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How well do you know your customers? What motivates them and why? The more you understand your customer, their needs, wants, challenges, and values, the better you can communicate with them. Marketing personas are highly detailed profiles of your ideal customer that will help provide clarity in your marketing strategy.
A marketing persona, also known as a customer or buyer persona or customer avatar, is a generalized profile of your ideal customer and a key segment of your target audience. You form this picture of your customer and their characteristics by using customer research and analyzing the data. Look at demographic information such as age, gender, location, and job or role. Depending on the product you sell or service you offer, it also can include the psychographic profile that includes lifestyle, interests, preferences, and concerns. This description is not just who buys your product – i.e., the business owner. It’s a generalized representation of your target audience and the traits your customers have in common. It helps you to visualize this person because you understand details about why they buy your product or service. If you understand the unique characteristics and needs of your customer segments, you can design products and services that will appeal to them and structure your marketing activities to get their attention more effectively. Determine the base information for your buyer from your current customers. Do you see a pattern with your current customers? What is the key demographic information such as age, gender, location, and job? Do they have common lifestyles, interests and preferences? What is their story? Describe their needs, goals, and concerns. Include how they make decisions and if there are any common objections. Once you have identified your marketing personas, use them as the foundation of your marketing. You will be able to create strategies that align with the people that really want your products and services. Content Marketing Defining marketing personas helps you understand how your target market searches for solutions. Do keyword research using your personas to understand how your audience searches. What questions are they asking, and do you have well-optimized content that answers these questions? If not, use this information to develop your content strategy. This will ensure you are providing your audience with the information they want and need from you. SEO Persona-driven SEO can make your organic visibility more effective. When your SEO activities directly target your ideal client, the people who find you in the search results are those visitors who are more likely to convert into leads. Website Structure Ensure your website provides the content your ideal client is looking for. You’ve done the work to get a more targeted visitor to your website, now give them what they want. Directly speak to your visitors with messages that are meaningful to their needs, guiding them through your website. When your visitor sees that you understand their needs, they will follow the path you set for them. Social Media Part of your marketing persona profiles should include what social media they use. This will enable you to focus only on those platforms that make the most sense. You can curate better content to post on your social sites that will attract your audience as well. This makes you a valued resource of information your audience needs without having to search for it. The more you know about your ideal client, the better business and marketing decisions you can make. This information can help you create the right service offerings and eliminate those that are of no interest. Personas also give you a clear focus on who you are trying to attract and enable you to create content that solves the problems that impact their lives.
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Does your business have a blog on your website? Are you sending out informational and educational news?
Regularly posting blogs and sharing news and education can benefit your business in numerous ways. If you help people solve a problem related to your industry, or teach them something they did not know, your name is front of mind when they need to hire someone. This isn’t automatic, but the effect is real. For purposes of this article all content writing including social media posts will be addressed as “blogging” unless I am referring to one specific type of writing. There’s a growing misconception that blogging isn’t important, or that it’s not as important as it once was. Somewhere in the last few years, blogs began feeling a bit old school. But that’s not the right way to look at it. The real question isn’t whether they’re new or old, it’s whether publishing blogs gets results. And the truth is that writing blogs and posts remain highly effective marketing tools. Blogging regularly is not only a low-cost marketing strategy, it allows you to position yourself as an industry expert. It builds trust with your audience and immediately establishes your expertise. Your blog posts should be tied to your other marketing efforts and should build your industry connections. When done right, a business blog can market your company, attract new customers, and position you as an industry leader. Unfortunately, many businesses start blogging without a clear idea of what to write about or how to use it to market their company. As a result, business blogging often takes up time and energy without producing any benefit. The main thing to keep in mind is that your site content, marketing materials, social media, news, articles, and blogs must all be consistent yet for each media, must be written differently. It sounds overwhelming but can be accomplished. Improving Your Writing 1. Define your audience You would never run a magazine ad or a TV commercial without knowing the intended audience. Similarly, you should never create a blog or post without knowing for whom you are writing. These are your target customers - - the people most likely to be searching for and interested in learning about your business. If you don’t yet have a defined audience, create a reader profile based on what you know about your ideal customers. Include the following information:
Gathering this information will help you choose topics to write about and create a blog that your customers will care about. And, if you really have multiple audiences, make sure you write different things to address all of them separately. 2. Create an editorial calendar Customers, blog readers, and search engines all like predictability. If you start writing, but then don’t post for several weeks, readers are less likely to come back and see what else you’ve written. A website that publishes infrequently won’t rank as high in search engines, making it less likely that customers will find you through online search. It’s hard to publish regularly if you are struggling to think of things to write about or forgetting that your blog exists. To prevent this, create an editorial calendar that lays out a plan for what you will write and when it will be published. The frequency of your posts doesn’t matter as much as the quality and consistency. One well-written, relevant blog post every two weeks will market your business better than daily poor-quality posts or a blog that hasn’t been updated in months. 3. Brainstorm keywords for each post. If you want customers to find your website when they search online, your blog posts must include related phrases that customers might type into a search engine. Before you write each post, brainstorm long-tail keywords and include them in your writing. For example, if your company provides accounting services to small and mid-size businesses, your customers may search for “small business accounting tips.” Aim for one main keyword and two or three secondary keywords that are relevant to the topic you are writing about. 4. Optimize your posts for search engines To optimize your blog posts for SEO, add signals that tell search engines what your post is about. When search engines read these signals, they can direct relevant traffic to your website. Incorporate keywords as naturally as possible. Do not add keywords randomly or in sentences where they don’t fit organically; this is known as “keyword stuffing” and signals to search engines that your site isn’t trustworthy. The written post isn’t the only place where you should use keywords. They should also appear in the following places:
When you optimize all these places, you send multiple signals to search engines and make it easier for them to direct customers to your blog.  We are always looking for ways to get in front of our potential customers. Though there are many successful strategies that can be used, we should discuss Facebook and its relevance in 2022.
It seems that some people are more interested in Instagram and TikTok, but there are still a lot of people that use Facebook and get impressive advertising results. No one can predict the future, but I think Facebook is here to stay and will continue to do well within business communities. We all know Facebook pretty well at this point, and as the world’s most famous social network, its mobile app can be found on more than two billion users’ devices. 2022 Facebook Statistics
Set up a Facebook page for your business. If your business does not already have a Facebook page set up, you might want to do so immediately! If your business has a designated Facebook page, your clients and customers will be able to leave meaningful comments on your wall, message you, and share your work with their colleagues, friends, and family. Post insightful content on your wall. Clients and prospects do not want to waste their time on fluff. Post items that will add substance to your Facebook page instead of flooding your page with cute pictures and inspiring quotes. Anyone can advertise on Facebook The most significant advantage of using Facebook for promotion is that the platform is open to everyone. Regardless of your company size, goal, and budget, the network allows everyone to advertise their work on its platform. Boost your posts to grow your audience Boosted Facebook posts work by paying to increase the exposure of a post. Boosted Facebook posts look like any other post: they live on your page and appear in your desired audience’s newsfeed. The key difference between a regular post and a boosted post is that the boosted post will allow you to target specific audiences. Make sure that your boosted post has a great image, a clear call to action, and leads back to your website. Target the right audiences
Scheduling tools, on the other hand, make life much easier. They have tons of convenient features like media libraries and hashtag suggestions, and they allow you to schedule the same post on multiple platforms.
2. Do your hashtag research beforehand Nothing’s worse than almost being ready to hit the “schedule” button on your posts, only to realize you forgot about hashtags. Find hashtags that fly slightly under the radar – the more popular the hashtag, the bigger the competition. Keep a list of your go-to hashtags and use them in tandem with post-specific ones. You’ll cut down on research time while keeping your hashtag strategy fresh. 3. Work in batches Bouncing around from task to task is a great way to hurt your overall productivity. When you focus on one task at a time, it’s easier to get “in the zone.” Break the process down into batches. Take one day to write your social media posts. Take a break, then create all your graphics. Then do your hashtag research. Once you’re done, it will take no time at all to pop everything into your scheduling tool. 4. Have a folder of go-to images Whether you’re scavenging through a messy Google Drive folder or searching for images on stock photo sites, organization is the key. Clean up that photo folder ASAP. Spend an hour or two creating a photo library with shots from your favorite stock photo site. Don’t waste time scrambling for photos at the last minute; have a robust folder of ready-to-go photo options to simplify your scheduling process. 5. Post at the best possible times If you’re going to schedule social media content, you better schedule it to go out at the best possible time. That’s another benefit of scheduling tools – many of them suggest the best times to post on each platform. If you’re looking to boost your social media engagement stats, this is one easy step that could make a huge impact. Of course, the easiest (and most effective) way to schedule your social media content is to outsource it! Looking for help with your social scheduling, strategy, management and more? We’d love to hear from you.  Do I need to know a Kardashian? I recently read a book about Harry and Meghan and found it interesting that Meghan Markle made moves early in her career to align herself with influencers, and then became one herself, launching The Tig. So, the answer to the question above is NO, you do not need to know a Kardashian or a Megan Markle to align yourself with influencers. Over the years, influencer marketing has become an immense part of the marketing landscape. Honestly, I had to do my due diligence to learn more. Influencer marketing often sounds too good to be true, but the numbers don’t lie — on average, for every $1 businesses spend on influencer marketing, they make $18.
New to influencer marketing? Confused as to exactly what it entails? You’re not alone. It is something new to my range of services too. The term “influencer” is tossed around a lot, and it’s not always clear what it means, so let me share what I have learned. First, what’s an influencer? The term “influencer” is shorthand for social media influencer. A social media influencer is a person who has gained credibility in a certain niche. Today, influencer marketing is a method of choice for top-tier brands around the world, but it wasn’t always this way. For a while, it was considered nothing more than a passing trend. One thing you need to know: you do not need to be a national company to benefit from this type of marketing. It can be done on a local level, using local influencers. Simply stated, local influencers are bloggers, reviewers, and social media personalities who are based in the same area as your business. Going to in-person events can help you put a face to a name. Of course, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic. And now is not the time for me to talk about networking to meet influencers. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to meet influencers. One option is to use an influencer marketplace or platform. These let you search for creators and influencers within a certain distance of your region. You can further narrow your search by looking for influencers who are in a certain age range, and who are interested in certain topics. Contests and sweepstakes are great ways of generating interest and expanding your reach to a target audience. If you want to increase site traffic, reward customers, and/or gain some new leads to add to your marketing efforts, then you might want to consider having a contest or sweepstakes giveaway.
Many people use the terms “contests” and “sweepstakes” as if they were the same. Technically, however, sweepstakes are prize giveaways where the winners are chosen by luck. Contests, on the other hand, draw a winner based on some merit. The person must enter something such as the funniest picture with logo, most moving essay, tastiest recipe, or whatever will be chosen as the winner. Sweepstakes or contests can promote your product and company, expand your current customer base, and gather contact information of potential customers for future marketing. The premise is simple - offer a prize that will entice your preferred target audience to give you their contact information and allow you to communicate with them. I say preferred target audience because sweepstakes and contests also attract people that may not be your target. I recently entered a sweepstakes for a $100 gas card. I was willing to give my name and email address for the chance to win. The rules stated, “The sweepstakes is open to residents of the United States and Canada, age 18 and over” and “Only entries received via the official web entry form will be included in the drawings.” This sweepstakes followed good form with the rules easy to find and read. The sweepstakes were clearly aimed to increase new visits to an attraction by people some distance away and encourage them to stay overnight. However, I am not a target customer. I already visit the attraction regularly, and I will not be purchasing overnight accommodations. It was by accident that I found the sweepstakes when searching for something else. But this is still a success because it engaged me and delivered the message about the weekend and overnight accommodations available. Designing your own contest or sweepstake When you choose to conduct a sweepstakes or contest you will have many choices to make and will need to follow some basic rules.
Rules In the United States, every state establishes its own set of rules for contests and sweepstakes. The main law you need to be aware of when you run a contest or sweepstakes in any U.S. state is the “no purchase necessary law.” This law states that you cannot require users to make a purchase or provide other forms of consideration to enter a sweepstakes where winners are randomly drawn. States have their own rules about what sort of contests or sweeps are legal. This is where the “void where prohibited” clause comes in. The statement gives the company blanket protection against running an illegal contest, without having to research the law in each state. Since social media makes it easier to run contests nationwide, and even internationally, make sure that you are stating exactly where the person must live to enter. Additionally, there are Federal Trade Commission rules about collecting information from children. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) limits and restricts information that may be gathered and how it may be used. “If you operate a commercial Web site or an online service directed to children under 13 that collects personal information from children or if you operate a general audience Web site and have actual knowledge that you are collecting personal information from children, you must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.” So, plan your contests carefully. Check out other contests and their rules, check your state’s rules, and get some professional advice if you have any questions or concerns. Today’s marketplace has transformed as to how sales are generated and sustained. And nowhere else is this more apparent than in the changing relationship between sellers and buyers.
Gone are the days of pure transactional selling. Buyers don’t wait for you to come to them anymore. Instead, they seek out what they’re looking for. When they’re prepared, they choose to do business with those who best meet their needs. More than ever, the strength of the connections you cultivate determines how successful you’ll be in positioning yourself in the minds of your buyer as that top pick. Build relationships within communities If you look at the current selling landscape, you could say it resembles the rise and success of the modern farmers’ market. These operate on a small scale across multiple communities and thrive on local connections. You see your neighbors all the time, which is community building, and vendors all promote each other through a rich network of selling goods and services. For example, the local butcher recommends buying tomatoes at another farmer’s market up the road for a delicious sauce to compliment the meat. Or the bread maker tells customers that the cheese and jams of the neighboring vendor are second to none. A buyer can confidently find what they’re looking for in these networked communities. And the seller’s work and reputation are measured by how useful they are to both the marketplace and customers. The same is true of today’s selling landscape. Communities are where relationships get forged now, and to be part of a community means to put in the time to share what you know so that you help something meaningful grow for the benefit of others. Seek spaces, not places It’s not just about closing the sale anymore. And it’s not about telling others to follow you as the leader in a monopolizing way. Today’s marketplace without boundaries means that buyers from the four corners of the earth can find what they’re looking for in spaces where people congregate. I’m choosing my words carefully here: I’m talking about spaces rather than places. Spaces don’t occupy a fixed location, nor do they have limits on who can join or what they can contribute. Spaces can be created online. They can be found in professional associations. By occupying spaces, you’re creating a sense of kinship and shared purpose. Out of this, communities are born. When managed correctly, it means an end to the boom-bust cycle of sales, because unlike the old way of doing things, communities are populated first and foremost with people, not buyers. The four groups to establish To adapt and grow a sales force that can thrive in a marketplace without boundaries, there are four types of communities your organization needs to build and sustain.
Just like with farmers’ markets, buyers today are looking for more than a transaction; they want to do business with people who can provide knowledge and insight on top of the products or services being offered. That meeting point can only be achieved if you take the time to build a rapport with your prospects and customers. This means you put their needs first, help them learn and grow, and deliver value far beyond what your product or service provides. Amazing things can happen when you embrace change as an opportunity to work differently than you’ve done in the past. Find ways to build your own communities. Think about how you can become a trusted part of today’s marketplace without boundaries. Social media sites can be incredibly useful. Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and all the rest have created new means of communication and enabled companies to connect organically with users whose interests are already vetted.
That said, they can also be destructive. The difference lies in the way you use them: If you publish an article on your own website, tweet about it, and post a link on Facebook, that’s fantastic. If you post an article as a Facebook note and then share it, your marketing and outreach are headed for a crash-and-burn moment. Social media: the value of building a tribe We, as businesspeople, understand the value of the connection economy. What we need to focus on is making sure that those connections endure over the years and decades. We do that by providing value and by not cheapening the relationship. We also do it by maintaining connections, and most importantly by not having a middleman. Having 10,000 followers on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter is helpful. But having 5,000 subscribers on your email list, that’s much more valuable. Unless I knew a magic spell for converting “likes” and “follows” into email subscribers, I’d take a 100-person email list over a thousand-like Facebook or Twitter page any day of the week. Those emails will still be valid in a year or five. Will their social accounts? Even more important, I know that when I send an email to their inbox, it arrives safe and sound. The same cannot be said for any social networks. The only way to truly own that connection is to write on your proper platform (a website you control or a safe email program) and gather email addresses from members of your tribe. I love the word tribe; it instills a feeling of community. A family in a way that there are common interests and views. Email is enduring It’s been around since the dawn of the Internet. It survived Geocities and Myspace, and it’ll survive Facebook and Twitter. There’s no reason to rely on a social media site when there’s a reliable and consistent contact medium available to you, for free. Almost all — 95 percent — of your address book contacts are not on the same social sites they used a decade ago, but they probably signed up for the new one with the same email address as the first. Social media services are a fantastic way to spread the word and share information, but relying primarily on a publishing platform you do not control can hurt your marketing efforts. While there’s value in social likes, follows, shares, and retweets, those are worth far less, in the big picture, than passionate email subscribers. People on your mailing list will always get your message. They may just skim it, but as long as you’re sending it properly, that email will always land in their inbox. The same can’t be said for most social media sites. Unless they’re on Twitter at the right time … unless you pay Facebook the right amount … unless you’re popular enough on Tumblr … they may never see your content. And that’s a shame, because we know your content, your advice, and your thoughts could impact the right audience. Email subscribers are your friends and email deliverability can grow your business. |
Boost Your BusinessMaria NovakI have over 35 years' experience in Marketing Small Businesses. Categories
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