Community Engagement
7 Little Changes That’ll Make a Big Difference with your Community Engagement
How exciting is it when you see your audience really engaging with your property or Shopping Centre activation? Imagine being able to create that level of excitement and engagement at every activation – what a perfect world that would be!
We understand how important community engagement is when it comes to achieving your property or Shopping Centre goals. Community engagement is after all the strongest indicator of your audience’s feelings about your brand and of course, we all want them to feel great about your brand.
This is why we have drawn on our years of experience to give you our top insights and tips to get your audience excited, engaged and make the most of your next activation campaign.
Let’s get started!
1. Partner with a local charity
There are no doubts that your Centre, property or business is making valuable contributions to your local community. A great way to amplify your contribution is to partner with a local charity. We recommend teaming up with an organisation that is actively making a positive difference in a way that directly impacts your local community.
2. Connect with a local school, community group or sporting team
This is a great way to show your audience that you care about what matters to them and you are in touch with the community to which your organisation belongs. Bringing a local school, community group or sporting team into your activation and making them a part of it in a unique and creative way will result in greater engagement through their active community.
There are no doubts that your Centre, property or business is making valuable contributions to your local community.
3. Connect with a local artist
Who is creating a buzz in your local area? Is there a local artist, performer or photographer that hails from the area where your Centre or property is located? This is a great opportunity to use your space to showcase their work and talent. Supporting your local community is key to gaining greater engagement, this will also encourage new and repeat visitation and longer dwell times. An activation showcasing their work and your space is the perfect combination for community engagement.
Connect with a local artist
4. Engage local influencers
Have you just had a recent renovation or had a new retailer open up? There is no better time to undertake an activation and no better way to increase community engagement than to engage with local influencers. They already have an established audience that is immersed in their content and this is an opportunity to have them immersed in yours.
5. Tie your brand to stories that resonate
Your activation doesn’t always need to be directly related to your brand, often the best activations are those that are a little left of centre. Those that create a story that resonates, yet is cleverly tied to your brand is a great recipe for creating an impactful activation that leads to a whole new level of community engagement. For example, there could be an organisation seeking to raise awareness of their cause, providing your space for their activation ties their story to your brand, resulting in new visitors, greater exposure and engagement with your centre or property.
Tie your brand to stories that resonate
6. Promote Social Good
With the social media take over, we live in a time where awareness and emphasis on social good is paramount. People want to feel like they are a part of this movement and this tip will have an incredible impact on your community engagement. Imagine your property filled with adorable guide dog puppies or an educational and fun school holiday activation that has kids making puppets using all recycled and reusable materials. An activation centred around social good ticks all the boxes for creating successful community engagement!
Promote social good
7. Make it last
How amazing is it when you create an activation that continues to generate an impact long after the physical activation is finished? This is exactly what you can do when you incorporate a digital online component into your brand activation. This elevates your community engagement and carries it over to your online presence. Introducing an online component allows the community engagement that was generated at the activation to continue to be amplified, creating longevity and keeping your brand top of mind long after your successful activation is completed.