Fernando Migrone, Vice President of Marketing at Zendesk for Latin America
Many Marketing professionals I talk to are still looking for definitive solutions to keep their customers and potential customers engaged in the digital environment. After two years of a pandemic – and without the certainty of when physical interaction will be 100% safe again – it is to be expected that virtual relationships are saturated, in all corners of the world.
Even with the gradual return of face-to-face events, I believe that hybrid interactions between audiences and brands will be the favorites from now on, bringing benefits to all sides and marking a new moment in society. But until we get there and we have to deal with an uncertain reality, the idea of building ties at a distance and, above all, winning the trust of customers without any face-to-face interaction, is still challenging.
O neuroeconomista Dr. Paul Zakprofessor of economics, psychology and management at Claremont University and CEO of Immersion Neuroscience, became known after his TED talk on the role of oxytocin in morality, trust, and organizational bonding. For him, oxytocin is the “moral molecule” that generates trust, empathy and other feelings that help keep society stable.
And that’s where the issue of long-distance engagement comes in. When we attend meetings or events, we exchange not only cognitive information, but also emotional ones. According to studies by Dr. Zak, the more immersed (or engaged) one of the parties is, the more the other will tend to respond to the same extent of involvement. And promoting this connection, especially in the digital environment, although challenging, can be achieved with some simple actions.
So, what would be the main points of attention to increase engagement in virtual relationships?
1. Tell stories
People get absorbed in stories. They cry, laugh, get angry, and sometimes even get inspired to change their lives. Good stories impact the brain and social behavior, help to assess our thoughts, work and, ultimately, how we live. So incorporating stories into our presentations can help build trust and stronger connections.
2. Encourage well-being
At online events and presentations, it is important to encourage people to move. So plan breaks so that this happens and your audience doesn’t have to spend long periods in front of the screen. Engagement is metabolically tiring, so keeping a pace of 20 minutes of presentation and 20 minutes of participatory activities with the audience can be ideal.
3. Use the element of surprise
Our brain loves anticipation. And one way to do that is by mixing up the way you present information, such as using a video, telling a story, or doing an activity. Leaving the predictive model that is used and repeated in many presentations generates a strong activation in the brain and naturally increases the attention level of the spectators. A good way to assess whether your presentation strategy is working is: do you feel involved by the content presented? If it is, then most likely others will be too.
Generating trust with customers and, more than that, with any audience that is relevant to your company is an art that has to be practiced daily. Understanding how our brain and body react to a range of situations helps us to be creative and adapt our business strategy to current, albeit volatile, circumstances. Fortunately, today we have the technology to support us in establishing bonds and, going further, in mapping what motivates us to create such bonds. The success of a business is still, and always will be, based on the human factor.
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