Addressing your target audience is one of the most important things you can do in your relationship marketing. It’s almost like speaking the same language! You cannot reach someone on the internet without sharing the same vocabulary. So too, you cannot sell without understanding your customer.
How to Learn Your Niche’s Language
The best way to learn their language is to hang out with them actively! You won’t get to know your friends if you don’t spend time with them. Otherwise, there’s zero connection or relationship.
If you don’t know where your people hang out, there are many ways to find out. A few great places to start are to take to Reddit. Search your keywords (or the service or products you offer). Go through any relevant subreddits. Join them and check in regularly. Odds are, people post links to various blog articles. Read them and explore those blogs or news sources. Subscribe to them.
What Instagram influencers do they follow or Youtube channels they all watch? Check them out, subscribe, and read their comments. What do they expect from their community “leaders”? All these ways also come under a good relationship marketing strategy.
What’s even better than blog articles? Any online communities such as Facebook groups or Discord channels. These are gold! Join them with no intention to spam your link there. Your purpose here should be to engage with other members and listen!
It’s Like Dating. Its Time to Get to Know Your Community!
If you’re selling to a specific audience, then they are your community. Be absorbed in it! Have a small notepad to keep notes. What are some of the critical things to learn?
- What do they love inside and outside the community?
- Conversely, what do they hate? Do they have an “enemy,” so to speak?
- Dig deeper into what they love and hate. What is it the thing that your people genuinely care about that drives them? What drives their love and hate?
- What are their goals and dreams?
- What are the latest trends?
- What do they think of outside trends happening in the world? Twitter’s trends page is a good place to start finding out.
- What is their sense of humor? Start saving their memes, community-specific terms, and jokes. This will help to plan out a relationship marketing for the long term.
How to be Genuine
You don’t have to love or care about what your people obsess over. But it sure helps to love your niche. You have to, at least, appreciate and respect them. Learn to cherish them for who they are.
In your notes, keep a list of the things you love and admire about them. It can be their optimism or the fact that they love cats. Keep tally of it all. Having these notes can help in all your marketing down the line. If you have writer’s block, you’ll be able to look at your notes and remember your people love cats. And look, it’s National Cat Day this month. There’s an opportunity there to reach your audience.
People can sense inauthenticity or hidden disdain. If you can genuinely embrace the people you sell to, it may be best to find another product, service, or community. You can’t genuinely serve people if you don’t respect them or their dreams.
What does it mean to serve them? Treat them as you would treat your best friend. Care about them and be involved. Remember the important things such as dates, birthdays, or events. Be personable and give them the things they love beyond your service or product. Even if it is a small joke to brighten their day, you can start relationship building.
Becoming a notable figure in your audience’s lives
When you start a business or service, you have to understand the people you serve. To do that, you have to show up for them. Otherwise, they likely won’t for you.
Explore their world and walk in their shoes. Keep notes that will come in handy as you build a relationship marketing strategy. People will begin to take notice the more you embrace them and get involved in their communities. Have a brand that loves its customers, and they will probably start to love you back.
About the Author:
Pauline is the blogger of Pink Pursuits. She writes helpful guides and articles for Etsy sellers and other creatives (including marketers). You can find her on Instagram posting a picture of her orange tabby co-worker, Jonesy. She’s also on Twitter.