The battle for customer attention in industry is a never-ending war and your weaponry can be whatever you want it to be. Clearly, the high-end companies with seven-figure budgets might operate in a different league to you financially.

But there’s no reason why you can’t tweak your approach to reach a larger target audience. The key lies in your connectivity and conviction. You need to engage your audience and convince them that you are the stand out supplier of whatever product or service they are in the market for. Standing out from the crowd is going to get you recognised. Below, we’ve marked out a few paths that you may wish to tread in order to improve your interaction with your target market.

  • Analyse online activity. If you’re not already, you should be studying the online movements of your target demographic. There are online channels that you will want to be tuned in to in order to get inside the social media minds of your desired audience.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are probably already tools you use if you’re serious about digital marketing. Take this further and get yourself involved in groups, forums and discussions which relate to your industry. Observe how they interact, take note of what gets them buzzing and use this to your advantage. Information is at your fingertips. If you know your audience you can tailor content and promotion towards them, a fine example of which is Hancocks Jewellers invite-only event, lubricated with champagne to appeal to its high-end demographic, for more information their blog post ‘Invite Only – Our First Exclusive In-Store Blogger Event‘ elaborates.

  • Be informative. If you go down the blogging route, which can be successful, don’t just blow your own trumpet. People don’t just want to hear how wonderful you are, especially if it’s coming from your own mouth. Inform people about industry events, landmarks and successes. By providing interesting snippets of information, the potential customer will be more inclined to delve deeper into your offerings.
  • Don’t sit on the fence. One thing the online community love is a debate. Bloggers and contributors thrive on healthy discussion. Publish content which will get people talking and engaging you in return rather than stating the obvious or staying neutral. By producing content with the prospect of controversy, you will grab those who are spurred on by the prospect of lively conversation.
  • Don’t forget your existing audience. When it comes to digital marketing, there is a temptation to put your focus on grabbing increased market share. This is channelled through marketing campaigns designed to bring in new ‘followers’, ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ on social media. This can often lead to neglecting your existing and loyal base. A great way to ensure this doesn’t happen is by enhancing the informative content of your posts. Give them new information constantly, and educate them on what is happening in the industry. You already have their attention, so do what you need to do to keep it.
  • Solve problems. Whatever your industry is, be constantly aware of issues which are flagged up and arm yourself with the answers. Consumers will scour the internet for reviews on products or advice on when and where to get something. Be the company to provide the answers.