It’s been said before: Brands are missing the mark when it comes to engaging customers in a meaningful way. What remains unclear for many marketers is how to be successful. Beyond the obvious role that stale content plays, customers are not having positive experiences when interacting with certain brands.

From the very first customer experience online or offline to the employees and processes that make it possible, positive customer engagement is one of the most important elements of brand success. However, not many brands have made this their focus, and they’re suffering as a result.

If you’re determined to change this, here are 3 ways to leapfrog your customer engagement efforts.

1. Develop Engaging Micro Content for Every Social Platform

Status updates, short videos, photos, and hashtags should be established – not only on Vine, Instagram and Pinterest – but across all social media platforms. These easily digestible bits of information have proven to be successful for brands like Disney and Cola Cola. It has to be interesting enough to engage, but not overwhelm, customers. And it’s not just because people have short attention spans; it’s because they want to be entertained and informed at the same time. Limiting micro content efforts to only a few platforms creates a missed opportunity for brands to reach many more customers.

2. Implement a Web Presence with Real-Time Architecture

While homepages are less significant than they once were, they still have an important role in the overall marketing mix. But the key to customer engagement is a web presence with real-time architecture. This entails much more than simply updating a blog every day. It requires a flexible, highly-interactive design with content that changes based on customer interaction. It feeds on customer engagement – not only on the site – but through the site’s connection to multiple social media platforms. Sites like Adidas Design Studio, Cheetos’ Project TP, and Brazil’s Imaginanas Ferias, provide a way to entertain and engage customers with fun and dynamic content.

3. Coordinate Internal Efforts to Align with External Branding

While many brands communicate one way externally, the internal reality is often much different. This happens when huge marketing dollars are focused on external branding and there’s no real alignment with internal communications. The impact on customer engagement can be felt across multiple touch points including customer service, social media interaction among employees, and employee to customer communications. Clearly, it can take time to overcome a poor internal perception. However, motivating employees to become external brand ambassadors can go a long way in winning new customers and strengthening existing relationships. This is why Google consistently ranks #1 in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

Remember, customers have the upper hand in this relationship. If you don’t give them a reason to love interacting with your brand, they’ll skip on to the next.