the importance of visibility in your marketing efforts.

This is a play on the famous philosophical thought experiment “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. While the answer to that problem is very much still being debated, in our marketing related version I think the answer is far more clear cut. No.

A simple Google of marketing defines it as “the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.” Promotion in a vacuum is meaningless. Without an audience to perceive your marketing efforts there ultimately isn’t any point and you are wasting time, effort, money and other valuable resources.

Fortunately, we live in a world where it has never been easier to connect with others and grow your audience via social platforms if used correctly. This means that even the smallest of business can reach a wide range of potential customers. The problem is so many of us simply don’t take advantage of this.

The great news is that the difference between your marketing efforts reaching a small audience and them reaching a much larger and more appropriate audience is just a question of effort.

Begin by taking the time to look at where your customers hang out. If your business works on selling to the general public then highly public forums such as Facebook, Instagram etc. are the perfect tools for your marketing efforts. If you are a company which works business to business, then places like LinkedIn along with business networking events and trade shows are a great way to connect with a larger audience.

Each industry has it’s own unique target audience and it’s essential that you take the time to understand where your target audience is most accessible and focus your marketing efforts there.

Once you’ve found your target audience it’s about taking the right steps to engage them. If your business is on a social platform then make use of #hashtags. #hashtags are used by people to search social platforms for content related to a given topic they are interested in or want to learn more about. This is your audiences search criteria. Are you a health food brand? Then using #healthylifestyle  #health and #healthyfood your content and brand can be seen by millions of potential customers.

Twenty years ago, to have a chance of your brand being seen by that many potential customers, likely involved an expensive tv or radio advertising campaign. Now all it costs is your time and effort.