Marketing Your Business to the Aware and the Unaware

Andrew JohnsonInbound Marketing, Local Business Marketing, Video MarketingLeave a Comment

marketing your business to the aware and the unaware - mountain sunrise

Today we are looking at ways of marketing your business to people who are aware of your business and to people who are unaware.

There are two types of people out there:

  1. People who are aware of your business, what you are selling, or what you do as a service
  2. People who are un-aware of your business

The People who are AWARE are:

  1. Searching
  2. Researching
  3. Comparing

We should ask ourselves, "What is your ideal customer searching for?"

We can use a Google Trick to get some suggestions for terms and related terms. Just start typing into Google the start of what you are thinking and see what the auto-complete answers are that come up.

People who are UN-AWARE are:

  1. Browsing
  2. Scrolling
  3. Being entertained

We need to catch their attention. Their attention is somewhere else. They don't know you have something they need or want. You need to know who they are so you can target them.

For the aware audience, we care more about WHAT they are searching for in order to target them. For the un-aware audience, we care more about WHO they are and what habits they have in order to target them.

Methods

Let's look at various methods to get people to your website and we'll see what's best for the aware or the un-aware internet user.

The Aware User -> Searching, Researching, Comparing

- People are searching, so they are aware of what you do, they might not know YOU, but they are searching for what you do, what you sell, or what you know.

Where can people be searching?
1. Google or Bing Search
2. YouTube
3. Pinterest
4. Amazon, eBay, or Allibabba, etc

Where are they NOT searching? Facebook, LinkedIn, other social media sites

So, we can run a targeted campaign for WHAT people are searching for and make sure that we are running it WHERE they are searching.

How do we run these ad campaigns?

  1. AdWords show your ad in Google Search Results
  2. Google Display AdWords show your visual ad on other websites
  3. AdWords Video shows your ad as pre-roll in YouTube
  4. Pinterest has sponsored posts and promoted posts
  5. Seller websites allow you to post a product for sale and then sponsor it to show up in related searches.

TIP: DON'T do all these things! Setup one of them. Tweak it. Get it working, and then move on. The key is to do the research about WHAT people are searching for so that you can make sure you show up when they are searching.

Showing Up Organically in Search Results

The process of getting your website to show up organically (ie not a paid ad) in search results is a long term process that will often be hard, but have lasting results that you won't have to pay for. It IS worth it if you write about the right things. I wrote about online competitor analysis several years ago (in 2013) and I STILL get traffic to that page today.

The Un-Aware User

- People are going about their business on the internet and you have a chance to catch their attention and show them something that they want or need. This is where you really need to know WHO your ideal customers are.

Where can we target types of people and show them your product/service?

  1. Facebook
  2. Pinterest
  3. YouTube - to a certain extent
  4. LinkedIn

The big one is Facebook, but depending on your type of business you might not need to use it...you might want to focus on LinkedIn instead. It all depends on WHO your audience is.

Effective Marketing is Personal

Since we know so much about WHO these people are, the ads or sponsored posts need to be tailored JUST to them and where they are at in life. This is where the concept of multiple target groups and multiple messages comes into play. You'll get WAY better results if you can write a message/show an image/display footage that is customized for each type of person.

Think about it, if you were a 40 year old man, would you want to go to a restaurant that looked like it was full of 18 year old teenagers? No. But if you see an image and a written message that's tailored to a 40 year old man...it will be more likely to catch your attention.

This is why I love online advertising and thing that traditional advertising mediums are mostly terrible. Online, you can make sure that your ad is only shown to men between the age of 20 and 40....but on a billboard...every man, woman, and child are seeing your ad....and you are paying a premium to see it. 

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