How to Create a Marketing Strategy, Part 2
Before you begin, read How to Create a Marketing Strategy, Part 1.
Now that you’ve evaluated your marketing efforts, let’s move to the next step: research. Now before you close your browser and go running for the hills, know that this step does not have to be complicated or take a very long time, but it is crucial in finding out where to market, and will give you a clear ‘why’ behind the marketing. You can post on Instagram all day long, but if your target marketing doesn’t live there, it’s not a good use of your time! Regardless of what decisions you make, you should at least know where you can go to reach your ideal customers.
There are a few different types of research you can conduct, so I’ll break down the basics here…although I can’t possibly exhaust every option in one blog post!
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Keyword Research
As you write blogs, create content, and work on your website, have you thought about what words to actually use? Search Engine Optimization, or the process of making sure your website is optimized to appear on Google or other searches, is crucial to your online efforts. There are a few different (easy) ways to research keywords.
Google: search a phrase or question your ideal customer might have that you can ‘solve.’ For instance, if you are a wedding photographer, try searching ‘wedding photographers in [your local area].’ Then scroll to the very bottom of Google and look at search terms like the one you just used. You might be surprised at what people are searching for, and you can create content to speak to those people.
Moz Keyword Explorer: this is a free tool that you can use up to 10 times per month, and the concept is similar to what I outlined above in Google - but far more specific. Look up some key terms and phrases you imagine someone might use to find you online, and then let Moz do the heavy lifting of giving additional ideas and suggestions for you.
Social Media Metrics
I’m going to cover a few popular platforms here, but it’s likely that you are on more than just these two. The same concept applies, though - so take your research beyond Facebook and Instagram to get the most data you can!
Facebook Analytics: if you have a Facebook page, have you ever looked at the audience you’ve already attracted? Peek at your analytics and see the demographics, from age to gender to location, and more. This might be exactly what you expected…or it might completely surprise you! Either way, you’ll have a better understanding of who exactly follows you on this platform.
Instagram Analytics: this tool works for business profiles on Instagram (click here if you’re not sure how to set this up), and it’s key to seeing who follows you and what they want to see. Once this is finished, tap the menu in the upper right hand corner, and then tap ‘Insights.’ You can see how your recent posts and stories did and, more importantly, you can see your audience demographics. Find out who is following you, compare this to Facebook and other channels, and brainstorm content for that specific audience.
Discovery Calls/Marketing Research
I saved this one for last because I know there are some people who flat out won’t do it - and I used to be one of those people! Credit for this idea (at least the first place I heard it) goes to Amy Porterfield, who uses this as a crucial step in one of her courses.
Making a discovery call means actually picking up the phone and calling one of your customers - preferably, someone you would consider an ‘ideal’ customer (you could meet in person, too!). Ask them how they found your business, what need your product or service fills, what they love about your business and what they wish was different. This is hard to do - negative feedback isn’t my favorite, and neither are phone calls! - but it has helped me tremendously in understanding who my business appeals to and how I can talk to those people.
Whew, you made it to the end! I hope you did all three of these key research steps, but even if you just chose one, then congratulations! You already know far more than you did about how to invest your marketing efforts, and next week in part 3 I’ll cover how to be in the best places in the best possible ways. Until then, happy marketing!
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