Training your audience is an essential part of building your digital brand . It’s about creating a consistent routine for them to follow, one they know and expect. From content to ads, everything you share should be consistent in look/feel, tone and voice. By doing that, you train your audience AND teach them how to do exactly what YOU want them to do, exactly WHEN you want them to do it.
Oprah spoke about the transition from the Oprah Winfrey Show to OWN and said that they audience was trained to watch her at 4pm.
That fact is great for Ellen but wasn’t so great for OWN in its early days.
What the execs forgot was that they had trained the audience to expect Oprah, all the glorious parts of her show, in a daily time slot.
And once that time slot was gone? Well, her fans had nowhere to go.
It’s not always so simple… and it took Oprah decades to get this formula right. In my opinion, as a lover of her, her brand and entertainment TV in general, they have started to figure out how to attract the audience back — by going after the audience where THEY are.
Part of training your audience is consistency, the other part is a deep understanding of your demographic and the fact that your demographic has to grow up too.
Take The Backstreet Boys for example. They’re all pushing 40 but they are active on all social platforms.
When they were popular, social media did not exist!! It wasn’t the powerhouse it is today for artists (I mean, if YouTube didn’t exist, neither would Justin Beiber which could be good, depending on your musical tastes) but that doesn’t mean that their audience isn’t on social.
In fact, their audience is currently THE MOST active demographic on social.
I often find it funny when brands ignore the 13-19 year olds or the 18-24 year olds. They are going to become your coveted 25-54 year olds soon enough — and if you haven’t trained them to know who you are and to understand how to have a conversation with them, how will they even know to look for you?
First Things First
Figure out who YOU are and what sets you apart from others in the space. When creating consistent content that converts, it’s important to consider all of your audiences AND where they hang out.
Related: How to Build Your Brand on Social Media
Get a Seat at the Table
Get in with the demos quickly and efficiently. Challenge them to engage and ASK for what they want. Create ways for them to connect each and every day, several times throughout the day. Make connecting with YOUR brand a must-have part of their day, week and month.
Ask For Feedback
Feedback is essential. Maybe one of your demographics wants content once a week where others want that daily interaction — the only want to know is to let THEM tell you and then create the preferences THEY request.
If you want a brand that stands the test of time, you can’t forget about the things that truly matter → and number one on that list? Your audience. Without them, you’d have nothing and it is important to always remember that.