The first thing you have to understand when you want to conduct marketing campaigns that engage your audience is why audiences engage in the first place. What makes an audience member step out and share, like, comment, or participate in your marketing campaign? It’s either due to the competition, the social kudos, the exclusivity, or the feeling of satisfaction of having created something or done something good.

If you can create marketing campaign ideas that play on those factors, you’ll create winning, engaging marketing campaigns that produce extraordinary results, every single time. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Have a Contest with Voting

Naturally, you’ll need a prize to motivate people to share their entry. The trick here is to make the prize so irresistible to your audience that you will get plenty of participants. You have to be careful with cash prizes because you may get entrants who are not comprised of your audience and who will not share with your audience, but who could win nonetheless.

If you make the prize something that only your audience would feel special for winning, you’ll do a lot better getting engagement from the right people.

Raise Funds Together for a Cause

If you want to tap into the altruism that resides in human nature, finding a way to raise funds for a cause or causes that your audience would care about is a great way to encourage engagement. For instance, if you run a vegan cooking website, you might want to donate money to a group like The Gentle Barn (http://www.gentlebarn.org/).

If you donate a percentage of proceeds for every sale you make, your audience as well as your affiliates will feel inspired. To capitalize on this you will need to blog about it, talk about it, and make a big deal about how helpful your audience is supporting your efforts. In other words, give them the credit.

Host an Event

Live events like Google Hangouts On Air, or an in-person live event, is an excellent way to boost engagement. People love meeting those they follow in real life. Some consider a Google Hangout to be pretty close to real life, and it is. You’re there live, on camera. They get to look into your eyes, ask questions, get answers, and hear your voice. In-person events take this idea a little further. Plus, you can charge for them.

Be Uniquely You

Oscar Wilde, an Irish novelist, once said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” This is such an important quote for every marketer and business owner to remember. It’s okay that other people are doing what you are doing. Why? Because no one else is you. Show your personality and be yourself, loud and proud, because that’s what’s going to differentiate you from other people doing the same thing you are.

Finally, it’s super important to nix too much automation and fully participate in social media interactions with others. Find other things to outsource, and keep charge of your interactions with your audience. By doing so, you will engage them like no one else can. Because, after all, only you are you.