Why Building An Audience Is So Important

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life is unpredictable, not everything is within our control, and the world can get pretty crazy, very quickly.

If you’re a business owner, you have no doubt been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another. That could mean that you’ve had to think on your feet and change how you do business, or perhaps you’re experiencing a decrease in sales due to a drop in demand for your product or service. Depending on your industry, maybe you’re unable to do business at all anymore due to restrictions in your area, and so you’re sitting at home right now wondering how your business is going to survive this.

The really smart brands have been able to fall back on engaging with their audience, and this is what is helping them ride out these challenging times and will pay off for them in the future.

While money makes the world go round, it’s important for your brand to focus on more than just short-term profits.

We know that making money keeps you in business, and we’ve all got to make a living. That’s obviously important, but what's also important is future-proofing your business by building a loyal and engaged audience, because without an audience, if something like this happens again, next time you may not have a business by the end of it.

You would be amazed at how many big businesses there are that don’t know what to do with themselves at the moment now that sales have slowed down, or stopped completely. The problem is that they are likely established, have a great reputation, or offer an in-demand product or service so they haven't had to worry about putting any effort into marketing or social media, the money just comes in anyway. However, the world has been thrown upside down, consumer priorities have changed, and while they may now find themselves with a whole heap of time on their hands and a lot to say, no one’s listening.

If you’re in a similar situation and have never spent time on building your audience, it’s not too late. The good news is that your audience is out there, and they’re looking for you! Here are our top three tips on how to start building your audience right now.

Be The Brand That You Want To Be

The pandemic has actually been the perfect time for a lot of brands to figure out what kind of brand they really want to be. You can start by asking yourself what you want your brand to represent, how you want it to make people feel, and what it’s true and authentic purpose is.

People aren’t living their normal lives right now. They’re at home more often, they’re on social media more than usual, and so they are more accessible. Once you have determined what your brand’s message is, you can go out and share it with the people who need to know.

Know Your Audience

Once you are sure of the brand you want to be, you need to define your ideal audience. You should know their pain points, their frustrations, what they care about and the kind of content they engage with and share. You can do this through research, checking out what your competitors are doing, and creating a buyer persona.

Once you know all this, you can determine what kind of content they want to see, and the best way to engage them.

Offer Value, Don’t Just Sell

You don’t have to give everything away for free, but you surely have something of value that won’t cost you much to share. This shows your audience that you care about them even if they’re not spending money with you right now, and they will remember that.

Think restaurants sharing the secret recipes for their most popular dishes, yoga teachers offering free recorded meditations or classes, or Amazon Prime making some of their TV shows free to view during the worst of the lockdown period.

It all boils down to knowing your target audience, REALLY knowing them, and engaging with them regularly. We guarantee that if you can build your audience and keep them engaged, once all the craziness is over they’ll be back, and the money will start flowing back in again before you know it.

Has the pandemic made you realize that your marketing efforts are seriously lacking? We can help you up your game. Get in touch to find out more.