The businesses you are trying to target may have a company social media account, but the individuals that you want to market to and who will make the purchasing decision won’t have their own social media accounts.
We take you through what to do if your target audience isn’t on social media.
Don’t abandon your social media accounts
Just because your target audience isn’t on social media it doesn’t mean it’s not still an important part of your marketing strategy. Social media is about a lot more than just marketing specifically to the business that you want to buy your product or service.
It’s good to maintain a social media presence as it supports your overall online presence. For example, if someone hears about your business, or is considering buying from you, they’re likely to do some research into you. And it’s going to look odd if your business has zero social media presence — looking at your social profiles is one way that people will validate your business.
You should ensure that your social media profiles are sharing regular content related to your business and your industry, as well as company updates or news. This will help define your brand personality and build up your brand authority, plus it ensures you give a good first impression that your business is knowledgeable and trustworthy.
If your target audience isn’t on social media then you shouldn’t spend a large amount of time writing and posting. Pick a couple of key social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, write out your posts for a month, and use a social media scheduling tool such as Hootsuite to send them out at regular intervals.
It’s also important to monitor your social media accounts as you still might get some customer support messages via these platforms. It’s essential to respond to any questions or support requests to develop your reputation as a responsive, helpful business. You don’t want it to look like your social channels are neglected and messages are ignored.
How to connect with a target audience not on social media
Once you’ve done the audience research and found that very little of your specific targets are on social media then you need to think about other ways of connecting with them. While social media is a great tool for brand awareness and engagement, there are lots of other B2B marketing channels that can be just as effective:
Become an industry expert
One of the key ways to connect with your target audience is going to be by establishing yourself as an industry expert. You need to be creating useful resources that will help your target audience, this way when they are looking to resolve problems they will come across your brand during their research.
For example, if you are selling customer service software for SME businesses, then create blog content and articles that answer the key problems, issues, and questions that they are likely to have about handling customer service. The HappyFox blog has good examples of useful, informative posts that handle specific customer service issues such as tracking first response time or ticket volume.
Podcasts
Podcasts are another great way of sharing knowledge and expertise. Millions of people are listening to podcasts each week, and a large number of them are going to be listening while they are at work. If you can provide an informative, and entertaining podcast, that will help them to do their job better then it’s a brilliant way of connecting with your target audience.
For example, take a look at a marketing podcast such as Marketing Speak, which includes regular interviews with some of the biggest business experts, and talks about the latest ideas, tools, and news in the industry. This kind of format keeps people interested in listening each time, providing them with value, but also creating brand awareness.
Research and whitepapers
Conducting original research on your industry that provides an authoritative, in-depth report on a key topic is a useful resource that can help you to connect with and inform your target audience.
Whether it’s by working with the data your business has access to or conducting research via interviews, putting together your own reports will help you to become established as an industry leader. If you can provide useful statistics and data, then this will be quoted and shared by other people and organisations.
This research could also be presented in a white paper, where you tackle a problem and provide solutions. It’s not a sales pitch for your particular product or service, but an opportunity to inform your audience using facts and evidence. It can help give you authority within the industry.
If your target audience isn’t on social media there are plenty of alternative ways to create that brand awareness and connection.
Take some time to consider what your business can do to create useful, informative, and original resources that will be shared, quoted, and talked about. You need to look at ways in which you can provide value to your audience, and turn them into leads through brand awareness. And it’s also important to maintain your social media accounts to increase your online presence.
