How to Connect With Your Online Audience Through Pop Culture References

We live in a world where content marketing has become one of the biggest tools used by businesses from Utah to the East Coast. There are many different avenues and techniques when it comes to the content companies can use to connect with their online audience.

With so many companies in Utah and other parts of the world wanting their online material to resonate and connect with their viewers, it is common for them to ask questions like: What will get the attention of my online audience? How can I connect with this audience and keep them loyal through content marketing? 

Well, the answer is a simple, two word answer: pop culture.

Pop culture references are great tools to connect businesses with their audience because they create common ground. Online audiences eat up anything that has to do with a well-known celebrity or cultural phenomenon because they find it relevant.

As great as it is to use pop culture references to help content marketing, it does take a lot of careful thought and planning. Pop culture references can easily help businesses connect with their audience, but they can also sever relationships and damage trust if used incorrectly or inappropriately. 

An important question any business should ask themselves before making pop culture references in their content marketing should be something like: Will this reference grab the attention of my viewers and strengthen our relationship? Or will it come across as a desperate plea for relevance?

Another technique that has benefited marketers in Utah and other parts of the country is real-time marketing. One great example of this was DiGiorno Pizza’s social media during the 2014 Super Bowl game between the Seattle Seahawk and the Denver Broncos. During the second half of the game when it was clear that the Seahawks were going to win, the company tweeted: “Yo, this game is like a DiGiorno pizza because it was done after 20 minutes.” 

DiGiorno’s tweet was shared 17,000 times over the remainder of the Super Bowl game. Even though this was move was short and simple it was definitely an effective example of using real-time events to grab an audience’s attention.

As silly as pop culture may be sometimes, it can be used as an effective tool for content marketing in Utah and other parts of the country. Knowing how to tactfully bridge the gap between content and pop culture will allow businesses to connect with people all over the world.

Ian Francis writes for Fusion 360, an advertising agency in Utah. He writes for many other clients as well.