The internet and social media has opened up the world to every single potential seller of a given product or service. This is a technological blessing and a marketing opportunity with low barriers to entry but it is also an easy way to feel completely lost for a new entrant.
Before the digital age appeared there were select modes of advertising and designated channels to reach your customers. Companies had the upper hand. This involved leveraging the key advertising tools at the time: billboards, newspapers, magazines, networking events and elite get-togethers to name a few. An effort, big or small, but an effort nonetheless, was required in order to have access to the marketing and advertising tools available at the time.
Today the playing field has changed. Now every single person has instant access to every other single other person connected by the Internet as long as you are connected by the same digital platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.. Etc). The only effort required here to start expressing your company ideas and market yourself is a registration process on one of these platforms which takes less than 5 minutes.
So if it is so accessible why is it that marketing on these platforms is not as intuitive as one might consider it to be. My answer: targetability. I know this isn't a real word but it explains the key point I am trying to make. Today we have access to so many people that in effect we may have access to too many people.. too many random people that is.
In the age where we are all connected the challenge and also opportunity becomes: finding your people. Those people who's problems you could solve. Those people that you could provide value to. Those people who are searching for your type of product or service but who, as a result of the vast digital crowd, can't see you standing there with your digital billboard and with your answer to their problem.
Gary Vaynerchuk highlights the need to increase the value and amount of targeted content you put out on these digital platforms. My view is that the first step is finding your target audience. Your content might already be valuable.
Some ideas for getting in touch with your kind of people:
• Create a Meetup on Meetup.com that advocates your key ideas and how you provide value. This option allows you to turn digital clients into physical relationships which is key.
• Engage in Facebook groups. Take the time to search for some cool Facebook groups. Inspect the content, get a feel for the people and the type of discussions that are going on. Chances are that if you are attracted to the vibe of the group, your target audience is probably present in that group as well.
• Explore and experiment with different forms of content. What type of content does your target audience like and in what way do they prefer receiving your value add? Some of your people may prefer reading your written pieces (e.g. your blog). Others, more visual, may prefer your image content (think Instagram). Twitter fans enjoy the back and forth debating and short conversations around a particular subject. Finally a growing number of people are being attracted to video content (YouTube or Facebook livestreams).
The first step is to find your people. So spend the time targeting your ideal audience. Then find a unique way of serving your clients and providing value. Finally share this content in a way that is most likely to connect you to your new found audience and create engagement.
Get in touch,
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Website: www.nicolascharlet.com
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Email: Nicolas.guy.charlet@gmail.com