Be you, everyone else is taken

The world of digital marketing is crowded, there are a lot of voices, a lot of noise and there is a lot of content to consume. It can be hard to stand out from the crowd, be yourself, and be noticed, and that goes for your brand as well.
 
Just like in any area of our lives, we can all be guilty of looking at what others are doing and seek to emulate certain aspects to improve our offering. But knowing who you are as a brand, knowing what your online strategy is and knowing who your target market is, is such a crucial step to think about. This should be something to decide and map out before you start any online marketing campaigns to ensure you are staying on brand, working towards engaging your target market, and being as authentic as possible. 

Authenticity is something that more brands are now incorporating into their marketing strategies, and something that brands are striving to achieve overall. Authenticity builds trust and brand recognition, and helps customers and potential customers identify with your products and services better. 
 
Brands can sometimes come across as too polished online, and many potential customers don’t want that refined, perfect version of your business online anymore. They want it to be real, fun, and engaging especially in the way you communicate with your audience on social.
 
Being authentic comes from knowing who you are, knowing what you offer and who you are targeting your products and services to. You can’t be all things to all people, and this is so very true when it comes to digital marketing.
 
Often I ask people who their target market is? and I get a response of…. Well, everyone. The truth of the matter is that your target is not anyone and everyone. Not everyone is going to engage with your product or visit your restaurant, so getting real about who you want to attract is the first step to having a good marketing strategy, and contributes to a good overall business strategy.
 
Once you know your target market, it is easier to build content and engage with your audience online because you know who they are. And once you see this, you need to get tunnel vision in your approach by crafting every piece of content with your target market in mind.
 
Speak to the target market through your marketing and content to engage with them as authentically as possible, and see what works best and what material gives you the best results.
 
Don’t be afraid to try new approaches, but whatever you do don’t look to others who have a different strategy and change tact in the middle of trying to push your strategy. This can cause a real disconnect with your digital audience and can be damaging to your brand. Good marketing takes time, it takes effort, and it takes consistency to build an audience so you can keep a loyal customer base of followers.  
 
Be you, know who you are, know what your brand is, and keep building on your own strategy. It can be tempting to look to others and cherry pick ideas here and there, but always ask when you see an idea that you like; does it align with your brand strategy, does it assist in gaining new customers for your brand, and most importantly is it on brand for you?
 
Just my two cents worth.  
 
KB