This blog post came about from a casual question in my Facebook Group Like Minded Business Owners (go join that if you haven’t already) when someone mentioned Tik Tok.

I think that question was: “Do you use Tik Tok in your business?” and the response was “Oh no – not another thing I need to be doing!”.

Which was a valid point right.  We are ALL busy enough – do we need another thing?

It’s like Clubhouse – I’m absolutely loving it – but does that mean you should be on it and loving it too?

So, I thought we could have a little discussion about where your energy should be going and, of course touch on the “bright shiny object” syndrome.

There’s a LOT of platforms you COULD be on – but which ones should you be on?

The short answer is – where your audience is!  Makes logically sense.

We aren’t on social media or sending emails or making podcasts for fun (or not really), we are using them as tools to attract an audience, to nurture an audience until they are ready to buy.

And then we are using it to get them to buy again and tell their friends about you and your products or services.

So, if you want more sales, you need to get in front of more potential buyers.

Simple – right!

I think so (noting that there is a big different between simple and easy!)

It comes back to knowing who your ideal client is. Identifying your ideal audience, your avatar – whatever you want to call them.

So, WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE – the audience that is most likely to buy your stuff – and WHERE DO THEY HANG OUT?

Get these two questions right and no matter how many times someone talks about Tik Tok or Clubhouse or LinkedIn or Twitter or whatever, you’ll know if you do or don’t need to be on those platforms, because you know where you audience is living.

No matter how great someone else is doing on a platform you’re not on – that’s ok, because you are where you need to be to get the sales you need to stay in business.

So clearly knowing your target audience is a marketing fundamental you MUST get right.  And, I might add, have look at it again every now and then, because those little target audience folks change! Humans change their minds and also like bright shiny objects!

But it’s more complicated than that these days.  Let’s take Instagram for instance.

Let’s say that your target audience IS on Instagram – you’ve done the work – you’re sure that’s where your cashed up people to nurture as hanging out, so you go all in on Instagram.

But then you’re like, do I do posts on my grid, IGTV, Stories, Reels – and the head starts to pound again!

Again, you need to know your target audience.

Just knowing demographics like age, sex, location, marriage status, children, income – it’s just not enough these days.

You will need dig deeper, way deeper, into questions like:

• What keeps them up at night?
• Are they more likely to use google or social media for searching?
• Do they read magazines or listen to podcasts?
• What are their non-negotiables?
• How do they enjoy learning?
• What’s their biggest challenge you are solving?
• Who do they follow?
• Who are their mentors and heroes?
• How do they like to communicate – phone, text, DMs, emails?

And so much more!

How do you find this stuff out?

Well, you need to do your research! Ask the questions, put on your  marketing hat and get on social media, and watch from a marketing perspective.

And in doing this ACTIVELY LISTEN (or read as the case may be!) to the conversations that your ideal client might be having.

What are the common words or themes you hear/see?

Is it things like:

• “I listened to a podcast the other day”
• “I spent 2 hours watching Instagram reels”
• “I’m having a social media break for a while”
• “I read the most interesting blog”

People say stuff like this to us all the time, or comment it on different social media posts/groups, but it’s whether we have our marketing hat on that we listen and think “that’s my ideal client saying that, and I’ve heard this 4 times already this week”.

And, of course, you can always survey your audience or give 20 or so people in your ideal client demographics a call and actually ask them specific questions!

So, my point is this:

You don’t have to be everywhere, and you don’t have to be doing everything. You just need to be where your buyers are!

This might take time to work out – marketing is all about test and measure. Remember, failure is learning, so be brave and experiment.

And of course, watch your insights, your google analytics and track your sales.

Where did your last 20 sales come from?  Can you trace them from lead to list to sale to fan?

If not, why not?

This the stuff you need to track.  That way you can see, in black and white, where you need to be spending your time, because you can see that your sales or your leads that turn into sales come from Instagram or your podcast or wherever.

If you want to do some work on your ideal client – here’s some resources for you:

• I have workbook that connected to my Facebook Ads for Beginners course which I’m making available as a bonus for you reading this blog! You can access it by clicking through this link: http://bit.ly/ICAJenn, and
• Go listen to Episode 25 of my Podcast – socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/25 – Get to Know Your Ideal Client

I hope this blog has helped.  Next time you see me talking about Tik Tok or Clubhouse or someone else saying they have had 100 sales from Instagram Reels and you think “wow – maybe I should be doing that too” – just stop, come back and re-read this blog post, and refer to the outline you’ve written from the link above about YOUR ideal client, do it often!

Identifying your ideal client is not a set and forget thing!

Do the test and measuring of your marketing, watch your numbers and figures and where your leads come from. Have confidence in knowing your ideal client and your business model, so you can say well done to others who may be smashing it on different platforms to you, and not get distracted from YOUR OWN PATH that leads you to YOUR perfect audience.

So while I am all about chasing down things, experimenting and finding your groove, I’ll say don’t be afraid to venture, but do it wisely, and keeping in mind those words I love to hate “for what purpose”!

If you need someone to go through the “Ideal Client” and other ways to makes sure you are most effectively targeting your social media presence, schedule a free discovery chat with me and let’s talk about how I can help you with your business and marketing strategy.

Book a call here: https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery

If you have any queries or questions, jump over to my  Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – if you haven’t joined yet, do it today! The community I have built there is full of amazing small business owners. They love to interact and share their knowledge and journey with everyone. Or, please DM me on Instagram or shoot me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

ABOUT THE AUTHOR!

Jenn Donovan is a marketing strategist and social media extraordinaire, coach and mentor to savvy business owners. Owner and Founder of Social Media & Marketing Australia.

With a passion for making business simple, because it’s isn’t easy but it should be simple or at least simpler, she’s built a reputation for helping other small business owners simplify their marketing and businesses so they can reach their goals, be more profitable and live the dream (finding the freedom they set out to achieve when they started … the illusive small business owner freedom dream …!)

Jenn believes in giving before asking and that’s why she’s the host of the popular Small Business Made Simple Podcast.