Engaging today’s customers is more challenging than ever before. You need to know the specifics on your buyer persona, maintain an active online presence and be proactive about your customers’ needs. It’s a difficult role to maintain, but the end result is deeper, more meaningful relationships that extend beyond a simple transaction.

If you’re looking for more effective ways to engage your customers, think in terms of humanizing your brand. People prefer to do business with companies that they like and trust. When consumers are reminded that there are real people working behind the scenes to make things happen, it’s easier for them to trust you.

How can you humanize your brand to engage consumers? We’ve included a few tips below to get you started.

Create a Voice that is Personal

When people read your content, it should feel like you are talking directly to them. Even if your industry is about highly technical information, find a way to make it conversational. When content has a human element to it, people feel like you understand them. Therefore, they can trust you to fulfill their needs.

Build a Thriving Community

Staying active on social media allows you to build an online presence for your brand. Some of the best channels to use include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Use these channels to share fun posts, informational videos and other types of visual content. Don’t be afraid to show viewers what goes on behind the scenes. By doing this, you get people talking about your brand, ultimately bringing it to life.

Attend Trade Shows and Other Events

While there are many advantages to live streaming, nothing compares to face-to-face interaction. Don’t let technology stand in your way of attending trade shows and other events. It’s important to meet with customers, ask questions and demonstrate how your product works. In fact, consider working with a trade show booth manufacturer to create a custom exhibit.

Give Away Something of Value

Providing consumers with valuable information helps connect them to your brand. Think in terms of what potential customers would find helpful, not what your company finds interesting. If you sell B2B software, offering customers a free trial or demo of your product would be valuable. Simply talking about the software’s features wouldn’t be enough to help someone make an informed decision.

With competition high and consumers having to split their time between brands, it can be difficult to get noticed and develop meaningful relationships. Make sure that you are taking every step to humanize your brand and utilizing offline channels as well.