8 ways to increase engagement in an attention-saturated environment
By Andrew Littlefield●5 min. read●Nov 12, 2025
Did you know that your audience scrolls past 4,000 to 10,000 ads every single day? It’s no surprise that we forget what we just saw within seconds.
If you're a marketer trying to break through in 2025, you already know the struggle. Shrinking budgets. AI-generated content flooding every channel. New competitors launching weekly. And an audience that's gotten really good at ignoring you.
The old marketing tactics don’t work anymore. But here's what does: 8 proven engagement strategies that help brands cut through saturated markets by being unmistakably human.
State of marketing in 2025
Welcome to peak attention economy. Everyone wants those precious three seconds of focus before the next swipe.
The numbers tell the story: 35% of marketers now use AI for content creation; bot farms are pumping out engagement bait at scale. Meanwhile, 54% of global marketers expect to cut ad spend this year.
You're not just competing with other brands anymore. You're up against an endless stream of AI-generated videos, fake viral moments, and algorithms designed to keep people scrolling.
But there's a gap the bots can't fill: genuine human connection.
93% of consumers say brands must keep up with online culture. The catch? One in three think trend-chasing is embarrassing when it feels forced. People can spot fake authenticity from a mile away.
That's your opportunity. While everyone else races to produce more content faster, you can win by creating moments that actually matter. The brands breaking through aren't the loudest ones — they're the ones that make people feel something real.
8 actionable marketing engagement strategies
You can't outspend the competition or outproduce the bots. But you can outsmart them. These eight strategies help brands create real connections in oversaturated markets — no massive budget required.
1) Back to basics: Direct mail
Direct mail generates a 29% return on investment and achieves response rates 5-9x higher than email. Physical mail works because it's scarce — your audience receives far fewer packages than digital messages. For B2B marketers targeting high-value contracts, premium direct mail creates tactile experiences that stick. A custom-branded gift with a handwritten note accomplishes what no automated email can: making your prospect feel personally valued.
2) User generated content (UGC)
Why?
Real customers using your product build more trust than any studio shoot. When customers share their experiences, you get authentic content for your marketing pipeline while they get recognition from a brand they support — both sides win.
3) Email promotions
Email isn't dead — it just got more valuable. As feeds fill up with AI, people are returning to their inboxes for content they actually chose to receive.
Email marketing delivers $42 for every $1 spent — the highest ROI of any marketing channel. With 4 billion daily email users worldwide, email reaches more people than all social platforms combined. The key to cutting through inbox clutter: send focused, valuable content on a predictable schedule. Successful email campaigns share three key traits: clear value propositions, consistent timing, and a single, straightforward primary action per message.
4) Thought leadership
“Thought leadership,” at least as it appears on LinkedIn, has become a wasteland of AI-written fluff and recycled takes. It’s no wonder audiences have tuned out. A smarter approach is long overdue.
One tactic gaining traction is the “expert-in-residence” model. Instead of trying to fake expertise, brands are collaborating with people who already have it — trusted voices their audiences actually respect.
Take Uniqlo, which recently teamed up with artist KAWS to shape creative direction and design inspiration. Even B2B companies can adapt the same playbook: partner with a respected veteran or retired executive to publish a monthly newsletter on trends and insights. It’s a simple way to inject authenticity into your brand and build credibility with the people who matter most.
5) Research and insights
Chatbots hallucinate facts, and audiences are catching on. Trust in online information is at an all-time low, which creates a rare opportunity for your brand to stand out by being reliably accurate.
Start by grounding your content in original data. Survey your customers or analyze usage metrics, then package those findings into a short, thoughtful report that adds context to what’s happening in your industry.
This approach isn’t new — HubSpot built an empire on it. Their recurring reports, like The State of Marketing 2025 and AI Trends for Marketers, provide genuine value while reinforcing their authority. Done right, it’s a double win: you inform your audience and establish your brand as a trusted expert.
6) In-person events
Screen fatigue is real. People crave physical connection — dating apps are losing ground to IRL meetups for a reason.
That’s why brands bringing people together in person are winning. Jeep nailed it with its recent “City Camp” event in Brooklyn’s Domino Park — a mix of nostalgia, live music, and family-friendly fun. Guests explored vintage Jeeps, grabbed giveaways, and snapped photos while a band played by the river. In a city where people are always looking for a cheap date, this one was a winner.
7) Livestreaming
We’re probably not far from generative AI livestreams, but for now, live video still belongs to humans.
And you don’t have to reinvent the format to make it work. Anker, for example, has built a thriving livestream channel by letting charismatic employees host simple sessions with exclusive deals on batteries and accessories. They promote the streams in advance on their website, build anticipation, and have turned it into a regular, high-performing part of their marketing mix.
8) Community building
People trust people, not ads. Building a community around your brand lets customers learn from each other while deepening their emotional connection to what you sell.
Take cycling apparel company Rapha. Its most loyal fans actually pay to join the Rapha Cycling Club. In return, they get access to exclusive gear, early product drops, and weekly group rides around the world. They've turned customers into members and their brand into a lifestyle.
When to leverage these strategies
Brands struggling to break through the noise on social media should pay close attention to the strategies above, but execution alone won’t save you. You’ll need to be bold.
“I've noticed two reasons why it's hard for brands to stand out online, when they are trying to compete for attention with a firehose of engaging content,” says Brad Hess, founder of Demand Gen Guy, a B2B digital marketing consultancy. “One is that they are too tame and unwilling to take risks. Another is that they have poorly defined brand voice or lack an understanding of their audience. Define your brand voice, understand your audience and be authentic.”
Tactics matter. But without a clear voice and a willingness to take risks, even the smartest marketing plan gets lost in the scroll.
Measuring engagement campaigns
Marketing engagement success requires tracking participation metrics, not vanity metrics. Companies that measure engagement properly see 23% higher profitability than those tracking only impressions and clicks.
B2B: Account-based engagement
For brands with longer sales cycles or high-value clients, engagement should feel personal and measurable. Track metrics such as:
Attendance and repeat participation in events or webinars
Open rates and follow-up conversations from personalized reports
New introductions or referrals from existing accounts
When those interactions increase over time, it’s a clear sign your relationship-driven marketing is paying off.
B2C: Subscription and loyalty retention
For subscription or consumer brands, engagement is about building habits that last. Measure retention and sentiment through:
Onboarding completion: Do new members hit the “aha” moment?
Milestone participation: Anniversaries, achievements, user shoutouts
Churn rate and lifetime value: After personalized rewards or loyalty emails
When customers stick around longer, share your offers, or upgrade their plans, you're seeing engagement that drives revenue.
Hybrid and event-based campaigns
When your strategy blends physical and digital touchpoints — like Jeep’s City Camp or Anker’s livestreams — track engagement before, during, and after.
Before: Registrations, RSVPs, website traffic spikes
During: Participation rates, social shares, live chat interactions
After: Post-event sales, email opt-ins, community joins
A successful engagement campaign doesn’t just draw a crowd — it converts curiosity into ongoing involvement. According to HubSpot data, inbound leads, like effective hybrid campaigns, generate 3x more leads per dollar on average than outbound leads.
The human edge
While bots generate infinite content and algorithms control distribution, genuine human interactions create the trust and emotional connections that convert viewers into customers.
81% of consumers buy impulsively because of social content, and 73% will switch brands if they don't get a personal response. The brands winning in saturated markets focus on one differentiator: creating real moments that only humans can deliver.
