5 Ways to Bolster Your LinkedIn Presence Today
16 Aug
Digital Marketing, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Productivity, Social Media

5 Ways to Bolster Your LinkedIn Presence Today

LinkedIn is an excellent channel to build your personal brand and establish yourself as a thought leader in a network of professionals. Gaining traction on LinkedIn isn’t easy, however. You need to understand how it works, how to work with its tools, and what type of content generates the best response.

1. Post Consistently

Consistent posting is the single most important aspect of success on LinkedIn. Posting too often can harm your presence and makes your followers feel bombarded with your content. Likewise, posting too infrequently can get your posts lost in the newsfeed.

Ideally, post two or three times a week, and no more than once a day. Depending on your audience, you may get more engagement if you post in the morning instead of the afternoon or evening. Be sure to research your followers to see when they’re most active.

2. Share Visual Content

LinkedIn may not be TikTok or Instagram, but it still thrives on visual content. Research suggests that articles with images receive up to 94% more views than text posts. And it’s not just images – you can try videos, slide shows, or infographics to capture the attention of followers.

3. Support Your Fellow Professionals

Don’t just share your own content. According to the 4-1-1 Rule, for every post that’s your own, you should repost one relevant post and share four pieces of relevant content written by others. When you follow this rule, you’re providing helpful, industry-relevant insights for your audience and supporting your fellow business owners.

Another benefit is that sharing a post also shares your opinion. No industry is without its controversy or differing opinions. When you share content you like, you’re subtly providing your opinion on a topic. If you wish, add your own caption to expand on the topic and offer your own insights.

4. Don’t Be Salesy

The point of getting on social media is to promote yourself, but that doesn’t mean you need to turn into a pushy used car salesman. You’re there to provide value to your community, first and foremost.

For example, avoid posting directly about your business, products, or services. This just comes off as blatant promotion and may turn people off. 

Before you can self-promote, you have to engage in valuable discussions with your community and share information that may be interesting to them. If you make an impact, that can drive people to visit your website and your products.

5. Create Specific Content

If you’re active on social media, there’s a good chance you have followers on just about every platform. Instead of having them see the same things on all your social accounts, create specific content just for LinkedIn.

This is the perfect platform for it as well. You may have customers as followers on LinkedIn, but you probably also have a number of industry professionals on your page that you can update and share insights with.

Get Your Business on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is only growing in popularity and becoming an increasingly powerful platform. If you’re not on LinkedIn yet, or you’re struggling to boost your activity, use these tips to attract and engage followers.

Looking for guidance in marketing or scaling your business? Work with Allison directly to develop the skills you need to succeed with your business!

01 Aug
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Digital Marketing

Vetting Your Business Coach: What to Know Before Signing the Contract

Business coaching is a valuable tool to support your professional growth, whether for your own business or to reach the next level in your career. You can learn to identify and move past roadblocks that are holding you back to become more productive.

But not all coaches are equally skilled or qualified. The market isn’t regulated like doctors or attorneys – anyone can become a coach. It’s vital that you do your due diligence to ensure that your time and financial investment are going toward a coach who can help you reach your goals.

Here’s what you need to know before you sign a contract:

Expertise

You want to work with a coach that has extensive experience helping people achieve their business goals, whether they’re just starting out or scaling a business. When you’re vetting your coaches, ask them how long they’ve been coaching and what type of training they underwent.

Goals

Before you embark on business coaching, it’s important that you understand what you’re looking to gain from the experience. Many people are confused about what a business coach actually does – they’re not business advisors. A coach is there to help you develop the skills and mindset to achieve your goals, not to solve problems in your business using their own knowledge and expertise.

Methodology

Business coaches often approach their coaching with different tools, methods, and strategies. Some will work for you and others may not, so make sure to find a coach that aligns with the way you process information and receive guidance. If you’re not sure if you’re a fit, ask your prospective coach how they approach coaching and what types of clients they prefer to work with.

Personality

This can’t be overstated – coaching is a deeply personal process. You need to feel like you’re in a comfortable, confidential space with your coach to discuss your personal growth, strengths and weaknesses, and roadblocks. It’s vital that you have a personality fit between yourself and your coach for this to be successful.

For example, some people respond more to a “tough love” relationship with someone who will be direct with their criticism and recommendations. Others need a coach who will soften the blow to make them more receptive to coaching and learning.

Timing

Business coaches offer different plans and schedules. Some are weekly, some are monthly, and you want to be sure you’ll have a coach who’s available at the time you need it most. Consider how often you want to meet with your coach in advance, then find a coach with the availability that works best for your needs.

Work with Allison Todd

Hiring a business coach is like hiring anyone else to perform a service – you need to do your research. Ask plenty of questions, look for referrals from people you trust, and discuss the process with your prospective coaches to increase the likelihood of success in your coaching experience.

Looking for business coaching? Work with Allison directly!

18 Jul
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Digital Marketing

Business Women: Why We Settle for Less (And Why We Shouldn’t)

Women still struggle with inequality in the workplace – even if they own their own business! Women continue to earn less, on average, than men in the same positions, and they’re underrepresented in the top positions and fields.

Research has shown that biases, both conscious and subconscious, are part of the problem, but that’s not all. Women sometimes don’t get what they want and deserve because they aren’t asking for it.

Women often feel apprehension asking for what they want or need. Women are also more pessimistic about what is available when they negotiate, so they ask for less and get less if they do negotiate.

Don’t settle for less! And here’s why you never should.

Settling for Less Means Choosing Limitations

When you settle for less than you deserve, you’re choosing a life filled with limitations of your own doing. You’re actively restricting your own potential, whether it’s out of apprehension, fear of failure or rejection, or any other barrier.

You’ll never be able to succeed or grow if you’re stuck in your own self-imposed comfort zone!

Settling Means Giving Up on Your Goals

When you settle, it’s a way of giving up. You’re essentially saying that the dreams and goals you have aren’t possible, aren’t worth fighting for. Never stop pushing!

Plenty of people settle, whether in their careers, their relationships, or other aspects of their life. They think that “good enough” is enough, and maybe it’s not. Maybe the spot you’re settling in was the stepping stone to get you closer to your goal.

Settling Means You’re Accepting Less than the Best You Could Have

Everyone has moments when they could choose to settle or keep pushing harder for what they want. We may choose what seems right at that moment instead of continuing to push for better options, possibly ending up in a less than favorable position.

But what if what’s truly the best for us means taking that chance? If you’re setting on your career path or your business goals, you’re choosing the second-best option over being the best you can be. Life is too short to stop there.

Settling Means Settling for a Lesser Version of Yourself

If you settle on the mediocre and average, you’re missing out on living your fullest potential. Whether you end up in a job with no growth potential or give up when running your own business gets hard, you’re setting yourself up to stay stuck.

Remember, you can’t change the past, but you can avoid the same mistakes in the future. Take action and make positive change before regret sets in.

You Deserve the Best

You are worthy and deserving of the best life has to offer. Never settle for less!

If something isn’t working out, isn’t having a positive effect on your life, let it go! Don’t hold onto something that no longer serves you. Move on and move forward to get the life you deserve.

Looking for motivation? Work with Allison Todd directly and see how you can reach your fullest potential with the guidance of a professional business and career coach!

6 Places to Get Your Voice Heard
11 Jul
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Digital Marketing, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Marketing

6 Places to Get Your Voice Heard

Have you ever attended a keynote and been moved? Watched a Ted Talk over and over? Liked and shared a social media post that was powerful?

You have a voice, too, and you can be empowered to share it with others. All of us have the power to be influential, whether in the digital world or the real one.

Here are 6 places to get your voice heard and spark change.

1. Your Blog

Blogs may have started with moms sharing their experiences, but they’ve become a vital part of business. In fact, many people make money sharing their expertise on their own blog and industry, such as travel.

If you have a blog, start sharing your thoughts and ideas. If you don’t, get started! This is a great way to get your voice heard and establish yourself as an authority. It may take time, but it’s worth the payoff.

2. Email

Despite the rise of other types of marketing, email is still an effective way to share content with an audience and capture their attention. You can begin with a newsletter that comes out once a month, or a few times a month, to build your audience.

3. YouTube

Video is a persuasive medium that many have leveraged for success. Whatever your business venture or cause, just about anyone can create professional videos or promos to share on YouTube. The cleverer and more creative the idea, the more traction you’re likely to receive, but don’t be afraid to just jump into it.

4. Social Media

Social media is incredibly powerful. From politicians to brands to influencers, just about everyone is using social media to connect with others and share ideas and opinions, and you can do the same.

Major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are excellent places to start, but you could also share your expertise on platforms like Quora and Reddit. People often use these platforms to ask questions or seek discussions within certain industries or topics, and that’s your time to shine.

5. Publications

Most publications accept pitches from writers to feature in their upcoming issues. With the rise of digital publications, you have more opportunity than ever before to get a feature article with the right pitch and audience.

Pitching takes time, however. You may not get published at the first try, or the second, or even the 10th, but keep going! Eventually, you’ll find the right fit for your article. And even if you’re rejected once, don’t be afraid to pitch again in the future! Maybe your article is a good fit, but not for right now.

6. Local Venues

Similar to pitching publications, you may be able to book local speaking engagements at small venues. Like publications, venues typically have a long lead time and specific guidelines and requirements for speakers.

You may need to approach a dozen different venues before you get booked, but that’s just part of the process. Don’t get discouraged! Keep trying.

Get Professional Coaching

Learning how to channel and share your voice isn’t easy, but you have plenty of outlets to be heard. The most important thing is having the confidence in yourself, and coaching from an expert like Allison Todd can help! Work with Allison Todd directly!

why brand guidelines are important
16 May
Business Coach, Digital Marketing

Why Your Brand Guidelines Matter

Brand guidelines or a brand book are a set of properties that explain how your brand operates, what it looks like, and who you are. It usually includes your mission, values, vision, tone, personality, and messaging. 

Built on your vision, personality, and mission are your brand assets, such as your color identity, logo, and visual styling. While it may seem superfluous, your goal is to attract a specific type of customer, and knowing what appeals to them is important. 

Here are my top reasons creating your brand guidelines is essential for your business. 

Brand Consistency

By creating a standard for how your brand appears, you will have a consistent identity in front of your audience. Changing graphics, colors, fonts, and associated with your brand makes you appear flighty and indecisive. 

Consistency in messaging and design shows you’re steadfast and reliable. It builds trust with your audience, who feels they know what to expect and are more comfortable working with you.

Brand Guidelines Encourage Relationships

It’s not just about colors and fonts. Comprehensive guidelines also advance your company’s values and mission. It’s an easy way to communicate what you stand for and how you intend to accomplish your goals. 

People connect with purposes, not brands. By showcasing a relatable, human element of your brand, you’re building authentic connections and relationships with your market.

Brand Recognition

We all know brands like Nike, Mcdonald’s, Ford. You only have to see their logo, and you instantly recognize who they are and what they offer. 

How? Because we’ve seen them over and over again, never changing, always consistent. 

While you’re probably not to mega-brand levels just yet, creating brand guidelines that your company lives and breathes by makes you instantly recognizable to your target audience. 

Brand Value Perception

Brand guidelines help you create a strong brand identity. When it’s designed to target your desired audience shows that you know your market. 

You understand their needs, desires, goals, and even a bit of their style. Together, this increases your value in their eyes, and they’re more open to paying what you’re worth. 

Brand Tone and Target Market 

Knowing your audience is key to developing a unique brand voice. If you’re a suit and tie brand, your tone and voice will trend more skilled and professional, and your brand visuals will be dark and sharp. 

If your market is families with small children, bright colors, bold fonts, and light, happy messaging is what connects with that aesthetic. 

If you go to market with any old logo you whipped up on Canva, and whatever font you happen to like, there is a strong likelihood that none of that will suit your brand. It doesn’t match who your customer is, and they may not trust your offer.

Your Brand Guidelines Matter Because Your Brand Is Selling Something

If you don’t have comprehensive brand guidelines keeping you on track, you may find your marketing is off, and you’re not reaching the right audience. I can help you develop robust and consistent brand guidelines that advance your messaging and your value. Book with me!

how to automate your business
09 May
Digital Marketing, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Productivity

3 Things to Automate in Your Business Right Now

Those menial, tedious tasks you hate doing every day? Automate. The technology to make your life so much easier is out there! You will boost your productivity and relieve yourself from the pressure of all the “to-dos” that you don’t really have to do. 

Let’s review my top 3 things you should automate in your business right now!

#1 Client Onboarding

Different from welcome emails, this is your internal process. It’s something you can create and set up once but use again and again. 

Using a productivity management system to send contracts, welcome packets, questionnaires, and client portal information automatically saves you time and puts the client at ease that you have it all together! It also ensures that everything is accomplished as quickly as possible, and nothing is ever missed. 

My Favorite Productivity Management Systems:

  • – Monday.com
  • – Airtable
  • – Asana
  • – Trello
  • – Zapier 

#2 Welcome Emails 

Did you know welcome emails usually have the highest open rates? These emails are your first access to direct contact with a potential client and are extremely valuable. Use them to engage with the lead and ask how they liked your resource. 

Using your CRM or email management system, set up welcome emails to fire off after a new contact is received and drip out over the following days and weeks. This keeps you at the top of their inbox while your name is fresh on their mind.

Leverage these notes to further establish who you are, what you do, and why they should care by providing practical, tangible value in their inbox. Slowly introduce other ways to connect with you and your higher-ticket offers. 

#3 Social Media Content

Automating content production can reduce the pressure on you or your team to be creative every day at the optimal posting time. While the content still has to be physically created or curated, there are tools and software platforms that help you automate the process. 

You can batch create your social media text and graphics using the free tool, Canva. If you run out of ideas, scroll through the feed of your ideal client or competitors and see what they’re engaged with. Use this to fuel your creation! 

Pre-made content calendars are also a dime a dozen, but apps like PostDeck also offer daily prompts and conversation starters to essentially generate content for you. 

When you’re ready to publish, upload your content to a platform like Sprout Social, Buffer, or Later. These services help you schedule content out for the week or even the month so you can “set it and forget it” and focus on engagement. 

Consider implementing Facebook’s “out of office” auto-responder for after-hours to connect with anyone who may reach out. Or, set up a chatbot to keep the conversation going and assist potential leads. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Automation can be tech-heavy upfront, but the payoff is literally buying you more time! If you’re overwhelmed by manual processes and need support and encouragement to confidently make good business decisions, let’s talk! Book a consultation with me!

Executive Coaching
08 Feb
Business Coach, Digital Marketing

What Is Executive Coaching? 

What is meant by “executive coaching?” What’s the difference between executive coaching and coaching? And, most importantly, is executive coaching worth it? 

The coaching industry is booming. It seems there is a coach for everything, from business coaches to feline-behavior coaches. But what exactly is executive coaching? What does it do? And is it worth your money, and more importantly, your time? This article will lay everything on the line, breaking down any myths about the role of an executive coach and how it can help you. 

What Is Meant by “Coaching?” 

Firstly, let’s consider the term “coaching.” The word “coaching” means supporting, teaching, and mentoring a person to unlock their potential and help achieve their goals. We associate the term “coaching” with sports, and if we were to take this at surface value, a sports coach does well in representing the umbrella role of a coach. 

Consider a basketball coach, for instance. A basketball coach’s responsibility is to direct, instruct, and improve a basketball team’s overall strategy and performance. 

When we remove the ‘basketball’ element, we’re left with something similar: instructing, directing, and improving the overall strategy and performance. Whether this tackles a business angle (a business coach), a nutrition angle (a nutrition coach), our relationships (a relationship coach), the fundamentals remain consistent. 

What Is Meant by “Executive Coaching?” 

Now that we understand the broad term “coaching,” we can move onto the more specific branch of “executive coaching.”

The term “executive coaching” is a 1:1 coaching session between a coach and senior leaders. It’s related to corporate coaching (otherwise known as career coaching). Leaders use an executive coach to both support and challenge their performance, striving for nothing short of excellence. 

Executive coaching was initially known as performance coaching and was created to fast-track career-driven professionals to the top of their game. 

What Does an Executive Coach Do? 

If you’re considering hiring an executive coach, you may find yourself searching for “what should I expect from an executive coach?” To manage (and exceed) your expectations, here are the fundamentals every executive coach should offer you:

  • – Provide a sounding board padded with support and confidentiality 
  • – Ask questions that stretch and challenge your current approach 
  • – Help you achieve clarity 
  • – Hand you helpful resources that can aid in meeting your goals
  • – Lend their own personal opinion and advice, should you ask for it. 
  • – Conduct behavioral assessments and analyze the results for areas of strength and weakness. 
  • – Set, track, and reassess growth and development goals.

Who Can an Executive Coach Help? 

Often, executive coaches help leaders and senior leadership teams. There’s no written rule that executive coaches can’t coach any employee that shows excellent promise and capability of growth. In fact, it’s becoming more common for employers to invest money into their capable employees through an executive coach, even before they reach leadership level. 

What Are the Benefits of Executive Coaching? 

The benefits of executive coaching are extensive and can maximize an employee’s potential if you find the right executive coach. This is advantageous not only to the employee, but the whole business will also benefit from this. So, with that in mind, let’s look at the real benefits of executive coaching.

Executive Coaching Benefit 1: Higher Motivation Levels 

Human beings are motivated when they see their success. It’s something every single one of us has in common. While there are people who crumble under pressure when they can see that an approach isn’t working, others may thrive. This differentiation between types of employees can cause issues for the company. Instead, ensuring an executive coach produces success in certain areas will guarantee higher motivation levels. 

Executive Coaching Benefit 2: Better Leadership Strategies 

Executive coaches often coach members of a Senior Leadership Team. With anyone higher up in a business, leadership is a fundamental skill that needs to be constantly improved. It may come naturally to some, but others find leadership challenging. 

Hiring an executive coach will allow you to explore different leadership styles and tactics, help you spot your leadership weaknesses, and, ultimately, improve. 

Executive Coaching Benefit 3: Increase Your Self-Awareness 

Self-awareness is key to any form of progression. Whether that’s for your own personal fitness, subject knowledge, or attitude at work. Being self-aware allows you to identify areas of weakness and strength. Often, we aren’t as self-aware as we could be, as we’re so busy juggling the many tasks assigned to us. However, having an executive coach helps you see yourself clearly, allowing you to improve specific areas and strategies. 

Executive Coaching Benefit 4: Teaches You Higher Levels of Empathy 

We could all learn to show more empathy in the workplace. So often, we don’t consider what someone has been through when they make a mistake. Leadership teams, in particular, are known for being cold with little empathy. But the world is changing, and an empathetic approach is ranking higher and higher on employees’ “must-have” list when looking to build their career. 

If you can show empathy, you’ll find that your team wants to reward this understanding with hard work. Plus, it shows your humane side, rather than simply being a leadership team member. 

Executive Coaching Benefit 5: Strategy and Data Analysis 

The point of a coach is to help you improve. In terms of an executive coach, it tends to revolve around bettering your performance at work. This involves evaluating the strategies you’re currently implementing by monitoring the data, analyzing it, and piecing together a narrative. An executive coach can help show you different sides of the story, allowing you to strategize with all of the information to make a well-rounded decision. 

Is an Executive Coach Worth It? 

The question we’ve all been waiting for: is an executive coach worth your money and time? 

The short answer? Yes. 

The long answer? Hiring an excellent executive coach can transform your working life. It can better your leadership skills, improve your ability to empathize, support you and aid in meeting your working goals, and genuinely take you from “good” to “great.”

To do so, you must have a solid executive coach who has proven results. But, as always, you get what you pay for. So, it’s fundamental to do your research first. 

You also need to be open to change. There’s little point in hiring an executive coach if you don’t honestly want to improve. You must be open-minded and ready to see yourself the way your team does. If none of these are applicable, you may not be prepared for executive coaching. 

But, if they do apply, you’ll absolutely benefit from an executive coach. 

How To Make Black Friday Profitable For Business Owners
27 Oct
Business Coach, Digital Marketing, Grow Your Business, Marketing, Productivity

How To Make Black Friday Profitable For Business Owners

With an enormous $9 billion dollars spent by consumers on Black Friday in 2020 alone, this day undoubtedly presents businesses with an incredible opportunity to have more traffic and profit coming their way by partaking in the festivities. 

4 Tips For Running A Seamless Black Friday

With Black Friday and the holiday season just around the corner, it is the perfect time for businesses to start thinking about their strategy for participating in the sales and deals of this iconic shopping day. Here are 4 tips and tricks for running a profitable Black Friday: 

#1: Offer Loyal Customers Exclusive Perks 

If you have already done the hard part of making a sale and converting someone into a loyal customer, it is important to make them feel valued before the Black Friday experience by offering them exclusive perks and deals on top of the ones you’re running for the masses. This will make them feel more inclined to participate. 

Whether it’s through an SMS text or a targeted email, get your subscribers and loyalty program members excited for your upcoming deals by early access to deals, additional discount codes, and more. 

#2: Promote Your Upcoming Deals On Social Media

With 420 billion users active on social media in 2020, using these platforms for marketing is one of the most important tools for getting the word out about your businesses’ Black Friday events. 

Promoting on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and other popular platforms is a great way of creating buzz around your deals in the days leading up to it. 

One of the most important tactics to get engagement you desire are by using Black Friday-specific hashtags and captions so that people can find you more easily. 

#3: Go Above And Beyond Traditional Discounts

With thousands upon thousands of brands partaking in discounts on Black Friday, it is important to find innovative ways to stand out against the competition and create more incentives for consumers so that they focus on what you have to offer. 

Some of the best ways to go above and beyond are to offer free gifts and perks in addition to discounts, offer free shipping with every purchase, and provide future discounts after they make a Black Friday purchase. The possibilities are truly endless, so get creative with it! 

#4: Don’t Miss The Benefits Of Online Shopping 

One of the most important aspects of planning a profitable Black Friday is focusing on online shopping. With 93.2 million consumers online shopping on this day in 2019, it is just as important for businesses to take advantage of digital Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in addition to the traditional brick-and-mortar Black Friday deals. 

Watch Your Black Friday Profit Soar With The Help Of Coach Allison Todd 

If you are looking for new ways to improve your business’s profitability for Black Friday and beyond, I am here to help. As a coach and consultant with 20+ years of experience, I am energized by the opportunity to transform entrepreneurs and corporations alike. 

To learn more about a partnership, don’t hesitate to shoot me an inquiry today! 

Video Strategy: Create Your Customer’s Path to Purchase
24 Sep
Business Coach, Digital Marketing, Grow Your Business

Video Strategy: Create Your Customer’s Path to Purchase

What was the last item that you purchased? Have it in mind? Great, now think about the steps that you took before purchasing it. Chances are, much of the process was done subconsciously, unless it was a major purchase.

Even for insignificant items, your mind likely walked through three stages that are known as the buyer’s journey, which include awareness, consideration, and decision. 

Consumers go through these stages with nearly every purchase, and it’s the seller’s responsibility to help them get from the first step through to deciding to purchase.

Recent studies have shown that the use of video is becoming increasingly effective at helping a buyer make their mind up. We’re going to show you how video can be used in each stage to help close more sales for your business. 

Stage One: Awareness

In the awareness stage, a buyer has identified a problem or need and is trying to find a solution to it through research. During this stage, videos that address your customer’s “pain points” are most effective. 

Introduce yourself, what you can provide, and how it can fix their issue. Be specific about how you can help them and remind them where they can find you and how to connect. 

Stage Two: Consideration

Next up is the consideration stage. Your buyer is fully aware of their problem at this point, and they’re ready to find a solution. 

They should know about your business by now, but they’re not quite sold yet and are still considering other options. Now is the time for your “explainer video” where you give them the answers they need and offer valuable content about your products and services. 

Stage Three: Decision

Now it’s time for your buyer to make up their mind and decide what solution they’re going to commit to. They’ve done their research, and it’s up to you to drive it home. 

Close the sale by building trust with client reviews and show them your success measures and impact. Do you have a study showing how you helped a past customer or how your service improved their lives in some way? Show them the details. Remember, the proof is in the pudding!

Ongoing Videos Lead To Future Sales

Using videos in your marketing helps to attract and retain committed, loyal customers. Once they’ve purchased something from you, it’s up to you to keep your brand at the forefront of their mind. This way, the next time they need a similar solution, they’ll turn to you.

One way to do this is by sending ongoing video content reminding them that you’re there for them whenever they need you. Send videos of new customer testimonials or new products; anything to stay current in their memory.

In today’s media-driven world, there are countless ways to get your message to the public and in front of your target audience. While you can always tell your customers why you’re the best, videos give you the ability to show them. After all, actions speak louder than words—and nothing speaks louder than high-quality video marketing. 

How to Identify and Attract Your Target Audience
13 May
Digital Marketing, post, Social Media

Understand How to Identify and Attract Your Target Audience

In the digital marketing world, understanding the audience for your product or service is key to growing your business. However, this can be a challenging task–but it does have its solutions. Read on to learn more about identifying your ideal audience and crafting the types of content they want.

Why Do I Need To Identify A Target Audience?

A target audience, by definition, is the people you’d like to engage with your content and then convert into clients and customers. At this point you may be thinking, I’ll just focus on making great content and the right audience will follow. While that can be true, great content only promises traffic–it doesn’t equal sales. 

On top of that, identifying your audience helps establish where you should be funneling your marketing budget–no one can afford to hit all digital and media channels with advertisements. By locating your niche in the market, you can create content that will produce a return on the money you invest in digital marketing advertisements. 

How Can I Identify My Niche Audience?

There are a number of tried and tested methods for establishing your target audience.

Current Customers

If you’re an established business, you already have a foundation of current customers. Use statistical analysis to dissect the demographics and then the psychographics of your current customers. These data points include identifying:

  • – The demographics of your current customers

  • – Where they buy from

  • – What their common interests are

You can also look at the analytics on social media to see what posts they share, like, and comment on the most and use that information to inform your content creation as well.

Start From Scratch

If you’re a new business, or it’s just time to revamp your systems, follow these steps for establishing a target audience:

  • Identify the features and benefits of your products/services and who would most likely use/benefit from them. 

  • Create several user personas. These personas are meant to help you visualize who you’ll be writing for. They’ll include details such as:

– Gender

– Personality

– Family life

– Job title

– Job function

– Employer

– Location

– Income

– Needs

– Pain points

– Challenges

After you’ve finished analyzing your audience, make sure that your niches aren’t too similar–if one marketing message works for more than one niche, you’ve gone too far. 

What Should I Focus My Content On?

At the beginning of this article we mentioned that just having great content won’t get you the ROI you want–and that’s true. However, creating great content crafted towards the needs for your target audience is a surefire plan every time. The secret to having great engagement with your audience is writing the content that they want to read–ask yourself, what exactly would make them stop, click, and consume your content?

You don’t have to make this a guessing game either–return to what you know: utilize statistics to see what content has done well in the past, and conduct keyword research around your products to see what your customer base is also interested in. 

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