Social media is big business. That’s been clear for a long time. When 71% of people who have a positive experience with a brand on social media go on to recommend it to others, that’s not an avenue any sensible company can overlook. And it’s particularly important for ecommerce, because it doesn’t take much effort to quickly tap on a convenient link. Marketing an online store through social media is technologically taking the path of least resistance.
But it’s tough to do well, especially if you’re targeting a niche. Broad marketing is like spouting sozzled comedy stylings at a bar; if it’s bad, no big deal. Niche marketing is more like going up on stage at an elite open-mic night— you need to bring your A-game or you’re going to bomb.
So you need to get a pretty damn good plan ready if you want to get established through a social media niche to get your profits rising. Here’s how to nail your niche marketing strategy:
Research and produce targeted content
OK, sure, exhaustive keyword research isn’t the most entertaining thing in the world—and the word exhaustive probably didn’t help there—but it is incredibly effective when you’re looking to meet (or exceed) the expectations of your target audience.
If you form a comprehensive list of relevant terms and questions through tools like KeywordTool and Ubersuggest, you’ll have a rich well of ideas and concepts to draw from when planning longer-form social media content.
For instance, if you sell something quite niche like novelty gloves, and find that a surprising number of people search for “novelty gloves to wear at masquerade parties” (I assume they don’t, but you’re welcome to check), you can write a piece called The Best Novelty Gloves to Wear at Masquerade Parties and promote it through social media.
What a strange world I’ve accidentally entered. Source here.
After all, there’s no point in producing content that won’t interest the people you’re trying to reach, or is so generic that they won’t really notice it because they’ll have already read twelve articles about the same thing— and if you can create something of really high quality, it may even come to be seen as a default recommendation in that community, ultimately lending you a lot of authority and pushing a great deal of traffic in your direction.
Your research will also help you avoid the sense of “How do you do, fellow kids?” awkwardness that results when companies try to sell things to demographics they don’t fully understand. There’s a decent chance you already feel comfortable speaking the local dialect (as it were), but there’s never any harm in checking.
Engage with primary influencers
In any given niche, there will be an assortment of people who have considerably more sway on social media than anyone else, and it’s a matter of some urgency that you figure out who they are, what they want, where their related interests lie, whom they know, and other such factors.
It may technically be possible to work up from nothing to become an effective social media force purely through using targeted ads and waiting for your best content to reach the right eyes through happenstance and hashtags, but it’s hardly advisable.
JunkBanter is my go-to place for (often sponsored) confectionery news.
Instead, find the top dogs in the community and reach out to them, being sure to put your best foot forward. If you can establish some kind of relationship with them, you can get them to sample your products and talk about you on a regular basis, giving you a ton of relevant and credible exposure without breaking the bank.
