This will be a several part Take-Action series to help you define your business’ target market for your social media marketing strategy.
Your social media target market is the specific group of people who would buy your services or product. This group is also the target of the content you’ll publish on your company blog since one of the ways you’ll be promoting your blog posts is through social media. We can also call this group your “target audience.” It is best to be specific when defining your social media target market–going after a broad section of people can get you lost in the saturated online world.
The steps outlined below should be part of any business’ overall marketing strategy, so if you haven’t done it yet, now is an excellent time to map your strategy.
Write down all your answers to the questions below in a spreadsheet or word document. In the next few weeks, you’ll be answering more questions and inputting the answers in the same spreadsheet until we narrow down your social media target market. Later we’ll find out where they socialize and how they search for services or products like yours.
You might have to brainstorm a little, think over your answers carefully. You’d be surprised how you think you know what you offer, but to put it into concrete terms is not that easy sometimes. But don’t get frustrated. You know what you do and how you do it better than the rest!
1. First, define your business: What services do you offer or products do you sell? Write it down in one or two easy to understand sentences.
2. How does your product or service help people or other businesses? How will your product(s) or service benefit a customer specifically? There can be more than one benefit. Write down a problem and how your product or service can solve this problem.
3. What is unique about your product or service? What do you offer that no one else does, or what is a unique approach that you take? This will be your unique selling proposition. It should be brief and have an impact. In one sentence, it should tell people what you offer and help them remember it.
4. Why should someone use your service or buy your product? What is it that you can offer over a competitor?
5. Make a promise: What can your customers/clients expect from you.
Each week we’ll be posting social media and content marketing tips, advice, and answers, as well as a simple action for you to take and keep on top of your social media and content management.