Some people will tell you should start small with social media…try it out, get your feet wet. The second most often proffered advice is: “Listen!” Hm. Right advice, wrong place to start.
Social media is a very big and very noisy place. So how do you know which channels to try out? How do you know who to listen to?
My best advice is start by defining your ‘buyer personas.’ A buyer persona is a ‘profile’ of not only your buyers, but also all those who affect your business. Unlike a typical demographic marketing profile of a market sector target, developing a buyer persona helps you get to grips with the motivations, behaviours, preferences and decision making process of the individuals you need to target.
Once you understand these people’s behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and character, you will better understand where you might find them in this webby world. It will also give you insights into exactly what content they are likely to look for online.
I will be posting on how to create a buyer persona at some point. UPDATE: Meanwhile, here’s a short in-plain-language video on the value of buyer personas from David Meerman Scott.
