While there isn’t a perfect recipe for boosting your audience and sales online, there are three key ‘ingredients’ that businesses should keep in mind to make this happen: catching customers’ attention, following trends, and incorporating customers’ voices, explains Harry Lowes, Director of Mid-Market ANZ, Meta.

Keep in mind that this isn’t just about you or your business—it’s about your ideal customer. What are their interests? What grabs their attention? How can you stand out from the crowd? Finding an answer to all these questions is the first step in growing your customer base.

Over 200 million businesses use our platforms every day to connect with their customers and promote their brands, making it a very competitive playing field.

These are three simple strategies you should follow to expand your online audience and boost sales.

1. Catch your customer’s eye

With millions of businesses fighting for the spotlight, standing out from the crowd is harder than ever. While a blog post and some nice graphics won’t be enough to cut it anymore, there is no need to break the bank on massive marketing budgets to grab your customers’ attention.

Personalisation is now one of the most important factors in winning customers’ attention, with reports showing that 75 per cent of consumers agree that they’d be more willing to buy from brands that offer tailored digital experiences.

While AI can be a great tool for personalising messaging and even creating images to accompany organic content and ads on social channels, brands can cater to their audiences’ different interests and needs through the personalisation offered by creator-generated content.

Take ‘The Oodie’, an Australia-based comfort wear brand, for example. The brand regularly works with creators to better personalise its ad campaigns for local audiences. By using creators’ videos for ads on Instagram and Facebook, the brand has experienced a 45 per cent increase in awareness compared to its usual marketing campaigns, showcasing the power of collaborating with creators to stand out from competitors.

2. Jump on trends

Taking advantage of the latest online trends is a great and relatively inexpensive way to connect with audiences and propel your business forward.

Take inspiration from the many trends and content going viral at the moment. Businesses can use popular hashtags, trending audio or video templates to create exciting and relatable content for their audience.

While following social media trends is an easy and effective way for brands to boost their audience engagement, it’s important to always consider your brand values and identity first. Then, you can determine which trends and content are best for conveying your messages and reflecting your brand positioning.

One business that continues to catch the wave of trending content is Sydney’s famous venue, ‘The Grounds of Alexandria’, which was recently named the most popular restaurant worldwide on Instagram.

Some of their most popular trending videos regularly feature POV-driven scenarios (point-of-view) showing their followers their experience if they walked through their latest installation, or what to expect from their high-tea in the gardens offering. The venue also regularly taps into seasonal moments to create engaging content and challenges.

3. Put your best foot forward

There’s no better marketing for your brand than a happy customer. An endorsement from a satisfied customer is worth its weight in gold.

Did you get some glowing customer reviews? Is one of your products driving online conversation? Share more about it!

When your favourite sports team wins, you have no problem telling everyone about it, and your business wins should be no different. Leverage your customers’ voices to let others know why you’re different. Share these stories, and remember to build relationships with those who are advocating for your brand. A message of thanks, or maybe even a discount on their next purchase, is a great way to show gratitude and build loyalty.

Customers’ reviews can be a critical element in determining your brand and product’s appeal, with a whopping 79 per cent of customers reportedly taking other buyers’ reviews into consideration as much as personal recommendations. Positive customer reviews can be the difference between conversion and drop out.

Outdoor gear company, ‘Reactive Outdoor’, is one of the many local businesses already using user-generated content and positive product reviews to increase sales of its signature tents.

In fact, the brand made it an active part of its marketing strategy, discovering that a campaign featuring images of people from more diverse backgrounds led to 22 per cent higher sales than its usual promotional campaigns. The brand already knew it had a winning product, but listening to its audience and using authentic customer voices has been key to its success.

By staying authentic and strategic, you can make a splash in the digital arena and grow your audience. Remember, it’s not just about what you offer; it’s about connecting with your ideal customers and consistently delivering value that keeps them coming back for more.

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