Engagement is the holy grail for the media industry. The concept of engagement really took off a few years ago, as most media publishers shifted from advertising financed models to paid content. But the term itself is more deeply rooted in the social media and blogging universe, where metrics such as likes, follows, shares, comments and click-throughs indicate if visitors want to engage beyond consuming the content.
In this post we take a look at drivers of engagement, and provide you with a list of TED talks that may help you connect with your audience. There are few step-by-step guides–because who really wants to listen to that–but if you are open-minded, these talks will help you understand engagement on a deeper level.
Enough talking, here are the talks:
1. TEN WAYS TO HAVE A BETTER CONVERSATION
One of the obvious effects following the digitization of the media, was the shift from one-way messaging to two-way communication. Turning visitors into participants is crucial if you want users to stay loyal and generate revenue. And everything starts with conversation.
Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In her talk, she shares ten useful rules for having better conversations. "Go out, talk to people, listen to people," she says. "And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed".
Without great stories there will not be engagement. As simple as that. If you are a publisher or a brand, the key to captivating your audience is good storytelling.
Andrew Stanton is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. His film work includes titles such as Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Monsters Inc. In this talk Stanton shares what he has learned about storytelling, including the insight that “drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty”.
As established media become more social, they need to find a more personal tone of voice. As do brands. It is hard to appreciate a person who is always holding up a facade, pretending to be something better than they really are. Authenticity is king and showing vulnerability will help you gain it.
Brené Brown studies human connection–our ability to empathize, belong and love. In this emotional and funny talk, she shares deep insights from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
If the media is moving from mass communication to dialogue, how can they scale those dialogues whilst keeping them relevant to all users? The answer lies in data and machine learning. If you have data about your users, you can create automated and personalized experiences for millions of people. Facebook and Google are the masters, and the media companies work hard to catch up.
Amy Webb is a futurist and founder of the Future Today Institute. A few years ago she was having no luck with her online dating, an activity completely based on data and matchmaking. But through intense studies of successful profiles, she cracked the code and became the most popular woman in online dating. Here is her story.
5. THE BEST STATS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN
If your business is complex, text-based storytelling might be very challenging. Using images or other kinds of visualizations will help you get through to your audience.
Hans Rosling, Professor of Health was a true master of visualizations. His celebrated presentation skills helped millions of people around the globe understand complex data, and forever changed their perception of developing countries.
6. WHAT MAKES SOMETHING GO VIRAL?
Shareability is one of the key elements of engagement. If your content is funny, emotional or unexpected enough, people can help you get massive reach by sharing it with their friends
As Publisher of BuzzFeed, Dao Nguyen thinks about how media spreads online and the technology and data that publishers can use to understand why.
7. THE SURPRISING HABITS OF ORIGINAL THINKERS
Offering innovative solutions to problems is a proven way to capture and engage your audience. But how can you encourage innovation? And how can you identify innovation in your team?
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies "originals": thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk he presents some surprising characteristics of innovative people. Did you know for instance that innovative thinkers have a habit of procrastinating things?
Strossle helps thousands of brands and media publishers to drive engaged users to their content. If you want to learn more please contact your local Strossle representative.
