What Game of Thrones can teach you about targeting your audience

Like Cersei says, “when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die“. In different words, Jon Westenberg talks about the importance of targeting, when he says “If you don’t know your audience, you won’t accomplish shit”.

This article that we’ve found last week, is about the relevance of listening to your audience, of knowing what they want and giving them just what they need. But how could you do that, if you don’t even know who your audience really is?

“Start by asking questions, ask for feedback” Jon says, and we agree. But to whom? Well, let’s see, as always in life, everything is about experience. As Littlefinger says “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder”. So today we’ll assume you already have some clients, because if you’re about to launch, that is a whole different story. And here it goes.

 

This is your scenario

  • You have your first clients
  • You have an old website that you might want to redesign at some point, with little traffic going on.
  • You have a Facebook page in which you already have a couple of fans following your brand.
  • You’re thinking of growing, but hey! let us quote Tyrion: “A day will come when you think you are safe and happy, and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth”. You should start moving, right now!

 

What could you possible do grow?

Google Analytics

“Turn us away, and we will burn you first” said Daenerys. And so should, Google says. If you ignore it, you are definitely not walking on your victory’s pursuit way.

  • Start measuring your traffic. Focus on your Demographics, but most of all on Interests, especially in the Affinity Categories field. Pay a little attention to find activities or interests your audience members might have in common.
  • Go on with their behaviors. Try to see where they stop in your website, and what sections are they interested in. Maybe this will give you a tip on how your next website redesign should be.

 

Facebook Audience Insights

If you still don’t know this tool, then “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

  • Take a look to the Suggested Pages to Watch section. You’ll find similar brands suggested by  Facebook. You can take advantage of this to learn what your competitors are doing right now, their strategy and their performance. And if you realize at some point someone is attacking you, just remember Tyrion again: “Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let’s go kill them!”
  • On the Page View section you’ll be able to differentiate where your audience is coming from. If they were performing a search on Google, they’ve found your fan page through your web page, or just through Facebook.
  • Posts section. In this place you’ll find out which posts are performing better. Real useful data when it comes to engagement content. If you’re going to make the most of inbound marketing, you should never ignore this section. Best schedule to post is also in this section, but this varies for every brand and product, so you should pay attention to whatever is working for you
  • And we’ve come to the most meaningful point: People. In this section you’ll get to know your audience. Who’s better than Google and Facebook to store information about your fans?

Let’s just hope that you’ll never have to use Ned’s phrase: “I learned how to die a long time ago”, but instead, you learn more than us, and feel compelled to say “You know nothing, Jon Snow”!

Pic copyright: https://www.flickr.com/photos/karenborter/24440965145/

3 online business measures you should stop worrying about

We marketers love numbers. We take closer looks at them, use them on reports, create strategies around them and have eternal discussions around their meaning. But even with the unconditional love we have for them, numbers can be pretty deceiving. In fact, there are some of them we should forget right now, simply because they don’t do nothing for us. It can be pretty hard, we know, because we have grown accustomed to measure them over and over again.

But, for marketing’s sake, it’s time to leave them behind. If you really want to understand your small business marketing and the value you’re actually putting out there, it’s time to let these 3 apparently important measures go their ways.