How To Use Social Media Marketing To Attract A Niche Audience

Social Media may have taken our world by surprise in a heartbeat, but there’s no denying it’s here to stay. More than 3 billion people use platforms like Facebook or Twitter, dedicating them more than two hours of their lives on a daily basis.

More than 90% of Millennials and nearly 80% of Gen X explore the world through social content.

These people are a powerful market previously unavailable to businesses both big and small.

But you already knew that, didn’t you?

Every major media outlet sings praise o the astonishing opportunities of digital media marketing. They operate in terms like volume, scale or size. More on the matter, their arguments make a lot of sense.

Surely, out of the 3 billion active users, there are some willing to buy your product or service.

And yet your social media marketing efforts generate a smaller sales increase than your “we are closed” sign.

Why?

What they don’t tell you about Social Media Marketing

Social Media is indeed one of the largest mediums known to men. Still, their gargantuan size is rather far from being their strength. In 9 cases out of 10, it plays against you.

Imagine yourself in the middle of a busy street. Everything you see is people minding their own business. They don’t pay attention to their surroundings. They simply have too much on their plate as is.

Would it help if you were to advertise your business there? How would they react to your pokes? Would they appreciate an additional distraction?

Would you?

Ok, now imagine you are sitting in a comfortable pub, surrounded with friends and family. How likely are they to listen to what you have to say?

Exactly.

A niche audience

Finding your niche audience on Social Media is the marketing equivalent of chatting with a group of close friends. You don’t even have to use a mail extractor to launch a sophisticated sales campaign filled with jaw-dropping discount to get your point across – they are already here for you. They are your nicheaudience.

Alternatively, if we were to go by a textbook definition of a niche audience, we’d describe it as a subgroup of your brand’s general target audience united over a shared goal or interest. These people have very specific interests, needs, and desires.

Or, in simpler words, they offer an easy way for your business to hack its way into their warm and loving hearts.

How to identify your niche audience?

Leveraging the power of a niche audience is one of a social marketer’s quintessential goals. Still, you have to find them first.

Start with taking a deep look at your own business. Who is your product for? How can it help? Who is buying from you now?

This step looks simpler on paper, but pulling off an analysis like that is always tricky. Even more so, if you never kept track of your buyers.

Think about it this way: according to the Pareto principle, 80% of your income comes from only 20% of your buyers. Focus on them.

Engage with your repeating customers. Help them undergo a survey or two. don’t forget to offer them something in return for their time.

When conducting the research, ask yourself and the audience the right questions:

  • Who are the people you sell to?

  • What do they have in common (location, relationship status, income, dietary preferences, etc.?)

  • How do they interact with your product?

Here’s an example. Imagine you are selling top tier smart grills. Your audience is composed of local BBQ lovers who own a house.

Narrowing your ads on Facebook according to these parameters is rather simple.

You have what it takes – the knowledge and the instruments. Go ahead, launch your ad campaign and ripe the rewards (please don’t), right?

Here’s the thing: there’s still a lot of people fitting the description.

Dig deeper.

There are probably vegans in your area and, while they can enjoy a grilled meal, a new cooker is probably not on their priority list. Then there are people over 50. It’s not they wouldn’t enjoy a couple of juicy burgers, but they probably already own a grill and they are not who you can call tech-savvy.

These people do not care about one or several competitive advantages of your product. Why waste your budget to show them our ads?

Find your ideal client

Now that you know who your niche audience is (and isn’t), put on your detective hat and follow the clues to where they are.

You didn’t expect these people with shared tastes and interests to stay in an information-less void for you to find them, did you?

They reside safely in their bubbles of Facebook groups, Twitter feeds, and LinkedIn communities ripe for the picking.

One of the best ways to find them is Facebook’s handy lookalike audience feature. It does real magic for audiences smaller than 50K.

Here’s a nice video by Surfside PPC that covers it in greater detail.

Then there’s your common sense paired with a pinch of google-fu skills.

  • Search for groups and communities similar to your business
  • Pick a couple of active members from the locals
  • Pick up a common theme or two
  • Check out some of the most shared content in the information bubble and use it as an inspiration
  • Try running cross-promotion
  • Lastly, try picking up a common theme to narrow down your ad audience even further

Boom, you’ve found your very own safety corner on the seemingly endless space Internet space. And you’ve found a couple of friendly faces to share it with. The rest, as they say, is history!

PS: Do you have any questions regarding custom audiences left? Don’t be shy, shoot us a line or two. We’d absolutely love to help you expand your business even further.

Beautiful Newsletter Templates

Professional newsletter templates that are fully responsive for desktop, tablet, and mobile. They are 100% cross-client compatible.

See Them
Comments

No comments yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Want More Content Like This?

Want More Content Like This?

Join our newsletter to get more content like this via email!

You'll receive a free, monthly email with a summary of very useful articles. No spam, just great content!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest