7 Audience Building Secrets For Mid-Size Brands (2024)

Is Audience Building Worth It For a Mid-Size Brand?

In this edition of Lucid Insights, we’re diving deep into what you need to know about audience building this year. Building a strong audience is crucial for Mid-Size brands to thrive in the digital age. It’s not just about having many followers; it’s about having an engaged, loyal community that interacts with your content, associates with your brand, and becomes your biggest advocate. We’ve got a lot to unpack on this topic, so we’ve attached a video for you to check out below! The video examines the tools & techniques called STEPPS you can use to make your audience building campaign a continued success.

What is a Stronger Audience?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, let’s define what we mean by a “stronger audience.” A stronger audience consists of people who:

• Consistently interact with your content.
• Associate with your brand and feel a sense of belonging.
• Tell everyone they know about your product or service.
• Are your biggest fans.

Consistent Interaction

Consistent interaction is the cornerstone of audience building. It means your followers regularly like, comment, share, and engage with your content. This interaction shows that your audience finds value in what you’re offering and is willing to take the time to connect with you.

Brand Association and Belonging

Audience building doesn’t just mean people interact with your content; it also means they feel connected to your brand. They see themselves as part of your community and feel a sense of belonging. This emotional connection is what turns casual followers into loyal fans.

Word-of-Mouth Advocacy

When your audience feels strongly connected to your brand, they’re likelier to tell their friends, family, and colleagues about you. This word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly powerful because people trust recommendations from those they know and respect.

Biggest Fans

Your strongest audience members are your biggest fans. They’re the ones who will stick with you through thick and thin, support you during tough times, and celebrate your successes. These fans are invaluable because they provide a stable foundation for your brand.

Why a Broad Audience Isn’t Always Better

In the midst of audience building, It can be tempting to try and market to a broad audience. After all, more people means more potential customers, right? Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Trying to appeal to everyone often leads to diluted messaging that doesn’t resonate with anyone in particular. You will waste time and money if your message doesn’t reach the right people.

Instead, focus on owning your niche by becoming a thought leader in your industry. When you target a specific audience, you can create content that speaks directly to their needs, desires, and pain points. This focused approach helps you build a more engaged and loyal audience.

Building a Stronger Audience: Where to Start

So, where do you start? Here are some key strategies for building and maintaining a stronger audience.

Use Themes to Create Impactful Content

Themes help give your content a cohesive feel and make it easier for your audience to understand your message. Choose themes that resonate with your audience and align with your brand values. For example, if you’re a fitness brand, your themes might include healthy living, workout tips, and mental wellness. Sticking to these themes creates a consistent experience for your audience.

Make Your Content Shareable

Shareable content is key to reaching new audiences and growing your following. To make your content shareable, focus on creating value for your audience. This could be in the form of helpful tips, entertaining stories, or thought-provoking insights. Ensure your content is visually appealing, easy to digest, and includes a clear call to action.

Stay Top of Mind

Staying top of mind means keeping your brand in your audience’s thoughts, even when they’re not actively engaging with your content. One way to do this is by maintaining a consistent posting schedule. Regular updates remind your audience of your presence and keep them engaged. Additionally, interact with your audience through comments, direct messages, and other forms of communication to build a stronger connection.

Leverage the Power of Emotion

Emotion is a powerful tool in marketing. When you evoke emotions in your audience, you create a deeper connection and make your content more memorable. Think about the emotions you want your audience to feel when they interact with your brand. Is it excitement, inspiration, nostalgia, or something else? Use storytelling, visuals, and language to evoke these emotions in your content.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to audience building, quality always trumps quantity. Having a smaller, highly engaged audience is better than a large, passive one. Focus on creating high-quality content that provides real value to your audience. This approach helps you build trust and credibility, which are essential for a strong audience.

Understand Your Audience

To build a strong audience, you must understand who they are, what they want, and how they interact with your brand. Use analytics tools to gather data on your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors. This information helps you tailor your content and marketing strategies to better meet their needs.

Be Authentic

Authenticity is key to building trust with your audience. Be honest, transparent, and genuine in your interactions. Show the human side of your brand by sharing behind-the-scenes content, personal stories, and real-life experiences. When your audience feels they can trust you, they’re more likely to become loyal fans.

Tools to Build and Maintain an Audience

Now that we’ve covered the audience-building strategies let’s examine some tools to help you along the way.

Social Media Management Tools

Social media management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social can help you schedule posts, track engagement, and analyze your audience’s behavior. These tools make it easier to maintain a consistent posting schedule and stay top of mind with your audience.

Email Marketing Platforms

Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Constant Contact allow you to send targeted messages to your audience. Use these platforms to share valuable content, promote new products, and engage your audience.

Analytics Tools

Analytics tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Twitter Analytics provide valuable data on your audience’s behavior. Use this data to understand what’s working, what’s not, and how you can improve your content and marketing strategies.

Content Creation Tools

Content creation tools like Canva, Adobe Spark, and Lumen5 help you create visually appealing content that resonates with your audience. Use these tools to design graphics, create videos, and produce other types of content that capture your audience’s attention.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

CRM systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM help you manage your interactions with your audience. Use these systems to track customer interactions, manage leads, and build stronger relationships with your audience.

Our Experience with KinActive Kids:

We worked with KinActive Kids, a brand-focused pediatric physical therapy and family chiropractic clinic in Southlake, TX. When they came to us, they had a decent following but struggled to grow beyond a certain point. They wanted to build a stronger, highly engaged, and loyal audience.

We started by analyzing their current audience and identifying the themes that resonated most with their followers. We worked closely with the founder, Emily Heisey, and co-founder, Matt Otteman, to understand their personality and how we could use that to help draw in and grow an audience.

Next, we made their content more shareable. We designed visually appealing posts and videos that provided valuable information and were easy for their audience to share, significantly increasing their reach. Feel free to check out their Instagram here.

We also emphasized staying top of mind. We built a stronger connection with their followers by maintaining a consistent posting schedule and regularly interacting with their audience through comments and direct messages.

Emotion played a big role in our strategy as well. We created content that evoked feelings of fun, joy, and family bonding. This emotional connection helped deepen the audience’s relationship with the brand.

By focusing on quality over quantity, we ensured that every piece of content provided real value to their audience. This approach built trust and credibility, which are crucial for audience building.

The result? KinActive Kids saw their Instagram following skyrocket to 477k highly engaged followers. These weren’t just passive followers; they were an active, loyal community that regularly interacted with the brand and shared their content.

Conclusion

Audience building takes time, effort, and a strategic approach. By focusing on creating valuable content, understanding your audience, and leveraging the right tools, you can build a loyal, engaged community that supports your brand and helps you achieve your goals. Remember, it’s not about the number of followers you have; it’s about the quality of your audience and the strength of your connection with them. Curious about content marketing for B2B Brands, we’ve got you covered! Check out our blog post on that here.