5 TIPS FOR AWESOME CUSTOMER

ENGAGEMENT FROM BARNEY

STINSON

This is going to be legen… wait for it… dary!

“WHEN I’M SAD, I STOP BEING SAD

AND BE AWESOME

INSTEAD. TRUE STORY.”

1. BE AWESOMEYour customers can tell when you’re not putting in the effort. If you’re too busy or not motivated enough to produce content, consider changing your schedule or delegating some of the workload.

Content production is one of the most important aspects of your digital presence and the more enthusiastic you are about what you’re producing, the more enthusiastic your customers will be about engaging with you.

The reward for consistent effort with content marketing is consumer loyalty, but don’t just do what the others are doing. Be even more awesome – research your competitors and find gaps in their content strategies.

“CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

2. BE CHALLENGINGBarney is nothing if not creative. If you know anything about the convoluted plan he came up with to propose to Robin, you’ll know that everything he does is challenging, creative, different and extremely well executed.

Your approach to content production should be the same. If it isn’t challenging, it’s boring. If it isn’t creative, it’s probably already been done. And if it isn’t well executed, you’ll never know the true results of your efforts.

You also need to think outside the box in order to set yourself apart from all the other companies that are producing ‘same same’ content and find a way to get through to your audience.

The Dumb Ways to Die video by Melbourne Metro Trains highlighted different ways a person could die using public transport. It certainly pushed the boundaries of ‘appropriate’ subject matter but made a huge impact on the audience and worked extremely well for Melbourne Metro Trains’ rail safety efforts.

FOR EXAMPLE…

“FLIGHT-SUIT UP!”

3. SUIT UP!Barney has an incredible talent for engaging his audience (i.e. potential conquests) by assuming an identity that they’ll best respond to; whether that’s an astronaut, a doctor, a pilot or a Nobel Prize winner.

As a business, you also need to be able to wear many hats to engage with your audience and provide them with exactly what they’re looking for. Knowing what hat to wear and when is the tricky part and, like Barney, you must research your target first in order to develop the right approach.

Intrepid Travel knew that they couldn’t just produce any old travel content. To be truly intrepid and inspire their target audience of audacious travellers, they had to push the boundaries themselves. They teamed up with documentary makers The Perennial Plate to film documentary-style travel content from across the globe. Gritty, real and exactly what their audience was looking for.

FOR EXAMPLE…

“To perform the ‘He’s not

coming’, here’s what you’ll need: The

observation deck of the

Empire State Building.”

4. RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIMEEngaging with your customers is about knowing where they are and what they need. This can change and evolve as your content marketing efforts develop and you must always be researching their needs and rediscovering what it is they want the most.

Like Barney, who places himself in the right situations – such as the Empire State Building, looking for girls who might have been stood up – you need to know when, where and how to approach your audience.

Content marketing is about being where your customers are, with what they need at right time.

ASOS tapped into the excitement their customers feel when ‘unboxing’ their deliveries. They prompted customers to create Vine videos of themselves opening their products along with the hashtag #ASOSUnbox. By doing so, they were capturing their consumers at the most exciting part of the customer journey – the reveal! #AWESOME

FOR EXAMPLE…

“Every Halloween, I bring a spare

costume, in case I strike out with the hottest girl at the party. That way, I

have a second chance to make a first impression.”

5. IF AT FIRST YOU STRIKE OUT…Successful content marketing takes time, patience and the guts to try a few different tactics. If you don’t get it right the first time or your audience isn’t responding how you’d like them to, try again. Do some more research and change your approach. Like Barney, try something different and don’t give up.

Your audience is always evolving, which means you need to as well. Customer research is not a one-off project – you need to keep asking questions and learning about your audience. When you produce content, don’t just let it sit there – monitor how people are responding to it and keep track of what is and isn’t working.

If you want to be as awesome at content marketing as Barney is at

picking up women, it’s time to suit up and contact Cirrus Media!

02 8484 0950

contentmarketing@cirrusmedia.com.au