In any business, marketing via traditional forms is usually the first step in getting customers initially interested. But the potential digital marketing holds for businesses to grow their audience via a whole new marketplace has too much potential to ignore – or to not get right! So what are some basic things we can do to ensure we are interacting in a way that will resonate with our intended market?
Speak directly to your target audience
When companies fail to resonate with their audience on social media, it might be a sign that they are directing their marketing at the wrong demographic.
Like any other marketing, create content to target your audience’s pain points. Post and interact across platforms that are relevant to potential customers to make your business accessible for them – and it’s worth keeping in mind that some platforms have a younger audience of users, e.g. TikTok generally has a younger usership.
Consider: what is the purpose of the content? For example, you may choose to share more visual based on Instagram, whereas a more professional, achievement based post may be suited to LinkedIn or Facebook.
Keep a steady and cohesive stream of content
Ensure things are up to date and reflective of your business in the present. If you are running events, or have just launched a new product/service, shout about it!
Post with regularity so as to create an online ‘presence’, but be cautious not to fatigue your audience by overloading them with content. You want to keep them excited about the things you share in balance with the rest of their feeds.
Simple things such as having a functional website can help to make your services or products discoverable and authentic, so treat it as the ‘digital face’ of your business. Your website is the hub that will people will go to, in order to discover the core of your brand – who you are and what you offer.
Cohesive branding that represents your business is always important within marketing. But on digital platforms, it is even more exposed. Keeping content uniform and recognisable can help to build brand familiarity, follower retention and, in the long term, brand loyalty.
Reflect on the reception from your audience
…and allow this to inform what you create and share. While some formats of content work for one business, they may not resonate in the same way with the audience of another. Initially, it is important to define a rough outline of what drives the best engagement for you, including the time of day you post, as well as the topic and format.
Tools such as Google Analytics and Instagram for Business Insights can help you to map the metrics of this in more detail.
Work smarter, not harder
While this may all seem like a lot to grapple with if you are starting from scratch, the main goal is to utilise some – or all – of these tools as a further way to work smarter, not harder. Most social platforms exist to use for free (with the option of boosted paid promotional campaigns), so it is a missed opportunity to not invest time in growing a wider audience that can engage with what your company has to offer.
If you need further support with moving your business forward in 2022, or you just want to talk things through, don’t hesitate to contact me at richardesau@actioncoach.co.uk .
