055: Where are your People?

In Episode 49 we talked about defining your target market.  Today we are taking the next step and determining where your target market hangs out.  Where are your people?  It's great if you know who your target market is, but it doesn't do you any good if you can't find each other.  You need to know where your people are, so that you can be there and get found.

By being where your people are, you are able to get to know them.  The more you know about your people, the more you can deliver what they want, and meet their needs.  In Episode 54 Caroline Starr Rose talked about how she reads many current books to get a feel for her target market, and to help her discover what they wanted.

When you hang out where your people hang out you will find opportunities to talk about your "thing", to trade advice, and be helpful.  Maybe you could guest post where your people hang out or comment on articles.  The point is, unless you go to your people, they will never get to know you or find you.

So how can you discover where your people are? 

John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire sends out an email to everyone who signs up for his email list.  In the email he asks, "How did you find me?".  Chances are more of your people are hanging out in the same place where this person found you.  This gives you an opportunity to be more active and present in that place.

What about trade magazines and journals?  Does every knitter read a certain magazine?  You need to immerse yourself in those publications.

What about conferences?  Are your people more the Influence Conference type or the Comic Con type?  Go to those conferences.  Be where they are.

Don't neglect in person opportunities to get to know your target market in real life.  Does your target market hang out at the gym?  Maybe you need a gym membership.  Do your people go to MOPS?  Don't miss a meeting.

Which social networks do your people use the most?  If your target market is made up of photographers, chances are they are on Instagram more than Twitter.  Does your target market love to cook?  Chances are they are constantly on Pinterest searching for recipes.  Determine which social media platform your target market most often turns to, and then focus the majority of your social marketing efforts in that direction.

A fabulous tool for learning where your people hang out is through a specific Facebook search.  On BrittanysBest.com she has a great article, "The Foolproof Formula of Successful Sellers", that walks you through a Facebook Graph search to learn more about your people. 

Here's how it works.  In the Facebook search bar type in "Pages liked by people who like YOUR BUSINESS".  The results that come up represent the overlap -- the pages liked by people who also like your page.  These pages are the other pages where your people are hanging out.  The search results seem to list them in order of the most overlapping fans. 

Our top result was Amy Porterfield, so many of people who like us on Facebook also like Amy Porterfield.  That tells me that I need to get involved on Amy's site a bit more.  If my people are also hanging out with Amy, then chances are good that more of my people (the people who haven't found me yet) are also hanging out there.  I need to be reading Amy's articles and making great comments. I need to interact with her and her fans on social media.  I need to be familiar with Amy and her work.  Maybe she accepts guest posts, I need to find out.

Now, when you find out where your people are hanging out, don't hang out there in an annoying way.  Don't just leave your links everywhere without adding something of value.  Don't comment without reading the article first.   (This should be a given, right?)  Get involved in the community and be helpful.

So go out there and find out where your people are.  Let us know how it goes!

-Sarah