If you’ve been operating your website and business for a while, you probably have a good idea who your target market is. But your social media audience could be considerably different. Plus, each network is unique, so how you approach each one might be quite different.
It’s important to take the time to explore your target market because the more deeply you understand them, the easier it will be for you to create a connection and keep their attention.
To get to know your social network target market, here are a few things to look at.
Know Where Your Customers Are
Ideally, you want your social media following to be reflective of your target customer base. There is no sense in building up an audience of people who have no interest in buying your products. It seems obvious, I know, but I’m always surprised by people who are more concerned with follower numbers than actually building a targeted connection.
This report from comScore can give you some clues on how certain demographics of the population are spending their time online, giving you some ideas where your market might be. You can also gather this information by engaging your own audience on your blog and elsewhere to find out where they might be.
Pay Attention
Pay attention to what your current followers like. Take note of what they respond to, comment on and share. Look beyond their interaction with you and look at their own profiles. What is common to the people who seem to follow you?
Ask Them
Engage your followers in conversations, so you can get to know them better. You can even create polls and ask them direct questions about what kind of content they’re interested in, what questions they need answered and more.
Shape Your Own Target
You certainly have some control over your target market as well. If you share certain types of content, you are more likely to attract a certain type of audience, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Add to that, you can shape your following by following targeted people as well. Follow companies and individuals whose social network presence resonates with you. Get involved with their conversations and connect with their audience as well.
Using This Information
Once you have a good idea about who your target is, you have to deliver the content they are looking for and this may take some experimentation. This is the time to put aside your personal preferences and find out what really gets their attention and engages them.
To help you start formulating the right kind of content, ask yourself the following questions:
– What are their key interests?
– What beliefs are vital to them, as it relates to your niche?
– What are their goals?
– What challenges do they have?
– What are their dreams and wishes?
When you have this deep understanding, you can start delivering things that satisfy the questions above. Remember, to experiment with different types of content. Whether it’s images, video, text, links to blog post or just about anything, find out what they like and deliver more of that.
At Strategize Your Success we help entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with strategic goal setting, marketing and planning. We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE.