One of the most important things just about any business needs to
consider when marketing, is who they are trying to reach. It doesn't
matter if you are marketing online or offline, you need know your
audience, and speak directly to them if you want to ensure a successful
marketing campaign. If you know who your audience is, you'll also know
what they want and how best to reach them.
If you are doing any sort of marketing at all, you need to do some market research first. You can hire a professional researcher, of course, but if that's beyond your budget you can also get a good sense of your audience by simply knowing where to look and what to listen to.
3 Ways to Get to Know Your Audience
1) Surveys and Polls
If you already have a client base, and they represent the type of audience you want to reach more of, then make sure to ask for their help. Through a simple survey, you can get great insight into things like your audience's general demographics (age, gender, net worth), as well as find out things like what is important to them in a business or service like your's, as well as where they look for information, what additional services or products they might want to see from you, and lots more. Don't be afraid to ask... because you'll probably discover something you didn't know.
2) Online Groups and Forums
One of the best places to learn about an audience is by listening to them first-hand on forums and inside Facebook or Linked-in groups. Just about any type of consumer, and many professionals, congregate online to discuss issues that are important to them. And by joining the same forums or groups they are participating in, you can get direct access to know exactly what they are saying... what their pains are... and the key points they are expressing on these issues. It doesn't matter if you are a personal trainer or a dry cleaner, people discuss almost everything online, and you can get a first-hand account of it all (and they even provide you the talking points to use in your marketing)!
3) Industry Data
You don't necessarily need to hire a researcher to find information for you. Depending on your industry, there may be publications - and lots of it is online these days - that will tell you a great deal about trends and success stories specific to your business category. If you are not aware of such information, you are doing yourself and your business a disservice by not utilizing such resources. Do a quick search online for industry data or consumer date for your particular field, and take advantage of the work that others have already done.
Finally, once you know a bit more about your audience, you need to know how to use it to your advantage. Picking up on themes you've discovered about them online and using key phrases in your marketing materials and on your website, can go a long way to getting a prospect to identify with your business. Some describe this type of marketing as "joining the conversation that's already going on in your prospect's mind.
By incorporating what you know about people and their needs and desires as it relates to your business, you will be far ahead of your competition who don't use this simple, but highly effective marketing approach.
If you are doing any sort of marketing at all, you need to do some market research first. You can hire a professional researcher, of course, but if that's beyond your budget you can also get a good sense of your audience by simply knowing where to look and what to listen to.
3 Ways to Get to Know Your Audience
1) Surveys and Polls
If you already have a client base, and they represent the type of audience you want to reach more of, then make sure to ask for their help. Through a simple survey, you can get great insight into things like your audience's general demographics (age, gender, net worth), as well as find out things like what is important to them in a business or service like your's, as well as where they look for information, what additional services or products they might want to see from you, and lots more. Don't be afraid to ask... because you'll probably discover something you didn't know.
2) Online Groups and Forums
One of the best places to learn about an audience is by listening to them first-hand on forums and inside Facebook or Linked-in groups. Just about any type of consumer, and many professionals, congregate online to discuss issues that are important to them. And by joining the same forums or groups they are participating in, you can get direct access to know exactly what they are saying... what their pains are... and the key points they are expressing on these issues. It doesn't matter if you are a personal trainer or a dry cleaner, people discuss almost everything online, and you can get a first-hand account of it all (and they even provide you the talking points to use in your marketing)!
3) Industry Data
You don't necessarily need to hire a researcher to find information for you. Depending on your industry, there may be publications - and lots of it is online these days - that will tell you a great deal about trends and success stories specific to your business category. If you are not aware of such information, you are doing yourself and your business a disservice by not utilizing such resources. Do a quick search online for industry data or consumer date for your particular field, and take advantage of the work that others have already done.
Finally, once you know a bit more about your audience, you need to know how to use it to your advantage. Picking up on themes you've discovered about them online and using key phrases in your marketing materials and on your website, can go a long way to getting a prospect to identify with your business. Some describe this type of marketing as "joining the conversation that's already going on in your prospect's mind.
By incorporating what you know about people and their needs and desires as it relates to your business, you will be far ahead of your competition who don't use this simple, but highly effective marketing approach.
