Hang out in the same spots

“Know your audience… but it’s really more than that. You have to know them at a level where you can create a perfect picture of who your audience is. You have to be them to know how to approach them, market to them, and not piss them off.”

• Shy Rosenzweig, 20 ways to be awesome on the Internet

Imagine my friend Derek.

My job is to serve him as much as possible.

There’s no helpers it’s just me.

What would I do to take care of Derek?

He likes drumming, teaches at a music school, following the NBA, playing gigs, gaming on his PlayStation, following the football, and plays poker every few months with buddies like me.

If my job was to serve Derek as effectively as I could, I might:

• Follow with him as he visits his favourite music stores and help him buy drumming kit
• Identify ways to get NBA news to him without him lifting a finger
• Be the runner/helper at venues for the gigs he plays
• Help him find the best gaming news and where and when to get the best games for his Playstation
• Make sure that the times he plays poker are awesome, with tidy venues, clean chips and felt, and good snacks

Following him around like this would be really weird (sorry Derek!) but the good news I don’t need to take care of as many needs as I can I just need hang out in the spots where it makes sense for my business to be there.

Ever been to a local football, netball, or soccer match?

You’ll see locally sponsored billboards and jerseys everywhere.

This can work for your business online too.

Let’s say my business was selling fancy drumming sticks.

• I could appear in drumming fan Facebook groups,
• I could offer demos via a specialist music store’s email list,
• I could negotiate with a drumming influencer to mention my product,
• or test a collaboration with an online drumming store that helps you both win.

I’m going to give you ways to offer things like this later, for now you just want to find places your buyer is.

This is miles away from what a big tech will tell you.

Run Google search ads against “drumming product” or put Instagram ads in front of Males 25-45 interested in drumming and teaching music.

The reality is almost everyone is on an Instagram or Google and it is really, really hard to stand out and compete with others against everyone.

So you need to find specific places where your buyer is, and then provide creative offers so you can attract them.