In the online marketing era, engagement is the big buzzword that frequently drives long-term business plans, yet nobody is quite sure what this word truly means and even less how it can be brought to life. It generally refers to the interaction between the user of an online service and a digital asset i.e. website or game. However, it also aims to capture the level of subjective interest and the level of satisfaction with the delivered service.

This is why cultural keys have such an outsized value for producing engagement. Users who can identify with the brand’s style or messages are more likely to become long-term customers and to regularly engage with key functions of the site. Let’s elaborate on this interesting topic.

 

Localization as a Powerful Engagement Mechanism

Social and cultural background changes with geography, and so do the expectations from online service providers. Start with the language – brands that address customers in their native tongues and adjust their messages to the linguistic characteristics of the region are much more likely to harbour goodwill and establish lasting relationships. Other cultural markers come into play, including national holidays, locally relevant current events, even popular visual symbols from a certain country.

Brands must be careful to localise their content wisely and while consulting local expertise. If local cultural clichés are simple slapped on top of a generic foundation the whole customisation effort won’t have much of an impact. Even worse, it may seem like a mockery that is insulting to the locals. That’s why it’s very dangerous to use automatic translation tools and AI chatbots for localisation without hands-on supervision.

 

Targeting a Generation and Its Sense of Taste

Every generation favours a specific aesthetic and reacts well to a certain communication style. You can’t sell the same brand identity to boomers and generation Z, as they are simply too distant culturally and have diverging preferences. Brands need to narrow down their primary target group by deciding which generation they want to cater to, with all other design choices and policy decisions following from this strategic outlook.

Even when a company knows exactly which age group it wants to connect with, formulating an offer that speaks loudly to it can be challenging. Younger generations in particular are vary of ‘pretenders’ looking to highjack their values and tastes for commercial reasons. The messages must sound authentic to have any chance of hitting the target, and they should ideally rely on a vocabulary and tone that come directly from personal experience.

 

Riding Popular Trends While They Are Hot

We are living in a time when cultural trends are changing seemingly every day. Feeling the pulse of the public and responding with a well-timed reference to an event that everyone is focused on is how brands can capitalise on the fast flow of ideas and sentiments. In some cases, online brands can enter partnerships with currently popular endorsers or franchises (think movie-themed merchandise or promos), but this tends to be very expensive.

It’s also possible to take a roundabout way and look for trends that are staying out of the mainstream but have the potential to explode. A well-timed association with an exciting new thing that people are just finding out about is worth a fortune in almost every industry that craves engagement. Again, it’s preferable if the connection is organic, i.e. stems from an established identity of the brand.

 

Hunting for That Elusive ‘Cool’ Factor

Nobody can quite define what ‘cool’ means but everyone knows it when it’s in front of them. To get the users excited, marketers need to do more than just have a strong offer. They need to create a perception that using the product or service will make the user appear hip and ‘in the know’, essentially improving his social standing. However, this is much easier said than done and may backfire badly. To find evidence of this, all you need to do is read some online casino reviews South Africa players are leaving on blogs and forums. You will quickly find a common thread, as many of the reviewers who are most positive tend to talk about a site’s identity and vaguely defined coolness. People want to feel good while they are engaging with content, so they care more about subjective factors than quality of games or even financial conditions.

 

Using Influencers to Reach Specific Populations

All of the aforementioned approaches take time and knowledge, so it’s understandable that some brands want to find a shortcut. Finding a popular online personality with the right kind of audience can allow for nearly instant penetration of a precisely targeted demographic. Influencer marketing is largely based on cultural factors, as people tend to follow content creators belonging to a similar generation and sharing basic values and stylistic preferences.

Like any other shortcut, this one comes with risks. The chosen promoter may lose his popularity due to a number of reasons, or may alienate as many users as he converts. Aligning the priorities of the brand with the image of the selected influencers is a delicate task, but the rewards for getting it right are too great to ignore.