by Sarah Donawerth10 Steps of Influencer Marketing: A Complete Guide, Uncategorized

In order to stand out, your brand needs to set itself apart from the competition. Within your industry and your niche, you should have a unique message and aesthetic that appeals to your target market.

But do you know your target market?

In order to position your brand in a way that grabs attention and excites your target customer, you’ll need to know who your target customer is. A customer persona is a general breakdown of traits that your customers share, so that you can improve your marketing to these groups.

Here are a few of the characteristics that customer personas can identify.

Target Customer Persona:

• Age
• Gender
• Geographic location
• Interests
• Social platforms they use
• Education level
• Income level
• What device they use to shop
• Occupation
• Marital status

Your Influencer Partners:

Their followers should match your target customers!

Once you know who you are trying to reach, your brand will be able to customize messaging and visuals to fit what appeals to this audience. We’ll walk you through the process of researching your target audience and building your buyer personas.

Download Your Influencer Marketing Worksheets

Download Worksheets

Using Your Market Research

Your findings from the previous worksheets are your “market research.” These resources should be updated at regular intervals so that you always know who your marketing efforts are trying to reach.

However, your market research extends beyond the who and should affect the what of your brand.

How it affects your brand’s messaging

Your target customer should respond positively to your brand’s messaging. What are the values of your brand that overlap with your customer’s beliefs and values? Any value that your brand espouses should be highlighted prominently in your marketing.

For example, if your brand is eco-friendly and you’re targeting Millennial women who are interested in eco-friendly cleaning supplies, then you’ll want to be sure to add eco-friendly to your product descriptions. You can also add a seal of approval from eco-friendly influencers or organizations to show how your brand is the best choice for eco-friendly supplies.

Your brand’s messaging should highlight the features and values that your customers are looking for. If you notice that your customers are interested in getting the best deal, then having sales each season, or offering a rewards program, can help you position yourself as a leading brand in the space.

Consider your audience’s interests and try to highlight how your brand encapsulates these things.

How it affects your brand’s aesthetic

A brand’s aesthetic is subjective, but it can also be influenced by the results of your market research. Look at the influencers and customers that you studied in the worksheets to see if there are any common themes to what they post.

Are the images light and airy or dark and moody? Do they prefer images of people or flatlays of different objects? Is there a color palette or motif that is common? All of these factors can help you create a brand aesthetic that appeals to your target audience.

Having strong visual storytelling skills is a must for any brand. You may want to create a mood board that can help you assemble your ideas and think critically about how your brand is presented.

Once you’ve established the way your brand looks and feels, it will be easier to select influencers who can create within those guidelines.

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