Audience Engagement: the Key with Digital Video

FOOM PRO, our annual event focusing on the future on the future of video gathered hundreds of marketing pro’s and content creators under one roof on Friday 18th May in Helsinki, Finland. Amongst the most interesting speakers were LA-based algorithm guru and social media forerunner Gavin McGarry and photographer Peter McKinnon, who has gained two million YouTube subscribers in less than two years. The speakers across the board highlighted the importance of building engaged audiences on all digital platforms.Here are Gavin McGarry’s top tips on how to increase audience engagement:1. Use personality. On YouTube, brands are always faces. Create a face for your brand, and encourage your employees to constantly work on content.2. Have conversations. Passive audience is different to an engaged audience. Use poll features, use conversation starters and gain understanding of your audience’s needs. Your audience has to come first - the brand message should only be about 20% of all content.3. Pay attention to details. Instead of aiming to please everyone, concentrate on your community: the people who have already engaged with your brand.4. Live is the future. With regular live content, you will also get the algorithm on to your side. Create live content whenever you can, and choose the channel where the engaged audience is the largest.As much as for anyone marketing a brand, engagement is also essential for professional influencers and YouTubers. Peter McKinnon highlighted the importance of regular content creation, but also talked about friendliness and being an identifiable personality. McKinnon, who has branded himself as a coffee lover, said that he is a better coffee brand ambassador than for example Brad Pitt, who nobody knows anything about outside of his movie roles. The value of influencer marketing is in the influencer’s ability to engage their audiences. Therefore, involving and listening to the creators themselves is essential for successful campaign planning.