A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Danny spoke at a marketing conference for companies that were interested in growing their business.
Within hours, he was flooded with serious enquiries from business owners who wanted to know how we could help them get and convert more leads online. In fact, he’s spent much of this week following up.
Why was this speaking engagement such a success?
Well, of course his brilliant rhetorical skills played a role (…I have to say that, he reads these blogs).
But there was another factor at play as well.
The room was packed full of people who were, almost by definition, interested in what we do. Just by being there, they had shown that they were serious about their marketing – and that they needed it.
They had pre-qualified themselves.
Today I want to show you a clever way of finding just such a keen audience for your business, when you advertise on social media. I call it the “1-2 Punch” method, because you target the same audience twice in quick succession. (*Warning…. This is going to get just a smidgen technical. If that’s not for you, turn away now!*)
The beauty of online advertising is that it is so incredibly well-targeted. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – they all know absolutely everything there is to know about you, from who you are and what you claim you’re interested in, right through to what your behaviour shows you’re actually interested in.
Whether you need to reach Manchester women in their 50s who are earning over £60,000 and have a special interest in yachts… or teenagers in Scotland who belong to a gym and enjoy rap music… you can find them!
But even with this incredible data, it can sometimes be hit-and-miss. What Facebook thinks you’re interested in isn’t always accurate. Many people are categorised in the wrong industry on LinkedIn. Out of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people you’re paying to target, only a small portion may actually be interested in what you’re offering.
This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing – you can still reach the people you need to – but it’s a bit like Danny speaking to a room full of “business owners” rather than “business owners who have already shown they want to improve their marketing.” It’s just not as efficient!
So here’s a great hack to create a really targeted audience.
Take whatever you’re promoting – whether it’s a downloadable piece of content, a webinar or a special promotion – and create a blog post that is directly related to it. If, for example, you’re offering a guide with 10 steps, feature just a couple of them.
Promote that blog post to your target audience. Anyone who’s interested in your topic will click through, effectively putting up their hand to say, “Yes! I’m interested.”
That’s your first “Punch”. Then, immediately afterwards, target your main offer at all those people through remarketing – ads that are shown only to leads who’ve visited your blog post. That’s your second.
Why is this so great? First of all – and crucial for many companies – it’s usually cheaper. Deliberately driving people to a blog post can cost a lot less than sending them to a page where you need them to convert. Remarketing is also one of the cheapest ways of advertising online.
Who doesn’t want that!?
Second, with this method, the people who see your “real” ads are already familiar with your brand because they’ve been to your blog. And by definition, they’re interested in whatever you’re promoting.
They’re warmer, more qualified leads, so your conversion rates will be much higher. Not only will this, again, lower the cost of your advertising, you’ll end up with more people taking up your main offer.
…And who doesn’t want that!?
It’s a knockout.
