Find Out Where Your Target Market Spends Their Time Online

Have you ever wondered how to find out where your target market spend their time online?

As someone who is in business, certainly you must ask yourself: “How well do I actually know my clients?”

The importance of identifying and understanding your customers' online activity cannot be understated.

Here are 5 key methods that will help you find out where your target market spends their time online:

1. Define and understand your target market.

• We cannot stress enough the importance of developing buyer personas. Without a solid understanding of your target market, how can you know where to start?
• Create a couple of different buyer personas of your existing clients and start to look for trends.

2. Talk to your existing clients (on and offline).

• Do you already have an online community? Use social media networks to your advantage by looking at trends in your audience’s behavior.
• Why not ask your existing client base what they typically do online. This can be time consuming but allows you to gain a deeper understanding of where their head is at. Why not invite them for a coffee?

3. Make social connections.

• Taking a look at your market’s behavior on social media can be a great indicator as to where they spend their time online. Social networks, such as Twitter, are now used as an informational site. This transition allows the savvy marketer to look at behavior patterns and determine specific channels they are visiting.
• Use some of the tools available to you. For instance, Twitter's advanced search will help you find topics that your audience cares about. This can be an invaluable tool that will leapfrog you to the front when it comes to defining them online.

4. Research your competitors.

• It's good practice to always check up on what your competitors are doing. They may have found an important online channel that you haven't discovered yet.
• There is a wealth of free tools at your disposal that will help you make this easier. Who is linking to your competitors? What kinds of partnerships do they have and why? This may seem like an abstract concept, but are doing this for a reason.

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5. Find influencers/interests.

• Find the social influencers that your target market follows. This will give you a better idea of their interests and behavior.
• Do some research on keywords. This may seem like you're doing some SEO, but it’s a good indicator of what kinds of things your market is searching.

Now that you know where your target market spends their time online, you are far more equipped to create content that will engage and attract them. This will be your next step to create a quality online community.

Now take a look at 3 suggestions for communicating your brand to your market:

1. Contribute to groups that your audience participates in.

• This could include a local blog, website, or LinkedIn groups.
• Flex your thought-leader muscle by contributing to groups or blogs that your target markets visit.
• Be careful that you do not come off as promotional. By demonstrating your expertise and moving the conversation forward, you allow yourself naturally to sink in the minds of the traffic.

2. Develop content that aligns with these digital channels.

• Finding these important online channels allows you to create customized content that aligns with that particular online resource.
• For example, if you find out that your potential audience spends time on a local online news website, why not research potential partnership opportunities?
• Become a guest poster or reach out for more exposure.

3. Try and solve the burning questions that they have.

• Hopefully by now you understand what exactly your audience’s problems may be. This can be obtained through interviews or your research in organic searches. Create content that helps answer these problems.
• Be relevant and timely when answering questions. The beauty of online marketing is that it makes real-time marketing a possibility – so take advantage!

Translating this new found knowledge into opportunity can be one of the most powerful ways to attract and build relationships for the future. In turn, this enables you to learn about where your target market spends their time online.

If your business can understand your market earlier in the sales funnel, you will be able to compete more effectively since your competition is likely to be significantly less active in this area.

Interested in learning more? Advisor Websites will be hosting a webinar on August 10th to share best practice strategies and solutions for digital marketing!

To learn more about Advisor Websites and the company's web building platform, visit the website: www.advisorwebsites.com or contact Nitesh Verma at niteshv@advisorwebsites.com or (604) 800-3307.