This post is going to mention your ideal client about 100 times. If you have not defined your ideal client yet, you need to hop on over to my worksheet and get that done before you keep reading. If you’re an equine business owner who feels like marketing doesn’t work, it’s probably because you’re not positioning your content in a way that resonates with your ideal client.
The first step in fixing that problem is doing market research. Market research is the only way you will learn what your ideal client wants. When I first started Unbridled Content Marketing, I made a ton of assumptions about my audience. I was an expert; therefore, I knew what they needed to know. I created content that taught them what they needed to know (see all those Pinterest posts).
Nobody responded to my content, read my blog, or cared what I was posting. I was spending hours creating all this content and throwing it out there without getting a response. I was frustrated, and my business wasn’t growing.
Why Was my Equine Business Failing?
My audience had no idea what I was talking about. I was giving them challenges, and homework that were way above their understanding. I was trying to show how much of an expert I was by creating all this super technical content.
Nobody reached out and said, “Hey, excuse me, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” because that’s embarrassing! No one wanted to make me feel bad or admit feeling stupid themselves. The only responses that I was getting on my content was other content marketers and other social media managers saying “YASSS GIRL.” (Nice, but not paying the bills)
I needed to slow down, pay attention to my ideal client, and find out what they needed. Once I did that, I started getting that engagement that I wanted from equine businesses who wanted to grow their audiences on social media. Market research is essential!
Do Your Market Research
If you’re not getting the engagement you want from the content that you’re posting, you’re probably not positioning it in a way that speaks to your ideal client. Take a step back and pay attention to your ideal client.
The best way to do market research is to get on the phone with 5 ideal clients. I offer something free that’s worth $5 to incentivize them. But, it takes some guts to work up to getting on the phone with your ideal client. If you’re not quite there yet, you can do some polls on Facebook or Instagram. Ask your audience what they want from you. Give them two topic choices for a training video.
Once you are getting a decent response to your pools, create some posts that ask deeper questions about the topics of your polls. “What frustrates you the most about…?” “What do you need help with…?” When people answer these questions, engage with them in the comments, and get them to dig deeper into their answers.
The number one way to create killer content for your equine business is to do your market research. Find out exactly what your audience needs and why. If you don’t know where to start, grab my Market Research Questions worksheet in the sidebar.
Then all you have to do is create content that speaks to those needs. If you are committed to growing your horse business online, check out my Facebook Group. I give live trainings every week exclusive to my members.
