7 Conversation Starters to Get Your Audience Talking – Part 1
You can’t read anything about marketing these days without reading about engaging your customers. And engagement is even more important as we operate with the challenges this pandemic has given us.
But what does that really mean?
Engaging means capturing someone’s attention. It doesn’t mean they saw your ad or scrolled past your Facebook post. It means you connected with them and began a conversation even if just a simple one. That’s not easy to do in person. Well, it’s even more difficult on the internet. Your target audience is pound with millions of other things that are competing for their attention.
It is difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It just means you need to work hard…really hard.
The thing is your customers do want to talk to you. They want to know what you think and most importantly, they want to believe that you care what they think.
It’s not as hard as you might think. Here are 7 simple conversation starters to get your audience talking to you.
#1: Express an Opinion about Industry News
You want to build authority within your industry or niche? One of the best ways to do that AND start a conversation with your followers is to express an opinion – particularly if it might be new or controversial. Of course, you should only do this if you can back up your opinion.
A good way to get started with this tactic is to follow relevant publishers and influencers in your industry. When you see them post a piece of news that’s relevant to your followers, read the article (or watch the video) and figure out what you can add to the conversation. Then share it – and make sure to include a call to action that encourages your followers to chime in with their own opinions.
#2: Ask for Stories and Experiences
Everybody has a story to tell – and when you’re speaking to an audience who all have something in common with you, then it’s easy to think of a topic that may inspire people to share their stories.
The key here is to share your own story and then ask your followers to share their best stories with you. For example, say you own a travel agency. You might tell a story of a trip you booked for yourself before you were a travel agent and how it went wrong. Then, you could ask your followers for their travel horror stories.
The benefit of this type of sharing is that it provides you with an opportunity to respond, express sympathy or amazement, and build a bond with potential customers online.
#3: Get Recommendations
People might love to tell stories, but do you know what else they like? Giving advice and making recommendations! And asking them for recommendations is a great way to get them talking.
What kind of recommendations should you ask for? Ideally, they should be relevant to your product or service. For example, I’m a marketing guy. I might ask:
- What are your favorite marketing podcasts?
- What publications do you follow on Facebook and Twitter?
- Which marketing technique is your favorite, and why?
- What marketing apps would you recommend?
You get the idea. The key is not to stray too far from your brand and product. Instead, keep a tight focus and encourage your followers to share their experiences and recommendations with you and each other.
Go to my next article where I share the next 4 conversation starters.
