In the last issue we talked about whether or not Internet marketing will

work for you? In this issue we are going to talk about the importance of

knowing your audience when you are marketing online.

Did you know that the Internet reaches a worldwide audience and is

available 24 hours a day?

For this reason more and more potential customers are turning to the

Internet for a variety of reasons including researching products and

services and making purchases. As more and more consumers turn to

the Internet for these reasons, it is important for businesses to establish

an online presence.

This is so important because failure to do so may result in their

competitors gaining an edge over them in competing for sales. While it

is important for business to begin Internet marketing campaigns it is

also important for these same businesses to realize basic advertising

principles still exist and they can’t neglect these principles. Most

importantly those who advertise online have to be aware of who their

target audience is and how to reach this audience.

As with any marketing campaign, business owners should do some

market research before they launch their Internet marketing campaign.

Ideally this will involve hiring a research consultant with a great deal of

experience in conducting and evaluating this type of market research.

The results of this research should determine the basic demographical

information for the target audience. The results should also include

information on how to reach this target audience. A business that

can’t afford to hire a consultant to conduct this market research

should still make an effort to obtain this information on their own.

This can be done through informal polls of current clients. This

information may not be as comprehensive as the information obtained

in a more formal study but it can still provide a great deal of insight into

the best way to reach the target audience.

Once this information is obtained, it is important to tailor the Internet

marketing campaign to appeal to the target audience. There are a

number of different variables which can be modified to ensure the right

message is reaching the right people in a manner they can understand

and in which they can relate.

Some of the ways in which an Internet marketing campaign can be

tailored in this way include the aesthetics of your website or

advertisements, the wording of your copy and the use of more

advanced design features such as audio and visual or interactive tools.

The aesthetic appeal of a website can greatly contribute to how the

website is viewed by the members of the target audience. A website

which is designed to attract the attention of an older generation with

more conservative tastes should include muted colors, clean design

and conservative graphics.

This will help to ensure the target audience enjoys the website. On the

other hand if you are looking to appeal to a younger audience with

more liberal viewpoints you might chose to design the website with

bold colors, eye catching graphics and creative design features.

The copy you include on your website should also take your target

audience into consideration. Consider the examples of a conservative

and a liberal audience listed above to create a better understanding of

how the copy on your website can appeal to the target audience. When

marketing to a more conservative audience, the copy should be

tailored to use formal language and use facts to back up viewpoints.

However, when you are marketing to a more liberal audience or a

younger audience you can consider using less formal language which

is likely to appeal to the target audience. You can also focus more on

emotion to express viewpoints.

Finally, when a website is created for the purposes of Internet

marketing it is important for the design of the website to appeal to the

target audience. You may wish to include audio and video clips on your

website but these clips should appeal to the target audience.

For example if your website sells skateboards you might consider

incorporating audio clips from punk rock bands as opposed to country

music bands. There may be some skateboarders who enjoy country

music but in general punk rock music more closely represents the

skating culture. Keeping these details in mind is very important for

Internet marketing.

Make sure you look for your next issue soon. We will be talking about

evaluating the response of your Internet marketing efforts.