As audience acquisition becomes more expensive and more difficult, engagement and retention are being recognized more than ever as crucial to driving growth and profitability.It makes good business sense. Increasing retention rates by 5% can increase profits by up to 95%, according to a Bain/Harvard Business School study. That particularly resonates in the streaming space, where an audience-growth-at-all-costs mentality has given way to a focus on reaching and sustaining profitability.To do that, streamers (and all content creators) need to turn customers into fans. They need to turn one-way conversations into true dialogues. And they need to celebrate and reward loyalty.The shift in focus is becoming more evident across the marketing and media spectrum. At the WPP Stream conference in Santa Barbara this week, multiple sessions focused on topics such as “The future of loyalty” and “Popcorn, not cookies”.As one speaker pointed out, “Loyalty isn’t a transactional relationship between a corporation and its customer base. It’s an emotional connection reinforced by experiences. Humans want to be seen and heard. They want to be delighted, recognized and excited.”That’s why in all the talk of acquisition, engagement and retention we need to remember that we’re talking about humans. This isn't just about customer acquisition costs and churn reduction.Fandom gives people a sense of belonging and community. And brain science shows that when we like something, we want to feel closer to it. It’s why after watching their favorite shows or sports teams people visit Reddit forums, create fan art and go on social media to predict who the killer is or whether the top seed will be eliminated in the first round.Increasingly, smart media companies are looking to engage audiences in their own ecosystems. It’s why games and other forms of interactive content are growing in popularity. They reward those who interact with them and create daily habits that reinforce loyalty.Am I biased? You bet. The company I recently joined is focused entirely on making fandom more fun and rewarding for audiences, which drives engagement and retention for our partners across news, sports, social and entertainment.But maybe it's just right place right time. Because every conversation we have with partners and prospective partners confirms that engagement and loyalty are where the focus is shifting. It’s not enough to bring new people in; you have to consistently win the hearts and minds of those you’ve already attracted.If you do that, getting engaged can truly lead to a happy ever after.
