Influencers are known for being the new leaders of word-of-mouth. They trigger conversation and engagement among customers to support the brand. Yet influencer targeting does not start and stop with getting an influencer and asking them for branded posts.
To be a successful brand engaged in influencer marketing, you need an entire plan targeting not just your customers, but also utilizing your brand’s speakers and partners. Read on to know what are the key ingredients you need for a more comprehensive targeted marketing strategy with influencers.
How to Conduct Market Research
Why do you need market research? Embarking on a business is not as easy as choosing a product to sell and going out into the market hoping for a customer. Whether you are a small business or a big corporation with many products, you need to do some research for your brand.
Most researches for the brand start with the market. Before you even design the brand logo or get the voice right for your communications, understand your market first—and if there’s even one for your brand.
Outline your business opportunities and goals
Market research is important because it puts the target market at the center of your brand. Not all business ideas will take off, but those that do always put their customers first. You may create the greatest product with the highest quality materials. But if it’s not something your market relates to or if there’s no market for it, you may end up with zero profit and no return on investment.
With market research, your target audience becomes clear. You know who you are selling to, so you can get to knowing how to best sell to them.
From here, all other aspects will come forth. When you know your market, you know where they hang out, what their spending habits are, what their budget is, and what other brands or products they may like. It’s not just about selling one item, but selling a need and finding what other needs your brand can solve.
Lay out all the risks
When you understand your market’s behavior, you can take fewer risks with your business. This prevents the loss of customers, among other issues.
Research usually uncovers risk areas and situations for your brand. You can find out what makes customers return or what stops them from being comeback customers. It’s also possible to see if there are problem areas, whether it’s the location or layout of your store or the overall design and user-friendly template of your website.
For start-up businesses, consider market research as a way to minimize your risks. Avoid starting a business without the assurance of a small market who will patronize your brand. Even corporations benefit from this, especially when introducing new products or lines.
Create a timeline or map of growth
It’s never presumptuous to dream big even on your first day of business. Expansions do happen, so it’s good to see the types of target market your business can have early on. As you look forward to potential avenues for growth, your marketing strategy also expands.
By considering expansions early on, you also consider the influencer marketing target audience that you will need. Sometimes, a brand’s target audience can change, depending on what you have to offer. Some shoe brands start off with the distinct offer of orthopedic support for the feet, with very minimal design elements. When this becomes successful, they further improve their designs, so that they can cater to more customers and grow their target market.
Address customer needs
Rather than saying “the customer is always right,” change it to, “the customer is always first.” Some brands forget that some customers do not know exactly what they are looking for—they just know what they need.
For example, some customers only know that they need a laptop for work. It’s up to salespeople to help them figure out the model and features that match the customer’s needs. The same goes for targeted influencer marketing.
Some influencers resonate with specific target markets because they speak the language. It’s also possible that they have the knowledge that the audience needs and wants to know more of. If this is the case, then it’s good to match the right type of influencers who can fulfill the biggest needs of a specific group of customers.
Know where to allot budget
Even the largest corporation will have to set a budget for marketing efforts. The key is managing them efficiently so that every spending goes into a fruitful endeavor. So, when asking, “why is it so important to identify your target market?” a major reason is to know your limitations, so you can play around with allocating your resources.
Influencers can either cost a lot or be the optimal spending you will have in your marketing fund. It’s all about finding the right type and matching them with your niche in the industry. Just as no customer is the same, certain influencers can bring different results. It’s about understanding your basket—from the depth to the design—so you know exactly where and what kind of eggs to put there.
Find out the influencers who can sway your market
Finally, adopting new techniques like influencer marketing can up your marketing game. Knowing your target allows you to single out which influencers will work best for your chosen strategy.
This is where the smaller but more efficient influencers come in. A common misconception is that businesses need to utilize mega influencers to be successful. In reality, the micro- and nano-influencers can rake in engagement—if you know who can hit it off with your target.
It’s been proven that nano-influencers have the most engagement because the influencer aims to become very knowledgeable about the niche they are in. Even with the small number of followers, the way they engage allows a consistent back and forth of ideas. These followers often rely on feedback from the nano-influencer, so if they decide to speak for the brand, there will be a good handful who will listen.
Why Do You Need to Understand Your Target Market?
Your target market is basically your customer. No business owner will want to start selling when there are no customers who will benefit from it.
In the same way, as a brand manager or business owner, you need to understand who you are selling to so you know how to talk to them. This begins when you look at your customers in relation to your product.
Undifferentiated vs. differentiated marketing
When you ask, “What are the types of targeting?” you may be referring to the two types: undifferentiated and differentiated. Mass marketing, also known as undifferentiated marketing, refers to the act of unifying the market view as homogenous. There are no distinctions between the different market types, so campaigns tend to take on a more generic approach.
Most brands that use undifferentiated marketing are those that have basic necessities for products. They take on the tone of the decision-maker in the household, which is usually the mother, and appear to be targeting the individual with the most spending power in the family. Some of these brands include meats, bread, juices, and oils—necessary goods in the household that do not need personality as a market.
On the other hand, there is differentiated marketing, which creates campaigns and communication. These market targeting examples are tailored towards a specific consumer base. Most brands, especially those in the leisure and lifestyle industries, tend to gravitate towards differentiated marketing. This allows them to streamline specific campaigns and make the brand stand out.
Both types of approaches have their own pros and cons, but a lot of these rely on the brand’s identity and offers. If your brand has other competitors or if you are in an industry that speaks to a specific market, then differentiated marketing may be the best approach to take.
Types of target markets
If you want to determine your target audience example, going the differentiated route means looking into these specific segments of your market. These market type categories play a crucial role in identifying your audience’s needs.
Demographics
Demographics is the identification of a market based on specific demographic factors. This can include income, education, gender, status, race, and family size.
Geographics
Geographics may be the easiest to spot as it refers to the location of the customers in relation to the use of your product. For instance, a real estate company may target one commercial area when selling units for their newly-built residential condominiums.
Psychographics
When you are looking to identify a target market based on their personality, it’s good to go with psychographics. You can define your audience based on personality traits, lifestyles, interests, motivations, and attitudes. These can help shape how you will market your brand’s voice so it can reach your desired audience.
Behavioral Segmentation
Finally, there is behavioral segmentation, which focuses on the habits of the customers. This may be among the more important segments. It can give you the customer’s purchasing and spending habits, brand interactions, and status. When combined with any of the three above, it can create a good foundation for campaign.
Build interest, grow potential
Understanding the market through research also gives you a chance to find out where influencers can fit into your overall plan.
Influencer marketing taps heavily on the customers’ habits and tendencies. They can be the last straw to sway them into a big purchase, or their content can be the difference between making them choose a brand to stick with for the long haul.
How Do Brands Benefit From Target Marketing Using Influencers?
Before embarking on a new marketing technique, it’s always good to ask, “What are the benefits of target marketing?” After all, not every technique will work for a particular brand.
As a marketing head or brand strategist, it is important to know what target marketing strategies may be tailored to your brand’s current needs.
Remember, any feasible and successful marketing strategy always has a focused view of the brand’s next action plan is. Here are a few ways to see how your brand will benefit from this technique.
Influencers have a targeted following
One of the benefits of target marketing with influencers is that they are already a target in themselves. They have specific niches, and they aim to establish themselves as thought leaders in that field.
Unless they are celebrity mega-influencers, chances are your brand’s niche will benefit from having a different expert in the same field as a source person.
Influencers can create good content
For some consumers, seeing branded content from a company’s social media only derives the emotions they tagged to the brand. If they are neutral about it, they may not find a reason to patronize it, even if they use the product or service.
Imagine if an influencer that they admire or like shares content about your brand. It’s possible that their emotions towards this influencer can be transferred to your brand.
Targeted Strategies: Matching The Brand With The Influencer
It’s crucial to utilize the right influencer for your brand, especially when you’ve narrowed down your target market.
When you ask, “what are the 3 target market strategies you need to know?” it’s good to focus on three things: marketing platforms, whitelisting, and influencer tapping.
If your brand is just starting to tap influencers, always remember that they can help your brand reach out to new audiences. Tapping influencers can be a significant point in your marketing strategy.
Second, it’s also good to filter your brand’s associations with influencers. Not all influencers will be a good fit for the brand. Just because they have millions of followers does not mean they can bring in new engagement or customers.
Whitelisting may benefit your brand by allowing you to tap specific content creators who can be considered as experts for your brand. This means partnering with them in the long run so you can maintain quality content and connections.
Finally, to effectively manage these strategies, it’s good to consider a viable influencer marketing platform. Many of these have different functions, so make sure you get one whose features can be tailored to fit your brand’s needs.
Want to learn more about influencer marketing? Check out “Attracting Influencers: How to Effectively Reach Out and Get the Best Influencers” to learn some tips on getting influencers that match your brand.
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