Hey everyone,
This week I learned about target marketing and how it is an important concept for helping your business. Ebony Renee Baker emphasizes how you need to consider factors like SEO and high Google search trends when putting out content, but also remember to remain authentic in your content. I agree with Ebony because it is important to try and ensure that your content will be well-received by using analytic tools because you want to attract your content to your target audience. But you also want it to be relevant and true to what your brand represents, so your audience isn’t confused and is engaged. Therefore, if you market effectively and use these methods to attract your audience (but don’t make it completely all about the SEO and trends) then this will help build brand loyalty and trust with your audience/consumers.
Speaking of trust, it’s important to “focus on relationships with your target customers” (Paljug, 2023, para. 45). It’s not just plain marketing and taking from your customers but providing them with something in return, so you establish trust with customers (Paljug, 2023). I would use this concept for my sister’s small business (or if I start my own business) by providing customers with giveaways of our products to show them that we care about them and would like to give back. For example, for my sister’s business, we would/could do giveaways for a box of dipped chocolate strawberries or a mixed dipped treat box. This way, the audience will feel like they are valued as they have a chance to win something and the individuals who do win will get to try our product. So, if they’ve never had my sister’s dipped treats, they will get to try it and if they like it (which they most likely will– trust me they are good), they will come back for more or recommend the brand to someone else. Therefore, the concept of a giveaway, in the long run, can potentially help with marketing and sales as well.
I also learned that it is important to “understand your audience—not just who they are, but what they’re doing and how they feel. By knowing the why and when, you can get one big step closer to delivering the right content at the right time” (Brain Traffic, 2017, para. 26). I can apply this to my sister’s small business by understanding my customer’s feelings and needs through polls on Instagram. Also, just by the time of year, season, or month – this can help gauge what the customers might be looking for. For example, if it is the holiday season, customers will be looking for gifts with Christmas and New Year themes. Therefore, I would ensure to promote content for my sister’s small business at an appropriate time (not too early but not too late – end of November/Early December all the way through the end of the year) to make sure that the audience is interested and that it is relevant.
References
Brain Traffic. (2017, August). Want to create great content? Know your context. Brain Traffic. https://www.braintraffic.com/insights/know-your-context
Paljug, K. (2023, May 31). Connecting to your target customers. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8714-know-target-customer.html