Who is my online market? Identify your target audience

Have you ever thought about who your online target market is and what they are interested in?

Knowing your target market has 6 clear advantages:

• By knowing who they are you are able to devise an online marketing strategy aimed directly at their online interests, shaping your business to fit your potential customers.
• When you are able to identify the type of products and services people are searching for and how they are searching for them, you can then align the key terms used when searching with the content on your website.
• Knowing how your target audience chooses and compares products and services in your industry allows you to strategically prioritise content on your website.
• Understanding what your audience wants enables you to improve website relevance and in turn increase targeted traffic and ROI.
• Additionally identifying what your audience is NOT interested in, increases productivity and improves overall time management.
• Knowing how your services or products benefit your audience allows you to communicate and market such benefits with potential clients.

But how do you connect with your online market??

• Connect using relevant social media channels.
• Target traffic through paid per click advertising.
• Blog about your customers’ interests using relevant keywords.
• Provide customer endorsements that speak on behalf of you and your business.

Who is on the internet?

This question a few years ago was pretty simple to answer; it was the youth, tech freaks in the industry and maybe the odd cool parent trying to spy on their child.

But now with new online innovations such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and above all Mobile devices such as Smart Phones and Tablets, the internet has become more accessible and useful to people of all ages.

There is a general misconception that older generations such as the baby boomers (age 50-64) and the silent generation (age 65+) aren’t really using the web.

As a result many business owners ignore the value these generations hold simply because “they’re too old to use the internet”.

However today older generations are breaking yesterday's preconceived generational notions with many embracing a more technological-driven world.

But how do I access my entire market then?

It’s really about customer experience and relevance. If your website and marketing campaign don’t highlight both aspects, then you are on the wrong track.

So very often we come across websites that just don’t operate smoothly.

• Most have bad/toxic links that don’t actually lead to anywhere but a Page 404 error.
• Poor website navigation – little to no consideration for user experience.
• Sloppy written content – bad grammar, misspelling, word babble and repetition.

People often tend to think more is more and less is never more.

Yes, this may be true when it comes to quantities of chocolate, but it’s definitely not applicable when talking about website design and online traffic.

What we have found is that a website must be simple; it must have an easy to navigate menu system, with attractive call-to-actions placed strategically.

It must encourage traffic to follow smoothly through the buying funnel without accidentally distracting the flow with “sign up now” pop-up ads immediately after they land on your page.
But each business has its unique identity and needs.

ITM Website Design & Digital Marketing

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Contact us or Get a Quote so we can help you find your market.