Content marketing – a combination of storytelling, technology, and advertising – offers numerous benefits for businesses, such as current customer retention, increased sales, brand building, increased visibility, and more. It’s a great way to attract your desired audience and acquire them as customers. The first step to successful content marketing, though, is knowing who your audience is.
In an October webinar hosted by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Bala Ramakrishnan – president and CEO of the advertising agency PentaTwo and a member of the marketing faculty at the University of Phoenix – spoke about understanding your target audience. In order for your brand and business to achieve success, it’s important to know the following things about your target market so that you can tailor your content to engage and attract them, according to Ramakrishnan.
Demographics
Demographics include characteristics such as a person’s age, gender, race, education level, and whether they have children or not, among other traits. Businesses can retrieve these statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau or county or city chambers of commerce (for more localized data).
Psychographics
While demographics give you some basic insight into who the people in your target market are, psychographics reveal their mindset and how they live. For instance, psychographics include information such as whether or not your audience members like to read, watch sports, or play golf. Knowing their lifestyle will help you figure out the best way to package and distribute information to grab their attention.
Culture
Considering the cultural characteristics of the people you’re trying to reach is key to effective content marketing. For instance, if your target audience is primarily German, you might struggle to sell them a credit card, Ramakrishnan noted. Germans have historically showed more of an aversion to credit cards and debt than people of other nationalities, according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, “schuld,” the German word for “debt,” also means “guilt.” Therefore, if your product is a credit card, you’ll likely have more success if you set your sights on an audience with a more pro-credit culture.
Whether they know who you are and what they think of you
Your marketing efforts shouldn’t just convince your audience that your product is good. You should also show your target market that the product comes from a good, reliable, and trustworthy person or company. Communicate details such as who you are, your qualifications, whether your business manufacturers the product or resells it.
Whether they are receiving your message and how they feel about it
If you distribute content without asking for feedback, you’ll have no idea whether your target audience reacted to it positively or negatively – or if they even saw or read it in the first place. To gauge the effectiveness of your approach, it’s crucial to solicit feedback (e.g., in the form of email or phone surveys) to ensure that the members of your intended audience are receiving your message and that your approach is as attractive as you intended.
If you need assistance with your content marketing efforts, the Traffic Jams research process can help you define your target market and determine the best way to reach them with relevant, engaging, and high-quality content. To learn more, contact us today at (855) 599-9998 or email sales@trafficjams.com.
