The biggest brands in the world understand they must utilize the increasingly omnipresent digital landscape to build consumer trust and engagement. Here are the top five ways companies are leveraging digital to reach greater success.

Social Media Reputation

By now we know that social media is an extremely powerful tool and engagement platform for brands to connect with their audience. From providing a channel for real-time customer service, e.g., tweet conversation that immediately addresses customer inquiries, to hosting Facebook competitions for followers, the possibilities are endless.

The NBA now offers instant replay on its Twitter page. This allows fans to see exactly what referees are reviewing to make the calls, creating a transparent brand reputation that empowers fans with a sense of importance and voice in the sport.

Mobile Gaming

Due to vivid visuals, sharp sounds, and a truly immersive experience, mobile gaming has become a very prominent medium for high engagement. Advanced technology like mobile processors with gaming capabilities provides users with smoothly functioning entertainment activity that results in involved audiences.

Brands capitalize on these already looped-in players by inserting targeted ads and videos or sponsoring/branding various game components within the application. With this technique, users don’t feel like they are being interrupted during the game and are instead, indirectly engaging with the brand while they play.

Additionally, all the consumer data now available via digital platforms make it easy for brands to interweave themselves into mobile games fit to target demographic versus say, an aimlessly placed page takeover banner that interrupts a reader on a website.

Loyalty Programs Managed Digitally

Loyalty programs have always been a strategic and effective way to encourage customers to keep coming back for more. In fact, 76 percent of North American consumers are more likely to choose retailers that offer loyalty programs.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card is ideal for people who dine out or travel frequently because any charges related to those activities give cardholders double points to be put towards travel and more.

Furthermore, the card has a dedicated Ultimate Rewards site where members can manage their reward allocation and even “Shop Through Chase” via partnered retailers who offer extra points. These motivating factors drive repeated interaction with the brand, boasting constant incentives—it’s a win-win for both the consumer and the brand.

Online Space for Feedback

Creating an open online forum for reviews and feedback helps build consumer trust. When a potential customer wants to research the quality and reliability of a product or company they check reviews.

If there’s a bad review, businesses can also address the problem immediately and even respond to an unhappy customer in the same review space to show they care about owner satisfaction, instilling brand trust even if the initial experience happened to be poor.

Optimized Website Experience

The last thing a brand wants is a website with bad UX (user experience) design. A website is not only a way to show off a brand’s offering, it’s a place to establish brand personality and communicate to potential customers.

If site visitors have a hard time finding the “about us” section for instance, they automatically lose interest because their time has been wasted. Adding interactive components to the website is always a plus.

Pacifico Beer does a solid job in this department, inviting their customers to plug in longitude and latitude points provided under each bottle cap into a GPS locator featured on the website.

Once entered, a video of that particular area in the world plays. It engages consumer interaction and augments their brand experience. The digitalization of nearly everything has opened up endless opportunities for brands to touch consumers and gain loyalty.

Whether it’s communication via social, establishing brand reputation by encouraging customers’ feedback or upping website visits through interactive UX or mobile gaming, utilizing digital/mobile channels guarantees better consumer connection that’ll result in business booming.

What are some of the other ways you’ve seen brands build trust and engagement?