There are a lot of things you may be planning to do next year. It’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement of a new year! Most of the time we spend the last month of the year setting goals, KPIs, and even higher expectations-thinking about everything we are going to do to make this next year even better!
But what if we took a moment to reflect on routines we already had in place? Maybe we don’t actually need to add anything else but instead de-clutter and fine tune what we are currently doing. My bet is that you are on social, producing content and targeting an audience- but are you doing these things correctly?
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1. Stop Ignoring Customers Online
It’s kind of surprising we are still talking about this in 2016. Why are we so afraid of managing customer care on social? We spend a lot of time on social platforms shouting, yelling and pouring money into ads to get the attention of prospect customers when the ones we already have are the people who are already engaging with us.
Your brand needs to start tackling online responses and discussions head on in 2017. Yes, that means dealing with awkward or angry people, and yes, that means you’ll have to make extra time for it. But these conversations are not all bad. You can also spend this time thanking your loyal fans and responding to them too. Social customer care is an integral part of building your brand with customers and winning over prospects (yes, they are watching too) and that means involving yourself in both the good and the bad that is happening on social.
2. Stop Writing Salesy Content
No one likes to be in a conversation with someone who only talks about themselves. And no one likes to read content from a brand who only writes to sell. In 2017 you will no longer create content to talk about you, you are going to create content to help and in return, you will build relationships, and become a trusted source in your industry.
There is nothing wrong with mentioning how your product can help solve a problem or keeping users updated about new product features. But if every single blog post is promotional, your brand will come off as pushy or spammy. Provide your audience with valuable content related to your product or service with to goal of helping your audience through these posts.
3. Stop Assuming Things About Your Audience
Think you know what your audience wants? Well, we know you can’t create content for any platform based on assumptions. It’s ineffective and inefficient- it just does not work. When it comes to truly understanding what your audience wants and likes you need to take the time to ask the right questions in order to target the right people.
- What are they into?
- Who do they care about?
- What do they care about?
- Do you know their age? Gender?
- What do they do?
- Where do they live?
- Are they on social platforms?
- What are their hobbies?
- How much are they using their mobile device? And to do what activities?
You can no longer get away with just looking at your competitor and copying everything they are doing. You need to have an understanding of what resonates with your target audience so you can create content that is helpful and in places they can find it.
One of the easiest ways to conduct audience research is to monitor how your audience is responding to content on social. With social, you can measure the impact of your content, run quick and cheap tests, identify who is engaging, where opportunities are and if and how you can scale it. By conducting audience research you will have a better understanding of who your audience is and what can help you connect with them.
Click Here To Download Your E-Book: How Marketing Will Change In 2017
Wrap It Up
Marketing doesn’t always have to be complicated and it isn’t always about being the first to try something. Sometimes it’s about taking a step back and fine tuning the routines you already have in place and diving into those places you have bene avoiding.
Before you add anything else to your 2017 To Do List, evaluate what you already have in place and ensure the three things discussed above aren’t getting overlooked.