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Your marketing strategy should strengthen the one-on-one relationship you develop with your audience. This might seem hard to do at first because you are attempting to reach a large group of people. The truth is that this is simpler than you think – focus on your appeal.

The appeal of your branding strategy should focus on meeting basic needs that people have. This is your entry point – your open door to making a solid connection with your audience. Every person that makes up your audience has the following basic needs.

1. Physiological needs – food, water, clothing, shelter
2. The need for safety and security – physical safety, comfort, economic security
3. Social needs – the need to relate with others
4. Self-esteem needs – the need to realize value in oneself

Can your brand (product or service) present itself as the answer to meet those needs? One thing you might consider is if your brand presents itself as a valid source to place your audience’s trust and reliance on? If it doesn’t, go back to the drawing board and revise your strategy to do so.

Social networking opens a prime opportunity to show how you can meet those needs. Television advertising and publication ads don’t have the capability to connect long term with your audience because the interaction is simply too short. Social networking, on the other hand, gives you a chance to use an interactive approach so that audience members can see that there is more to your business than just your product. This is a prime time to display your sincerity in helping consumers and your solid belief that your product or service is the answer.

In social networking, every relationship will go through a refining process until you develop a solid loyal customer. The first step is employing a “reach” strategy where you attempt to reach a large group of people – the more the merrier. The ones who respond to your initial out-reach result in a more targeted consumer base. The next steps are to refine these consumers even further by asking for increasing commitment to your business such as joining an email list for a newsletter or subscribing to a podcast. The result is a more targeted audience that you can really work with to develop brand loyalty long term.

Developing your online relationships are critical to the success of your social networking strategy. If you don’t take the time to strengthen these relationships you won’t see the results you want to see – namely, you won’t have the audience you’d like to have. Build those relationships today!

Photo credit: saintpaul jaycees