Over 2 billion people use social media. Social marketing can promote your small business website to a massive audience, making it a key advertising channel.
Still, many small businesses in and around Cardiff and Bristol target local markets, either across the UK or specifically in South Wales and the Southwest. Having an international reach isn’t always a priority.
So, how do you reach a local or niche audience with social marketing? Here are a few tips:
Know Your Audience
Do you know who your target audience is? Who are you talking to when you create a marketing campaign on social media?
Not sure? Then ask!
Create a survey for your consumers so you know exactly who your target audience is. Some things to ask include:
- Age group
- Gender
- Location
- Interests
- What led them to your site?
Use these answers and build your marketing around them. If your typical audience is, for example, 25-year-old women who live in Wales, then create content specific to that demographic.
Your marketing campaigns will be much more effective if you know your audience.
Boost Your Posts
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all offer ways to boost your posts. You can have the social media sites show your posts to any audience you choose for a small fee.
You can choose who sees your post by location, who their friends are, or what sort of content they like.
You can then track your boosted post to get data on who interacted with that post and how effective it was. From there you can make changes if needed and boost again.
If you don’t get good results, you’ll know you need to go a different direction with your social media posts.
Relevant Content
Content is still the most important aspect of social marketing. If you don’t have good content, you risk losing people’s interest. The better the content, the more likely they are to like and share your site.
If you are trying to reach a certain demographic and location, write content that is relevant to them. Talk about local events and community issues.
Post often enough to keep people coming back for more. Try to stay consistent in your posting so your consumers and followers know what to expect.
Get Personal
People like a good story. So, don’t hold back — let people know who you are and where you came from. Letting your customers get to know you helps them to trust you — and trust drives sales.
Also, get involved — it’s social media, after all. The more you engage with your customers, the more they will engage with you. Some people prefer commenting on social media threads instead of calling customer service. So, make sure you keep up to speed with what your consumers are saying about your business.
Make Social Marketing Work For You
It’s not just international brands that can benefit from marketing on social media — local businesses can do so, too. It’s all about identifying, finding and connecting with your target audience, whether that’s a niche group spread across several continents, or a local group such as homeowners in Cardiff or parents in Bristol. Either way, following the suggestions above will help you reach the right people.