Washington DC may be small, but it’s an active and diverse metropolitan area. With so much going on every day, advertisers are left wondering how they can set themselves apart and reach their audience.
Fortunately, there are more tools available than ever before for standing out in the crowd. Washington billboards are just one of many possibilities that we’ll break down in our four tips and tricks for connecting with your Washington audience.
- Develop Personas
It can be challenging to know how to connect to your target audience if you don’t know what your target audience wants. The way around this is to develop personas that are based on your target audience. Personas are fictional, but they represent real people in the demographic you’re trying to reach. Just like real people, they differ from one another and they differ in how they use your product.
- Divide by Demographic
Once you’ve identified your personas, they can be divided based on their demographics such as age and gender. Really thorough personas will also include their personal preferences, behaviors, habits, and cultural identity. With the personas of your market segments identified, you can develop content that speaks directly to them. You want them to personally relate to your brand, your work, and your products.
- Develop Your Marketing Plan
All of this research informs how you develop your marketing plan. Create a marketing plan for each of the personas and their segments, targeting their concerns and priorities as though you’re speaking to them directly. From there, determine which channels you’ll use to reach the different targeted personas.
- Choose Your Channels
Keep the content updated regardless of which channel you use, whether it’s billboards, radio, television, etc. You want your audience to regularly receive new content and stay engaged. Let’s talk about those channels.
- Billboards
While billboards may seem old school, there’s no disputing their effectiveness. Once your billboard is placed along a busy road or near an intersection, people will be looking at it non-stop. It’s always on the job, and it targets a wide variety of customers in addition to your targeted personas. They’re excellent at building brand awareness and are one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising.
- Television
Television is still how a large swath of our population gets their information. That demographic does tend to be older and not as likely to be as involved with technology as your average 20-year-old. Traditional television hits a broad audience and it can be pricey. With cable and streaming channels, you can target your niche more accurately, even if it’s a smaller audience.
- Radio
Radio’s main advantage is that it’s portable. Drivers on long commutes or stuck in traffic aren’t the only ones tuning in. In 2020, 83% of US citizens ages 12 and over listened to the radio on a given week. That doesn’t even include podcasts or online audio! Radio presents a huge opportunity for those who advertise on stations that cater to their niche.
The best way to succeed with print advertising is to find the top publications that are the best fit for your products or services. Many print publications also have online versions available, extending your reach.
Traditional print, such as newspapers, has a short life by its very nature. However, that audience has taken the time to read it, making them more engaged. You can also piggyback on print’s generally high reputation for credibility.
- Social Media
Virtually all audiences can be found on social media. Thanks to tracking algorithms, you can get a very good idea of where your target demographic is hanging out and what they’re interested in. You can dial in exactly who you want to see your ads, and successfully introduce yourself to new audiences, too.
What makes social media truly unique is that your target demographics can interact with your brand directly. It’s important to show your brand’s personality and be approachable. The best part is that if you strike the right chord with them, your audience will share your content and do the marketing for you!
- Your Website
On today’s internet, having a website is nothing special. The trick is to get traffic to your website, otherwise, nobody will know it’s there. Your website address should always be part of your marketing message on every channel. Having a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy will help you get found among the 3.5 billion searches Google completes on a daily basis.
- Online Display Ads
If it sometimes seems like your devices are serving you eerily appropriate ads everywhere you go on the internet, it’s not a coincidence. You can harness that same power, and with an enormous amount of user data to dial in your targets.
Get Connected
We hope these four tips will help you connect with your Washington audience!