I was recently talking to a client about the best ways to attract an ideal audience. I mentioned that customers are not online to buy. He was shocked to hear that. Are you surprised by that statement too?

Our target audience is on social media. There is no doubt about it! You’re on it! I’m on it! Everybody is on social media. BUT we don’t go online (most times) just for the purpose of buying products and services. Especially not to social media.

We mostly go online for the news, to see what is happening, or check out what the latest celebrity is up to. Then, of course, we take a look at what’s going on with our family and friends and inevitably get sucked into watching cat videos in our newsfeeds.

When I say customers are not online to buy… I really mean that! We don’t go online anymore just for the purpose of buying. We visit social media to socialize. This is where the world is hanging out.

It’s the competition we have to worry about. Our strongest competitors are not the businesses who are marketing to the same customers as you and selling the same products and services. Instead, your strongest competitor is your customer’s friends and families, the celebrities they follow, the news, the videos. Yes, that includes those cute cat and dog videos.

Basically, everyday life is your competition!

The internet is so noisy. It works. It’s effective! I see it working every day for businesses. To be successful, you have to break through the competition of the noise… the family and friends, etc., in order to reach out to your customers. This is only going to get more difficult as Facebook changes their algorithms. You need to be relevant and engaging. Include posts that they want to see and are excited to talk about (and hopefully share) with their friends.

It’s hard. It takes a lot of work and it isn’t a sprint. Social media is a marathon. It takes time and it constantly changes. You always have to be updating your social media strategy all the time. It takes time to build relationships, but that’s what you should be focusing on. Continually getting to know your audience – their likes and dislikes, and letting them know more about you and your company as well. Be real, don’t just sell. Help them solve their problems as a friend talking to another friend with appreciated advice.

So remember our competition isn’t always who we think it is. It’s time to be creative and break through the noise to reach our customers! Do it once, then repeat again and again.