So Donald Trump went and put his foot in it and we talked about what’s appropriate to say on social media, but there’s another lesson to be learned from the Twitter-mess.
When I heard Grant Ainsley’s speech at the NLCA conference back in March though, it dawned on me that the Internet is a great place to be a girl. Or a minority, or in a niche market.
It’s in this global community that when an injustice is spotted, people fight back.
Who runs this? Girls
When Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt talked about how girls shouldn’t be allowed in labs, the female scientific community said nuh-uh and created the #DistractinglySexy trend, which is still going on. Women around the world responded en masse when Sports Illustrated writer Andy Benoit said women’s sports weren’t interesting. And as for Donald Trump; well, let’s just say live-Tweeting one’s menstrual cycle) was the tame response.In the last three years we’ve seen the rise of Dove’s Real Beauty and Always’ Like a Girl campaigns, which all serve to sell products, but have also been targeted to a “niche” market of young, empowered women.
To thine own self
Companies who know their audiences, tend to do better because their marketing caters to them. And when it comes to the Internet, the potential audience – no matter how niche or dispersed – is at your fingertips.
Think about a small local shop selling shark-shaped body pillows. Not exactly an in-demand product, but all over the world there are shark nuts; it’s why Shark Week on Discovery Channel has such great ratings.
Where’s the audience? Scattered all across the world. How do you reach them? The Internet.
The nuts and bolts
With the correct search ads, some entertaining social media and a good shipping method, you could be selling shark-shaped body pillows from here to Shanghai. But you have to do the work and find your tribe.
The title of Felicia Day’s new book, You’re Never Weird on the Internet, sums it up perfectly.
So after getting to know your audience and creating that great social media policy – the one which guides and protects your brand online – it’s time to create a plan to reach those customers, to build your tribe, make them your brand’s evangelists when they meet with their tribes.
The Internet can be a dangerous place for your company, but it can also become its home – a safe place, where it is loved.
