The short answer is of course, yes your audience is important, but only to a certain extent. Whether you’re experienced in marketing or not, you may often hear that you must cater to your audience. The question is, do people actually know the true meaning?
Occasionally, words get said so frequently that it starts to lose its impact and we glaze over. For me at least, “audience” is becoming one of those words.
In order to look at it again, I’d like to reiterate that audience is an overall vital piece of the marketing puzzle and is defined as: A segment of consumers who are primed to make a purchase and understand the value of your product.
All this really means is that someone is usually meant to view the content you’ve created, and hopefully (preferably) purchase your products or services. In this case, wouldn’t you want to create something meaningful to them?
Determine your Audience
One of the first things you likely did for your company was to determine who exactly would want to buy what you have/want to sell.
Without knowing who your product best helps, what problem it solves, and where they are – both digitally and physically – you will have a real struggle in your Marketing. If you don’t know the people it’s best for, they probably won’t see or hear about it.
There’s a saying Marketers have:
“If you write for everyone, you write for no one.”
So if you don’t already have an “avatar” for your ideal customer…stop here and do that first! Be as detailed as possible, then continue on to your challenge.
The Challenge
Don’t only cater to one type of audience, especially if you have more than one.
The greatest writers in history have provided us with books and articles that transcend time, financial status, race, and any other divisive category we’ve come up with.
In general, of course you want to create relevant content for those you serve best. However, what if you were to create something that could be useful to more people or companies?
Creating an occasional piece of material that allows for cross-industry benefits can provide valuable digital reach you may not have otherwise. For example, a health/fitness company’s article can discuss the benefits of mental health as well, crossing into a psychology industry.
Allow your team to get information out into the world that anyone can pick up and utilize. This includes everything from blogs to website text to social media posts. There’s enough out there these days that aren’t relevant to most people, so be different and grow!
Just remember, staying true to yourself and your company’s mission and values will allow others to see the integrity and want to be a part of it.
Get Results
Imagine reaching 3, 4 or even 5 times the audience you’ve ever had. That could be the power of great content. Focusing on relevant data, topics, and current affairs could give you the boost of views – and purchases – you’re looking for.
The catch? It requires time. Time that most of us insist we don’t have. This also means the patience to ensure it’s done right.
While we live in a world of “it needed to be done yesterday,” we need to take a step back now and then to ensure that what we produce is valuable to more than the circular file.
Contact me for help on getting your branding done right.