Guide
What is brand engagement?
How to measure and increase it to connect with audiences
Brand engagement is the emotional connection and relationship that a customer develops with a brand. It goes beyond providing a product or a service; instead, it encompasses the level of interaction, loyalty, and advocacy a customer exhibits towards a brand.
Register to display your products and create campaigns.
Request managed services. Budget minimums apply.
Engage more customers with self-service ad solutions.
Help customers discover your brand on Amazon.
What is brand engagement?
Brand engagement refers to how actively audiences interact with, respond to, and advocate for your brand through meaningful experiences and relationships.
In a time when consumers have endless choices and short attention spans, building genuine brand engagement has become essential for realistic business growth. Engaged customers don't just make purchases—they become loyal advocates who drive word-of-mouth marketing, provide valuable feedback, and generate higher lifetime value.
Why is brand engagement important?
Brand engagement is important because it directly impacts a company's bottom line by creating stronger, longer-lasting relationships with customers. Strong brand engagement leads to increased customer loyalty, higher purchase frequency, and more effective word-of-mouth marketing, ultimately driving business growth.
Benefits of brand engagement
The benefits of effective brand engagement can be seen across multiple business areas, from customer retention to market share growth.
Customer loyalty and retention
Effective brand engagement significantly reduces customer churn and increases repeat purchase rates. It creates emotional connections with customers that outlast price competitions, building a resilience to competitor offers. This emotional bond ensures customers stick with the brand even when faced with alternatives.
Revenue growth
By fostering strong brand engagement, companies can increase customer loyalty and drive higher average purchases. Engaged customers tend to make more frequent purchases and are more likely to explore a brand's full range of products or services. Moreover, these loyal customers often become brand advocates, generating additional revenue through their recommendations and referrals.
Marketing efficiency
Strong brand engagement leads to more efficient marketing efforts. It lowers customer acquisition costs as engaged customers are more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth, increasing organic reach. This natural amplification of marketing messages improves overall marketing return on investment (ROI). Additionally, engaged customers often create valuable user-generated content, providing authentic marketing materials that resonate with potential new customers.
Competitive advantage
Brand engagement serves as a powerful differentiator in crowded markets. It builds barriers to customer switching by creating deep-rooted loyalty and familiarity with the brand. This loyalty helps create a market position that's difficult for competitors to replicate. Furthermore, engaged customers provide invaluable insights and feedback, allowing brands to continually improve their offerings and stay ahead of market trends.
External vs. internal brand engagement
Brand engagement operates on two critical fronts: external engagement with customers and stakeholders, and internal engagement with employees. Each plays a distinct but interconnected role in building a strong brand.
External brand engagement
External brand engagement focuses on building relationships with customers, partners, and other external stakeholders through various touchpoints and interactions. This includes social media engagement, customer service experiences, content marketing, community building, and promotional activities. Success in external brand engagement is measured through metrics like customer satisfaction, social media interaction rates, brand advocacy scores, and customer lifetime value. The goal is to create meaningful connections that transform customers from passive buyers into active brand advocates.
Internal brand engagement
Internal brand engagement involves ensuring employees understand, believe in, and actively promote the company's brand values and mission. This encompasses employee training, internal communications, company culture initiatives, and enabling staff to become authentic brand ambassadors. When employees are truly engaged with the brand, they deliver better customer experiences, contribute to positive word-of-mouth, and help maintain brand consistency across all touchpoints. Strong internal brand engagement leads to improved employee satisfaction, reduced turnover, and more authentic external brand experiences.
How do you measure brand engagement?
Brand engagement is measured through a combination of quantitative metrics and qualitative indicators that track how audiences interact with and respond to a brand. The most effective measurement approach combines behavioral insights, sentiment analysis, and business impact metrics to provide a comprehensive view of engagement levels.
1. Behavioral metrics
Digital interaction metrics show direct engagement with brand content and channels, including social media engagement rates, website visits, time spent on site, and click-through rates. Customer behavior metrics measure actions like purchase frequency, repeat purchase rates, and participation in brand programs or events. Community metrics assess active participation in brand forums, user-generated content creation, and brand mention frequency.
2. Sentiment and loyalty metrics
Brand sentiment is measured through KPIs like customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and social media sentiment analysis. Loyalty indicators include customer retention rates, lifetime value calculations, and brand advocacy levels. Share of voice and brand preference metrics help track relative brand strength against competitors.
3. Business impact metrics
The ultimate measure of brand engagement shows up in business results, including customer acquisition costs, marketing ROI, revenue per customer, and overall market share growth. These metrics help connect engagement activities to tangible business outcomes and demonstrate the value of brand engagement investments.
How to increase brand engagement
To increase brand engagement, focus on creating meaningful interactions with your audience across all touchpoints, providing value beyond just products or services, and fostering a sense of community around your brand. This involves developing a comprehensive strategy that encompasses content marketing, social media interactions, customer experience improvements, and tailored communications. By implementing the following steps, brands can enhance their engagement levels and build stronger, more lasting relationships with their customers.
1. Develop a strong brand identity
Clearly define your brand's values, personality, and unique selling proposition to create a foundation for authentic engagement. Ensure consistency across all communications and touchpoints to create a cohesive brand experience that resonates with your desired audience. This consistency builds trust and recognition, making it easier for customers to connect emotionally with your brand.
2. Create relevant customer experiences
Utilize data and analytics to tailor communications and offerings to customer preferences and behaviors. Implement email marketing, product recommendations, and relevant ads to increase engagement. This shows customers that you understand their needs and value their preferences, leading to stronger emotional connections.
3. Measure and iterate
Regularly analyze engagement metrics across all channels and use these insights to refine your strategies. Continuously test new approaches and optimize your efforts based on what resonates most with your audience. This data-driven approach ensures your engagement strategies remain effective and relevant as customer preferences evolve.
Amazon Ads solutions
Amazon Ads offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to help brands increase engagement across the customer journey, from awareness to purchase. Our solutions include Streaming TV ads for immersive brand storytelling, Sponsored Brands and Brand Stores for rich brand experiences, and custom audience insights through Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) for deeper audience connections. Brands can also leverage Amazon's first-party insights and measurement tools to create more relevant experiences that drive meaningful engagement with their target audiences at scale.
Examples of brand engagement
Case Study
HP aimed to drive awareness and consideration for its printers during key shopping moments. Using Sponsored Brands video, HP showcased their printer features and benefits in an engaging video format that appeared in relevant search results. The campaign achieved a 15% increase in detail page views and a 29% increase in new-to-brand orders compared to campaigns without video. HP's success demonstrated how video in search can effectively capture attention and drive consideration when customers are actively shopping for products.
Case Study
Reebok sought to connect with Gen Z and young adult audiences through an innovative video marketing strategy on Amazon. They created authentic, lifestyle-focused video content featuring influencers and deployed it across Amazon Ads video ad solutions, including Streaming TV ads and Sponsored Brands video. The campaign drove strong engagement metrics, with video completion rates exceeding benchmarks and significant increases in brand awareness among their target audience. Reebok's approach showcased how combining creative video storytelling with diverse Amazon Ads solutions can effectively reach and engage younger audiences.
Case Study
LG Display launched a digital-first campaign to showcase their OLED TV technology and drive consideration among premium TV shoppers. They utilized a mix of Amazon Ads solutions, including custom landing pages and targeted video advertisements, to educate customers about OLED technology benefits. The integrated campaign delivered strong results, including significant increases in brand awareness and consideration metrics. LG Display's success highlighted how a comprehensive digital strategy can effectively build product understanding and drive engagement in a competitive category.
Amazon Ads solutions
Amazon Ads offers comprehensive measurement and analytics tools to help advertisers understand brand engagement across the customer journey.
Amazon Attribution is a free, advertising and analytics measurement solution that provides insight into how non-Amazon marketing strategies help customers discover, consider, and purchase products on Amazon.
Amazon Brand Lift studies can help provide insight to advertisers looking to quantify the impact of upper and mid-funnel campaigns by measuring customer awareness, attitudes, preferences, favorability, intent, and ad recall.
New to Amazon Ads? Find your path to advertising success with our quick assessment.