Are you meeting your customers where they are?
It was driving him crazy…
When it came to Instagram, one of my very first clients was all in. He spent a ton of time and money on crafting incredible content and positively flooded his grid with information and offers that he was sure his potential customers would love.
If they handed out grades for effort, he’d have earned an A+ for sure.
But here’s why he was so frustrated with the whole thing: he just wasn’t seeing a ROI for all of that effort.
Because he wasn’t meeting his customers where they were.
You see, his business focussed on selling education and training solutions to businesses. His potential customers weren’t ON Instagram. Or if they were, they were scrolling in their downtime and far more interested in finding workout tips, vacation inspiration, and inspirational quotes than uber-professional work-related posts.
My client is not the only one to have felt that frustration.
Many business owners make the same mistake, hoping to drive interest, awareness, and revenue through their social media content, but missing their targets because they’re posting the wrong content in the wrong places.
If you really want to use social media to move the needle on your business, you have to look beyond simply picking your favorite platform and going all in. You have to create a solid strategy to help you direct your efforts to the right places, and the right people.
You have to meet your customers where they are.
Here’s how:
Make sure you pick the right platform for your audience.
With so many social media platforms to choose from, it’s unsurprising that many marketers choose the one that they’re most comfortable with. But if you love Facebook, while your audience prefers TikTok you’ll quickly find that you’re talking into the void.
So, how do you determine which is the right platform for you and your business?
Start with your audience demographics.
Who are you trying to reach? How old are they? What gender do they identify with? What is their education level and income? What are their interests?
Use this information to start building a profile. Then look at the user data of each social media platform to discover where you’re most likely to find people that fit the profile you’ve created.
For example, LinkedIn has far fewer users than Facebook or Instagram, so it might not sound like the best bet for your social media efforts. However, with an average user age of 45-55, it could be the ideal platform for businesses targeting the over 40s. If your audience is in their 20s or 30s, you’ll likely have more luck with Instagram.
And don’t forget that data can be misleading: the number of people who have Facebook accounts isn’t necessarily the same as the number of people who use the platform on a regular basis. For example, while plenty of teens have a Facebook account, you’re more likely to find them hanging out on Snapchat or TikTok.
Make sure you pick the right platform for your content.
It’s also important to consider how your audience is most likely to use their chosen social media platforms, as well as the kind of content you’re going to create.
Typically, people use Facebook to connect with friends and family — it’s very much about building relationships. That’s why it can be a great platform for businesses that want to build brand loyalty with existing customers and keep in touch with their current audience. However, due to the number of active users, it can be hard to achieve the reach you need to attract new customers.
For those targeting the B2B market, LinkedIn might be a better option. As a platform aimed at professionals, it’s the ideal place to post thought leadership content, to network with others in your industry, and to build brand awareness.
Businesses that like to focus on visual content, photos and video, will potentially do very well on Instagram or Pinterest.
And those who specialize in fast-paced content, who like to provide their audience with frequent updates or share relevant news updates, or who like to be involved in conversations as they happen, might find that Twitter is the ideal platform for their business.
Of course, there’s nothing to say that you can’t post your content to multiple channels — as long as you repurpose it to suit the needs of your audience and the expectations they have for each particular platform.
Bring your audience to you.
We all crave a sense of community — that’s one of the reasons why social media platforms have become so popular in the first place.
And if your industry is lacking communities where customers, colleagues, and industry friends can gather relevant information and share stories, creating one of your own could be a positive way to entice your audience into your business orbit.
Once created, your social media community could be the ideal way to connect with your audience on a deeper level, find out what makes them tick, provide customer support, and build brand loyalty.
Creating content for social media can feel like a full time job in itself so there’s nothing more disheartening than the feeling that you’re just shouting into the online void. However, when your content is backed by a solid strategy, you can be sure that the right content, on the right platform, is reaching the right type of person….and that your efforts will pay off, whether you’re looking for increased engagement, awareness, sales, or all three.
Ready to meet your customers where they are? At Emerje, we’re experts at helping you develop and build your content strategy so you never feel like your content is getting lost in the void. Contact us now to find out how we can support you and your business.