Insight Into Fine Tuning Your Marketing Strategy

By Brenda Weathers Hargroves

The intention of this blog is to pass on worthwhile personal and professional tidbits. But, because I am, at heart, an introvert, I struggle with marketing. The thought of getting out there to increase my visibility does not come easily. But I know that in order to share the knowledge I believe will be of benefit, I must gain recognition among my target audience. So first, how do I define my target audience? Even harder, how do I get their attention? The woes of marketing.

Last year, with help from a young millennial friend, I made a good start at learning the ins and outs of social media marketing. And while I’ve made some headway, my 2022 goal is to ramp up those efforts in order to increase my audience base. Sound familiar?

With that effort in mind, I spoke to two associates who are marketing consultants. Both provided valuable insight and outlined specific approaches. What I learned was an eyeopener!

The first consultant advised:

1. determine the one specific result I want – the bottom line

2. identify the group of people I need to target and learn as much about them as I can

3. perform research to determine how other Internet sites within the space I want to target present themselves

4. find ways to communicate with my target audience on the platforms they use

5. make sure that everything I put out there provides value and ties back to my desired result

Based on that conversation, I started to design a revised marketing plan. While the approach made perfect sense, I struggled with following this strategy, for reasons that will soon become clear.

Discussion with the second consultant helped me recognize that everyone’s situation is not the same. The above method works well for someone who can identify a specific goal (i.e. I ultimately want to teach an online course about whatever). However, I realized my goal is more loosely defined than specific, in that I want to accomplish more than one thing. With this idea in mind, a more flexible strategy would work better for me.

The second consultant suggested a different tactic that allows me to work towards all that I’m trying to achieve. The mantra that defines this concept – CONTENT IS KEY.

The critical point is that successfully reaching my target audience(s) depends on creating content that:

1. generates interest and is useful

2. lands in the right places where people interested in the topic will see it

This methodology works best for me because, fortunately, I’ve consistently published content and have ideas in mind for future articles. While my blog content addresses various topics, all of my efforts focus on similar themes: 1) have a vision 2) make a plan with goals and 3) practice consistency.

What did these conversations teach me? While traditional methods are associated with successfully marketing your business, the path to achieving your goal can differ. It’s up to you to determine a strategy that works best for you.

The process of revising my marketing strategy also reminded me how critical establishing relationships is to growing one’s business. Developing a strong network of like-minded professionals who are willing to help you work through the kinks is priceless!