If you’re like many small business owners, you find yourself awake at night worrying about how to attract new business and keep your current customers coming back to you and not your competition. Well have I got a big ol’ can of Monster-B-Gone for you!  You can attack that boogieman very effectively with engagement marketing!

Engagement marketing is a marketing strategy that employs many different channels of communication to reach out to new and prospective customers with an understanding that people are not passive receivers of messages. People today prefer to participate in a conversation with a brand and be actively engaged with it and that’s what engagement marketing tries to do.

In the digital age, customers have a tremendous amount of power over the information they receive. They’re wielding smartphones like mighty hammers of Thor. They’re loaded with a schmorgasboard of apps and they can be standing in an aisle of your store, whip out a phone, and compare your prices to those of your competitors right then and there. They’ve got email, they watch videos on YouTube, and they have social media accounts. Clearly, people today have a lot of choices in terms of how they get their information and how they interact with a brand, so if you’re out there in as many places as you can think of, you’re going to catch them all eventually. Being everywhere also helps you establish a sense of omnipresence so that once you’ve got their attention, you’re hard to forget.

Social media marketing has grown to become an important marketing tool for most small businesses. In fact, many businesses that aren’t using social media at this very moment, should be seriously considering creating an account on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Social media isn’t going to go away, so it’s important to get on board and start learning how to use it efficiently and effectively. Besides, it’s a great way for you to be your charming self and engage your customers directly to establish that personal connection they’re looking for.

But social media isn’t the only way folks are reaching out to their customers. Lots of businesses are pursuing non-traditional ways of communicating as well. Some small business owners are creating their own “channel” on YouTube and find video sharing to be an effective way to meet up with customers. You can post customer testimonials, a tour of your place of business, or any number of things that might interest people. Fun, entertaining, and informative video is great for PR! Just keep production quality high so your videos are polished and professional looking.

Even though it’s very important, social media marketing isn’t a silver bullet and it should be seen as a complimentary tool in your marketing mix. Things like email and direct mail campaigns, print advertising and creating special events are other ways to help build relationships with customers.

Email is one of the most frequently used tools when businesses seek to reach out to both current and prospective clients. Isn’t email one of the first things you check when you start your day? Well, you’re not alone! Most people are just like you, so email is a great way to reach out and grab some eyeballs.

Being open to communicating with your customers in new and innovative ways can do a ton to help spur customer growth and repeat business. You’ll be able to rest a little easier since you know your customers can find you just about anywhere.