The Who

WHO is your IDEAL audience/customer/client?

The WHO matters!

• exactly WHO they are
• gender(s)
• age/age-range
• what interests/drives/motivates them? (passions, important causes, etc)
• what words do they use?
• what are their hobbies? (fitness, hunting, photography, cooking, sports, art, blogging, etc)
• do they work out/fitness? (at home, in the gym, outside, alone, in a group etc)
• who do they spend time with?
• where do they live? (city, suburbia, rural, part of town, etc)
• where do they shop? (online, retail, grocery, boutique, local, bigbox, etc…get specific)
• where they worship…if they do have a Faith?
• are they married or single or dating?
• do they have children?
• do they love animals?
• …all the things

WRITE IT ALL DOWN! GET SPECIFIC!

IDENTIFY YOUR IDEAL AUDIENCE!
It’s IMPORTANT!
Be SPECIFIC! It MATTERS!

It’s important, because your brand/business serves SOMEONE…a specific someone…VERY well. It solves a problem for a certain group of people better than others. It meets them where they are…perfectly. When you line out exactly WHO that is, you won’t have to work so hard to attract them, because they are ready to receive what you have to offer…in fact, they are waiting on you to offer it to them. They just don’t know about you yet. When they find you, and discover what you offer makes their life better, easier, more complete, then they will more likely approach YOU, and not the other way around. You will be their guide to a solution, and they will be the hero in their own story. This is the IDEAL situation, right?

On the other hand, if you offer your services, product, or experience to someone who is not your ideal audience, you will have to work MUCH harder to bring them to your side of the table…to “convince” them you are a great fit. It creates more work for both parties. They have to also work hard in their mind to decide to make it all work. This is not the IDEAL situation, right?

ALIGNMENT MATTERS!

REMEMBER:
There are almost 8 billion people on this planet, and there is no way for you to work with all of them. Don’t try…save yourself the effort of trying to win EVERYONE over to be your audience.
YOU will be better served in your business/brand to SERVE those who best benefit from what you have to offer. WHY? Because…if they are happy to working with you, and you guide them through the perfect solution to their problem, they will be the most VOCAL advocate for you.
People hang out with like-minded individuals. They spend time with those who have the same interests as they do. By solving the solution of one person, you just might open the door to solve the problem for a multitude of others who are in perfect alignment with your brand and what you have to offer.

WIN-WIN!

People talk.
They are constantly looking to share things…things that they love…things that make them happy…things that make their lives better. They refer everything to their friends, family, co-workers, colleagues…all of their circle.
People talk.

LET’S TALK SOCIAL MEDIA

Tagging is a HUGE deal on social media. Think about why/how people tag. They tag as a way to say…”this made me think of you” OR “you would like this” OR “check this out.” It’s a referral. It’s that simple. Something that someone saw or experienced made them think of someone who they thought would benefit from it or find it relevant. That is a HUGE deal. The gesture is small, but powerful.
When people tag, they are going through their “mental rolodex” and narrowing down the WHO based on what they know about the post and WHO they think would benefit most from it.

Here is how stuff “goes viral” on social. Someone sees something that they want to share with the world…with their circle/tribe… with their own audience. Whatever they experienced made them laugh, think, have emotion…it connected to them on some level (big or small), and they felt that others needed to experience it too…for whatever reason. Then, others feel the same, and share it…and so on. It connects to people on an emotional level, a human level. It solves a problem somehow. Even making someone laugh can solve a problem. It solves the issues of having a low mood and being lifted for a moment. They want others to feel the same lift of emotion, so they tag those they think would benefit or they share it on their feed. That is powerful! That is a referral…on a small scale.
A message, no matter how simple, can make a MASSIVE impact on the world if it connects, makes people feel, validates, and/or solves an internal issue. That is no small thing.

LET’S TALK NETWORKING

When you speak about WHO someone might refer to you, I recommend to refrain from ever using the words “anyone who.” Get specific. Spell it out from them. Niche-out as much as possible. Help that person more-easily scroll through their “mental rolodex” for you. Make it easy to refer people to you.

For example, if you are a real estate agent and say “if you know of anyone who is looking to buy or sell a house, please let me know or send them my way” then, you are going that make that person burn too many mental calories to get to someone in their mind. They will just say “okay”…and then opt out.

WHAT IF you said this instead…

I am looking to connect with young couples who are looking to buy a home in the midtown area and have pets. They are also looking to possibly have a child soon, but they really want to be in the city. They like to go to parks and jog and enjoy being near restaurants, entertainment, shopping, and at the center of everything etc. Do you know someone like that?

OR

My ideal client is a women who has been recently divorced and wants to look into buying her own home. She wants to live in suburbia on the northwest side of town, so she can be relatively near her ex-husband, because they share custody of their children and they want life to be convenient for the kids. Do you know someone like that?

OR

My sweet spot is working with couples that have lived in suburbia for a long time and are ready for a new life in the city. They are looking to spend 500k+ in the Heights or midtown area. Do you know someone like that?

This is WHY the WHO matters! You must know WHO would be in perfect alignment with what you offer, so you can confidently attract them to be able to serve them well and help them win.

WHAT IF your brand message could do that for your ideal audience?
No matter if it’s on social media, in-person, or through another channel, does your brand message hit to the heart of the problem your ideal audience has and dig it out? Does it speak RIGHT TO THEM?
For the message to hit home, it must reach the very person that you need to connect with on that deep level.
GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER!

What do you offer & WHO would BENEFIT MOST from it?

WRITE IT ALL DOWN! GET SPECIFIC!