Maximizing Your Marketing Exposure on Social Networks
Hardly anyone would argue with the old marketing adage “any exposure is good exposure.” However, when faced with the ever increasing number of avenues in which you can invest your time and efforts into gaining exposure, it quickly becomes clear to most web marketers that all exposure is not necessarily efficient exposure.
Since popular social networking sites can draw millions of visitors a day (numbers which rival even the largest of television networks) many web marketers are focusing more and more of their efforts on gaining exposure on these sites. While getting your message out to the masses is good, spending a little effort targeting that message is even better. With a little homework you can get a lot more bang for your buck for the same (or often even less) amount of effort.
Social Networks are not all created equal. Just like all media, social network sites are diversified to respond to the needs and desires of varying demographic groups. Each service offers different features and although there is much overlap, each has a unique leading demographic. Although the steps to honing in on your target demographics are very simple, they are all too often overlooked by overzealous webmasters eager to tap into sheer numbers.
Before you start any social network marketing campaign (or indeed any campaign) ask yourself a simple questions. Who is my target audience? Who is most likely to buy my product, read my blog or visit my site?
1. How old are they?
2. Are they male or female?
3. What is their average income?
4. What are their affiliations? Religious, political or otherwise?
5. What are their interests?
If you pay close attention, you will notice that all of the questions above are routinely collected by most social networking sites as a part of the user’s profile. In fact, social networks are in fact nothing more than giant marketing machines!
Once you know the answers to these questions, do your homework. There are literally dozens and dozens of reports available detailing the demographic breakdown of top social networking sites. Find out where your target customer lives and focus your effort there even if the overall exposure is lower. Once you take the time to get your message in front of the right people, the dividends of chasing efficient exposure rather than sheer numbers will be evident and with luck, you will see hits and conversions increase.
