Three lies about your audience

Three lies about your audience

Story 1

I received this email in response to a newsletter I sent, from one amazing lady. Lemme call her Lady A.

“Hi, Ben! The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw 'Bic Underwear' was 'that can't be right- those two words together- no'. The repulsion to that is immediate; before I can even conceive such a product because like many people, for me, Bic = pens first, razors and other products second, underwear never! I can't imagine 'Coca-Cola lotion' or 'Kiwi tissue'. I'm not buying! Thanks for driving the point home so well.👌”

No doubt she is reading this right now. And, yes, I have Lady A’s permission to quote her in this article. 😁 It does feel nice to know the content is hitting home, thanks to her response.

Story 2

I am the kind of person who lives on Zero Inbox. I can’t stand having unread emails, even though I am subscribed to 40+ newsletters. I read them all, even if just to skim through them. I can’t even live peacefully if I have a few Whatsapp notifications or unopened-to messages. Yes, I mark my MPESA messages read too! With all these people clamoring for my attention, am I part of anyone’s audience? Yes, and no.

As an entrepreneur or marketer, it is kinda obvious that building a brand audience is a crucial aspect of your business success. People buy from those they know, like, and trust. But they have to know you first.

Your brand audience is the group of people interested in what you do or offer. They follow what you do and share. Eventually, you hope they get to buy from you and create value for you as you create value for them. Even so, I find that there are 3 lies held about your brand audience:

Lie 1: You own your audience.

Your audience has the freedom to follow or unfollow you, and they can easily switch to other brands that provide better value. Therefore, you need to keep providing value and create a positive brand experience to keep them loyal.

This is a thought also shared by Chris Brogan of Owner Media Group. Your audience doesn’t think of your brand 24/7. And even the ones who are with you are also with other people. We are all sharing an audience, in one way or another. They are only yours when they are interacting or thinking about your brand.

Lie 2: Your brand audience is static.

I used to follow content from Pro-Church Tools diligently. Nowadays I don’t. I am no longer actively consuming that type of content. And this is pretty normal. People's interests and preferences change over time, and so does their loyalty to brands. You need to constantly engage with your audience and provide them with the value that resonates with their needs and wants.

Lie 3: Your brand audience will consume anything you give them.

You must provide content that helps your audience learn something new, solve their problems, or simply entertains them. When you provide value, your audience will stay with you, and your brand will become more attractive to them.

You need to understand your audience's needs, wants, and pain points. Once you have a good understanding of your audience, you can create content that speaks to them. Maybe they just want a laugh after a busy day and all you keep doing is making them read to understand!

Takeaways

If a newsletter or post isn’t valuable for Lady A, she will probably leave my audience. Well, she might be forgiving with one boring newsletter but she won’t stay for repeated boredom. I am part of the audience in my 30+ subscriptions, FOR NOW. They don’t own me. I don’t own Lady A.

Find out what your audience wants and needs. See how to deliver that. Create value for them. And they will, in turn, create value for you. Don’t bombard them with promotional messages. People don’t want to buy something from someone who is screaming in their faces, “Buy my stuff”.

Pro tip: Gary Vee, in Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, believes that you should give value 3 times before you ask for something in return from your audience. I agree with the heart of this. For your audience, give value in the time they are with you.

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