It's Thursday night and you get home from work. The latest episode of your favorite show is about to come on and you need to eat dinner. What happens next? In the past you either watched it or missed out. But now you have more options, and likely have more programs fighting for your attention. What if your favorite team is on but there is a new movie premiering that you want to see? That just scratches the surface of the content options available to you and gives just a bit of insight into what media companies are up against. The reality is that media companies don't have a direct line of contact with their end viewers. To expand and engage their audiences, media companies need to strategize around these three simple tricks.

1. Uncover and promote to new audiences. Think about your target consumer. Who is going to buy tickets to the latest superhero movie or rom-com? What about buying tickets to the playoffs? Or who is going to stream kids shows on Sunday morning? Finding the right partners to help you build segments that look like your best audiences will open up new promotional streams to build out your customer base.
2. Engage viewers with the right messages at the right time. This is easier said than done. But do you really want to treat a casual viewer the same way as a super fan? Give each type of customer the content they need to advance them to the next engagement.
3. Create communities to close the feedback loop. We have shifted to a consumption culture where on-demand isn't a luxury, but the norm. Further, social media and sites like Yelp have given a voice to the customer. You can too by creating communities and forums for fans to engage with each other and connect beyond the content. It's a little work on your end for a big return. Fans become more invested and pull in other people to enjoy the things they love the most. It's true for movies, TV shows, the theater, sports, and radio. Give your audience a voice in the conversation and they will drive greater returns for you.

Salesforce has a solution to help media companies maximize audience engagement. Trailblazers like Pandora have deployed it to expand their audience and take their fans on a journey from casual listener to super fan. To find out more about how you can maximize your audience engagement visit salesforce.com/media to see more!