PowerUp: Leveraging the right marketing channels to inspire your audience in 2024

In 2024, brands are faced with an overwhelming number of marketing channels to choose from. 

Deciding which channels to invest time & resources in can be a daunting task & may feel like guesswork. But we’re here to help remove that guesswork.

There are so many possible channels you can choose from. And you definitely shouldn’t be present on all of them. Have a select couple that you do really well rather than doing them all badly.

We’re not going to tell you which channels are right for you because every brand is different. But today’s PowerUp should give you the stepping stones to figuring it out & truly making an impact with your audience.

💭 How do you determine the right channels for your startup? 

The answer comes down to three areas: your audience, your competitors, and your brand. 

By understanding these factors, you can define the channels that align perfectly with your brand’s goals & maximise your chances of marketing success.  

1️⃣ Your audience

Really understanding your audience is so important as it allows you to effectively reach & engage with people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.

Knowing your audiences’ motivators & behaviours through audience research will help you learn where they spend their time and, in turn, where you should spend your time too. 

Some questions to ask yourself about your audience:

👉 Where are they? Which spaces are your target audience most active? 

👉 What are they trying to do? What are their goals & challenges? 

👉 What do they think they’re looking for? Understanding their jobs to be done will help you with your messaging.

👉 Where are they looking for answers/solutions? Talk to them where they already are whether that’s via email, on social media or in-person & so on.

Understanding your audience, their jobs to be done & leveraging the four forces framework helps you create relatable & relevant messaging & content.

2️⃣ Your competitors 

Evaluating your competitor's channels can provide valuable insights into which channels are effective in reaching your audience. They’ve likely been through the testing phase & established a presence in popular spaces. 

Positioning yourself as an alternative solution that better fulfils your audience’s needs & desires (taking it back to that audience research) to an already receptive audience can give you that competitive edge. 

Additionally, identifying clear opportunity spaces to fill & showing up where your competitors aren’t present allows you to tap into a fresh audience & gain a unique advantage. 

Some questions to ask yourself about your competitors:

👉What are the expected channels everyone is using? 

👉Are there clear opportunity spaces to fill?

👉 What are they doing that’s working really well?

👉 What are they doing that’s unique or different?

👉 What are the areas to avoid? 

Something to remember when you’re looking into your audience, finding your unique difference is so important. Just because your competitor is doing well on TikTok, for example, doesn’t mean you should focus all your efforts on that channel. Figure out what works for your brand.

3️⃣ Your brand

How you show up is just as important as where you show up. 

We need to stop talking about the product. And instead, start talking about the progress our customer is trying to make. 

Talk about the changes this will make to your audience’s life rather than about your product.

In conclusion, without the risk of sounding like a broken record, this all leads back to your jobs to be done. This will answer all the questions we’ve spoken about today & help you clarify the marketing channels you should show up on seamlessly. 

🕣 TL;DR

👉 Really get to know your audience through audience insights research whether that be interviews, surveys or other methods.

👉 Deep dive into what your competitors are doing & where they’re showing up so you can find your competitive edge.

👉 Think about the benefits your product will bring to customers. Talk about that over the features your product offers.