The last article from my hand was all about the magic word engagement. I concluded to say that engagement is about what people think, how they feel and act. It is relational! In this article I want to get a step deeper on this topic and explore how it is possible to come from ‘like’ to ‘love’, into deeper engagement. Why is this important? Well… people that LOVE you will stick around; people that LIKE you might find their love somewhere else.

People that LOVE you will stick around; people that LIKE you might find their love somewhere else.

Two Questions

‍In my view there are two major drives online. First people want to know how you—read: your organization—are supporting their life story and secondly your target audience is in a search for happiness. This will influence the way they think about you and if they ignore, like or even love you! The way you are able to address those two major topics are key. If you translate those two drivers into questions that will help you find direction it will be:

  • How are you going to support my life story?
  • How are you making me happy? Or is another emotion more important to your persona?

‍Make Life Easier

‍Probably you are not Nike if you are reading this article as guidance on social media. So how do you apply those questions to your organization and your mission? Let’s say you are supporting life stories of missionaries. The first question would be: how are we supporting the life stories of missionaries? If you want to answer that question, you need to know the need an average missionary. One bank that did something similar is HSBC. They wanted to make life easier for expats. Supporting life stories of expats is in a sense nothing more than sharing information and tools that are making life as an expat or in your case missionary easier.

In some situations real happiness looks like bringing hope where there is despair, encouragement when someone is losing faith, bringing light where everything is dark.

Relevant Content

‍Only telling what the latest interests are is not engaging for the customers of a bank and certainly it is not supporting daily life! For an organization that is supporting missionaries it is not engaging to tell when the next conference is and how much this costs. You need to meet the felt need! Share information that is important for the-man-in-the-field and maybe only indirectly is important for you as well.

This is where the liking and loving can grow from. Let’s get back to the HSBC example for a moment; every expat needs to take care of his finances. So if they found relevant content on moving out as an expat on your online presence before—content that had made their life easier—do you think they will connect to another bank if they need a new one? …

Long-Term Commitment

‍The next question is about happiness. Maybe this question is less easy to answer especially when you are working in the midst of crisis situation. Of course you understand that there is a connection between having an easier life and happiness. But happiness is rooted deeper than supporting someone in one situation can bring. Supporting someone in a situation can make someone happy, but bringing happiness is a longer process and needs long-term commitment. It has to do with a sense of belonging. Feeling connected, understood and appreciated.

Happiness Looks Like

‍This is not only something that status updates, pictures or clips can bring. That is just a tool. This is where you need real people to connect with real people; a continual process of interaction and understanding of the felt need. Show that you are credible, relevant, loyal and faithful in supporting the daily life. This is the place where you can live out the core values of your organization. Maybe happiness seems to be a shallow word for you. But in some situations real happiness looks like bringing hope where there is despair, encouragement when someone is losing faith, bringing light where everything is dark.

This is where the LIKE will become LOVE.

Sharing testimonies and other endorsements may help seekers go from LIKE to LOVE. Read the next article to see how.