The Importance of Human Connection in the Digital Age

This blog post was written by Heidi Weiss, Media Volery’s social media and copywriting intern for Summer 2021. Heidi is a rising senior at the City College of New York, majoring in Advertising and Public Relations and minoring in Anthropology. Career-wise, Heidi is focused on working as a publicist in the entertainment or fashion and beauty industry.

Since 2018, Media Volery has had interns join us for summer/fall/spring terms. Interns have the opportunity to collaborate with our senior staff, work on real projects for our clients, and try their hands at skills from copywriting and video editing to podcast production and social media content. We also encourage our interns to write about their experiences and share what they’ve learned along the way. 

This summer, I had the opportunity to virtually attend Social Fresh 2021, a 3-day social media conference hosted by industry leaders and innovators. After listening to the incredible panels, I noticed a recurring theme throughout various discussions that really helped tie everyone’s messaging together: the importance of human connection in the digital age.

Two Social Fresh panels in particular stood out to me for this blog post and deserve recognition for their thought-provoking conversations. The first being “Engaging the Modern Social Media Audience Requires Emotion” with Media Volery President, Zontee Hou; Social Media Specialist at Stash, Pri Maheshwari; Senior Social Media Manager at Attentive Azad Yakatally; and State of New Jersey Social Media Manager, Megan Coyne. The second panel, “Follow Worthy: Sustainable Social Media Audience Growth,” was held by Head of Brand Social at Hulu, Tatiana Holifield; Director of Growth and Marketing at Crave It App, Ish Verduzco; Head of Social at Genius, Kozza Babumba; and National Paid Social Lead at Digitas, Danisha Lomax.

What Drives People?

Emotions have been identified as one of the most prevalent driving factors when it comes to people’s relationships and involvement with all the things they are tied to. Acting as both what fuels many elements of our society as well as what comes out of it in return. Positive emotions, as discussed in the panel hosted by Media Volery’s President Zontee Hou, can be found in a strong sense of community, finding your place within mainstream or niche lifestyles, and becoming involved in various causes. Some negative emotions that motivate people include fear, confusion, or even just the fear of missing out.

The Covid-19 pandemic has given brands around the world the chance to pause and reassess their relationships with their audience and determine whether or not their current practices were meeting the needs of today’s world. Many took the time to note any pre-existing gaps between them and their base and took actionable steps in order to close these gaps. During a time where feeling connected to one another became so critical to society’s functionality, it became paramount for brands to connect to people on a deeper, more emotional level and reassure them that as fellow human beings, they mean something to the brand, and as Kozza Babumba emphasized, they aren’t just viewed or treated as a means of sales and profits.

Six Best Practices to Drive Human Connection

Reaching out and showing up is what will set a brand apart from the rest. It is a great indicator of how people will remember you further down the road and it is the key to building long-term relationships and brand loyalty with your customers. Here are some best practices for forming genuine connections with your brand’s base.

1. Get engaged with your audience early on. Let them know that you hear and see them as they deserve to be heard and seen.
2. With your team, start to develop a thorough listening strategy. Listening carefully to your audience and what they are directly and indirectly saying back to you. Closely follow the communities you are serving and get in touch with those in relevant, neighboring communities.
3. Use analytical tools to measure momentum and online presence. Act upon any adjustments needed to achieve the strongest outreach of organic and paid content.
4. Create cohesive, quality messaging across all platforms in which you interact with your base. As Ish Verduzco said, “find your groove” when it comes to creating a strong and consistent digital presence.
5. Become very familiar with your communication platforms and make good use out of them. Get creative and try new trends! Danisha Lomax suggested to “go where your audience is, be one of the first to get out there and try it, that’s how you go viral.”
6. Assess all platforms and determine if there’s any particular one that could use more of your brand’s time and attention. Don’t have as strong of a relationship with your audience on Facebook as you do on Twitter? Make a point to fix any area that’s been overlooked and reestablish your brand’s connection in their life.