When you set out to create a digital community, it can be tempting to appeal to the masses. You post what is generally perceived as pretty photos, write captions that are easily agreeable and overall try not to turn anyone away. The result? Your audience doesn’t talk back.

If you’re ready to make a change and start creating an engaged digital community, the number one thing you need to do is share value-driven messaging. If you’re new to the marketing world, you may not know what this is. Value-driven messaging dives deeper than the stereotypical, witty one-liners that we often see on social media. Instead, these posts connect to your core values and those you share with your segmented audience. These values will activate your audience’s emotions, allowing them to connect with your brand and more readily hear your message.  Do you know what people do when they feel connected? They like, comment and share your content. Hello, engaged digital community!

Now let’s talk a bit more about a segmented audience. This is the key to developing an engaged digital community. Look at the audience you’d like to target and create a persona for them. For example, it could be a 28-year-old, college-educated female who is passionate about the environment and would rather spend time and money on experiences than things. Great! You now know how to connect with your desired audience’s emotions because you have an idea of what they’re passionate about. Once you’ve got this persona, look at your brand’s core values and come up with a plan to connect your values with theirs. 

Whatever you do, do NOT choose a persona that your company cannot relate to. Inauthenticity is a surefire way to ruin your credibility and decrease your chances of building an engaged digital community. While you discuss core values in your captions, you should also be acting on them and when you do, be sure to capture it on social media. The more you get your digital audience to see that you’re not just spewing trendy, impersonal information, but instead actually you’re showing them that that you share the same core values, the more engaged your digital community will become. 

Lastly, your captions tell a story! We touched on this earlier, but it’s important enough to mention it again. While there is definitely a time and a place for witty one-liners, your captions are the chance to spread your message and connect on a deeper level with your digital community. Use your captions to tell the story of your brand. Do not just caption the photo, tell them what lead to creating this photo. 

As a recap, here are 4 key-takeaways to build an engaged digital community:

1. Use Value-Driven Messaging

2. Create a Persona for your Audience

3. Be Authentic

4. Use your Captions to Tell a Story

We hope this is helpful! Once you start incorporating these tips into your digital strategy, be sure to share your success with us in the comments below. 

Simon Solis-Cohen is the founder of Highway 29 Creative, a leading digital and creative agency serving the wine industry. He challenges clients to think about the future and constantly innovate. The agency chases data, not fads, and provides one-stop shopping for wineries looking to enter or jolt their direct to consumer sales. Their approach starts by designing and building a website focused on conversion (wine sales, club sign ups & tasting room reservations) and then dives into each digital channel with consistent and effective content and messaging. What to learn more or looking for advice? Shoot Simon a message at simon@hwy29creative.com.