To rank on Google, you should have a well-crafted digital marketing campaign. But before you start developing your digital marketing strategies, you must know exactly who your target audience is. According to Mindy Weinstein, founder and president of Market Mindshift, a digital marketing agency based in the U.S., the crux of a good online marketing campaign is to identify the specific characteristics of your target customers. Because the more you know about your prospects, the more powerful and effective your campaign will be.
Knowing who your audience is can come in handy when developing your keyword list, setting up pages for conversion, and creating content. It also makes it easier for you to create messages that will resonate with your prospects and encourage them to take action. To get to know your audience, here are the steps you should take.
Step No 1: Conduct market research
Doing a good old-fashioned market research is the most effective way to determine who your target audience is. When doing a market research, you should get as many pieces of information about the group you’re targeting as possible. There are a variety of ways to obtain the information you need. For instance, you can consult your sales team to determine the type of questions prospects asks. This will also give you a glimpse into the interests and desires of your prospects.
You can also check out social media and employ what the experts call “social listening.” With social listening, you monitor various social networks to determine what people are saying about your brand. This method can also be useful if you want to know what your competitors are up to or what the topics relevant to your business are. As for other market research methods, you can also conduct interviews and surveys.
Step No 2: Build your personas
After doing market research, the next step is to create personas. A persona is basically a representation of your ideal customer, based on the data you have obtained on your existing customer base. Take note, however, that it is more than a buyer profile. When creating a persona, be as detailed as possible. Think and refer to your personas as real people instead of just an abstract audience. This, Mindy explained, will help you better engage your customers and prospects.
Step No 3: Identify influencers
[Tweet “Influencers are the people who can significantly affect your customers’ purchasing decisions. “] As such, the next step is to identify who they are and build positive relationships with them. When identifying who your influencers are, pay attention to the number of followers and their level of engagement online and take steps to introduce them to your brand. If they genuinely like your brand, it will show on their messages. Always remember that people can easily tell if someone is being sincere or just being asked or paid by someone to tell them what they want to hear.
