfaction levels and measure brand sentiment.

4. Conversion Tracking

Brands track conversions across digital channels, including website purchases, form submissions, app downloads, and other desired actions. Conversion tracking allows brands to attribute specific outcomes to their digital marketing efforts and assess the return on investment (ROI) of their campaigns.

Academic sources for this blog:

Bitrián, P., Buil, I., and Catalán, S. (2021) Enhancing user engagement: The role of gamification in mobile apps. Journal of Business Research. 132, pp.170-185.

Whiting, A., and Williams, D. (2013) Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach. Qualitative Market Research. 16(4), pp.362-369.

Sy Chu

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As an analytical and creative marketing enthusiast skilled in customer analysis, content research and brand management, my passion is help businesses gain insights into their brand and marketing strategies to drive impactful outcome to their success.