A few months ago, an article written in the 50’s made it’s way into social media and caused a stir.
It was called simply, “How to Get A Husband”, and listed 129 ideas which would help you find a man who would be willing to marry you. Here’s some of the advice given:
20. Don’t take a job in a company run largely by women.
23. Go to all reunions of your high school or college class. There may be widowers there.
40. Stand in a corner and cry softly. Chances are good that he’ll come over to see what’s wrong.
When I started reading the list, I laughed. It was hilarious to me. By the time I got half way through the list, I felt sad. But, when I finished the list, I was filled with gratitude that the world is a different place now.
It was a wild ride. 10/10: would read again!
When it comes to attracting the right customers, sometimes it can feel like looking for suitors that may be interested in you. I don’t know a single entrepreneur, artist, or creator that doesn’t spend time wondering how to find the right people for what they have to offer. And the goal for finding the right audience is to have their attention, their loyalty and engagement. The parallels between finding a partner and finding an audience can be very similar.
That’s why we put together some things for you to remember when looking to find your audience. We promise the advice will be better than, “If he’s a fisherman, learn to scale and clean fish.”
FIND YOUR AUDIENCE
Before we can talk about attracting the right audience, you have to know who you want to attract. The most helpful way to do this is to close your eyes and envision your audience. Who can you best serve? The ideal audience for you is the audience you are most happy to serve and who really “gets” what you are doing? If you don’t care about your audience, everything else is going to be pretty difficult for you.
Now, boil their common attributes down into a single person. Give that person a name. Everything that you do should be done with this person in mind. Don’t worry about appealing to everyone. That is exactly how you alienate everyone.
If you want to go deeper into finding your ideal audience, we have put together a free guide for you that will help you realize exactly who you are targeting, and what you should know about them. You can find that HERE. Okay. Now that you know exactly who you are pursuing…
Where does your audience hang out online?
If you are selling combat boots and orange hair dye, you won’t want to set up a booth in a senior citizen home (Maybe that’ll work in 40 years, though). The same idea applies online.
Different demographics tend to gravitate towards different online platforms. You’ll need to figure out where your audience would be hanging out, and start engaging people there. Get to know those platforms and leave the other ones behind. This will increase your odds of organic growth and will keep you from overspending on your ads. Don’t try to handle all the platforms. Simply find the one or two that your audience is most likely to be on and do that well.
Be mindful of the types of media which your demographic is most likely to consume. Some of you will find that you’ll need to become masters of writing blogs. Some of you will find out that you’ll need to work on looking natural in front of a camera. It all depends on your demographic.
DATE YOUR AUDIENCE
Create content that talks about THEM.
Imagine going on a blind date. You sit down at a nice restaurant. Your date shows up, introduces himself/herself, and spends the rest of the day talking about great he/she is.
“I went to Harvard. I climbed a mountain. I can eat pho without making a mess. I’m a published author. Cesar Millan, asked me to train his dog.”
Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc. NOBODY CARES.
Your date spent the entire time trying to impress you but only left you feeling alienated. Brands fall for this all the time. We really believe in what we are doing. We are passionate about what we have to say, and so we end up talking about ourselves so much that people stop listening.
The truth is that people like people who care about them. They all want to talk about themselves too and if they don’t feel like they are being heard, then they will stop listening to you as well.
When creating content, your immediate goal should be connection and conversation.
Conversations help you climb the algorithms. The more your posts are interacted with, the higher up you rise in the algorithms. Conversations create organic growth. Organic growth is like having a mutual friend introduce you to someone else. You want that because organic growth is FREE and it’s effective.
Connection builds trust. There are only so many hours in the day and a lot of people are competing for attention. It’s easy for anyone to get cynical and dismissive, but when trust is built, that cynicism melts away. They begin to recognize you, to trust you and people buy from those they trust. Just remember, trust doesn’t happen overnight.
Be consistent.
Post consistently but not constantly. Only posting once a week is the online equivalent to having a great date, and then not texting them for three weeks. Posting constantly is the equivalent to having a great date and then texting them until their phone self destructs. Try to have one quality post every day.
Be consistent with your “brand personality.” Make sure your language, your tone, and your presentation are uniform on each platform. No one wants to date someone who seems to be unsure of who they are.
Be generous.
A gift shows that you have been paying attention to their needs and that you have a solution to their problems. “Freemiums” are a great way to ease some of your audience’s initial hesitations. It can show off your expertise and help give them a chance to connect with your voice. It shows effort on your part without asking much from them. An additional benefit to this is that it allows you to start an email list so that you can consistently connect with people who have already shown interest in you.
GET ENGAGED
As your audience begins to grow, you will find a core set of loyal followers. Don’t forget about these people. It’s tempting to want to see your number of followers rise. It’s tempting to think that a larger audience will lead to a larger impact, but that’s not always true. A loyal audience is more powerful than a large audience. A loyal audience will tell others about you. A loyal audience will purchase from you again and again. So, make sure to not forget about engaging with them.
Analytics.
Keep your eye on your analytics. Figure out what’s working and what’s falling flat. Figure out everything you can about your audience. Don’t stop learning about them. Remember that every healthy relationship grows and changes. This will be the case between you and your audience.
RECAP.
– Your ideal audience is a group of people whom you want to serve.
– Go where they are.
– Make your content about them.
– Learn everything you can about them.
– Remember the “Three C’s”: Conversations, Connections & Consistency.
– Be loyal to those who are loyal to you.
Need more help finding your most dreamy and eligible customers online? Download our free worksheet!