It can be hard for startups to succeed. You’ll face many challenges, from financial concerns to hiring the right people. But one of the biggest roadblocks is attracting customers in the beginning. It often takes time for a new business to build up a loyal base of clients. That’s where marketing comes in handy.
Marketing is essential for all businesses, but especially new ones. You need to make people aware of your business. Not only that, but you need to convince them your company is worth buying from. You should use all kinds of marketing methods to achieve your goal- both online and offline.
It’s also important that you adapt your marketing to suit your desired market. While the catch-all approach can be useful, showing people how you can help them specifically can be much more impactful. For instance, you might want to aim your marketing at retail businesses if you’re a B2B service. Or maybe you’re a fashion retailer trying to attract females in their mid-twenties. Whichever way, here are some approaches to help you market to your target audience.
Focus on a niche
Niche marketing can be incredibly effective. Essentially, it means focusing your marketing efforts on a small and specific audience. For instance, if you’re marketing a bar with no particular target market, you’ll have a lot of competition. On the other hand, marketing a sports bar aimed at college students can help you become the leader in your area.
One of the best methods for attracting a niche market is SEO. It involves using various practices to make you the number one site on Google for specific keywords and phrases. It can involve your business, your target audience, and your local area. It helps to find an SEO agency to help with your search engine optimisation strategy.
Content marketing is also useful in this regard. You can create blogs targetted at the exact audience you’re after. For example, an online accessories store for women could make blogs like ‘Top 5 Winter Accessories For Girls’.
Your desired market are likely to make searches like this, so it can help you reel them in. You can also write articles using specialist knowledge in your sector. For example, a fishing store with detailed guides on fishing will likely get a lot of hits from the people they want.
Marketing to millennials
“Millennials” is a term used to refer to the generation born in the 80s and 90s. They’re an oft-desired market for businesses for many reasons. A large portion of the demographic is young professionals who have money to spend. It can also include college students, who can be a valuable target market- especially for food services and clubs. It helps to find ways to market for millennials.
It helps to make use of technology. People in this age range were the first generation to grow up with things like the internet and smartphones. These should be important factors in your marketing efforts.
Using apps is a fantastic way to attract a younger audience. The new generation loves using smartphone apps for all kinds of daily purposes. Consider creating an app for your business. For example, if you’re a financial service, you might want to develop a budgeting app. Young adults and college students might stumble across it and learn about your company. You can get creative with it- perhaps even develop a game related to your industry.
Social media is also crucial for reaching millennials. Get involved with social media marketing as much as you can. You can use Facebook to post business announcements or exciting sales promotions. Twitter can be great for sharing your blog content. Apps like Instagram and SnapChat are useful for interesting video advertisements. When someone likes what you post on social media, they’ll share it with more people. That means a larger following and more potential customers.
Reaching the elderly
It isn’t just millennials who use technology these days. Many middle-aged people are also following modern trends. It makes online marketing the most efficient and useful form today. But one market you might miss out on is the elderly. Using traditional methods of advertising is much more helpful if your business is aimed at older people.
It seems that while younger viewers are abandoning watching TV, the rate of viewers over 45 has increased. Many older people also still use the radio- especially while driving. While television and radio advertisements might not be great for attracting young adults, they’re perfect for older adults.
You might want to create a radio ad. You can use free audio-editing software like Audacity to create a short professional clip. Make sure you create a radio ad that stands out. They’re usually 30 seconds or less, so touch on how your company helps customers in a concise fashion. You can pay for airtime on a local radio station, and the whole process is relatively cheap.
Television advertising can also be expensive, but it can be effective in reaching out to older viewers. Many channels now use ads targeted to specific regions, making it cheaper and easier to hit your desired audience. You can check the rates for channels such as ITV online. Keep in mind, it can cost a lot to create a professional video advertisement, and it’s worth getting it done professionally.
Physical advertising is also helpful. For example, if you’re advertising a healthcare service for elderly citizens, hand out flyers at nursing homes. You could also use outbound telephone marketing, as many older people still use a landline.
Target your video ads
With YouTube being one of the largest sites on the entire internet, video advertisements are still highly impactful. Companies often use these to appeal specifically to their target audience.
Companies often target a certain age or interest, but gender-targeting can also be useful in advertising. Think of how male and female razors use TV advertisements, focusing on specific gender struggles with grooming. It can be helpful for things like clothing retailers focusing on one sex, but it can be limiting to focus on one gender.
You can target your ads at any kind of audience. Perhaps you want to create a video showing how families would use your product. Or show how different businesses would benefit from your service. The people and situations you include in your video ads can help you appeal to different markets.