Ah, the web. It’s a fantastic tool for market research. Through social media, online news sources, blogs and more, you can find a ton of useful information about your customers and their biggest desires or problems you can solve through your business. Then you can turn that insight into powerful web content that lets visitors know, “Wow, you really get me!”
Here are 3 ways to use the web for quick, free market research… whether you’re marketing to pet owners, other pet companies, or veterinary practices:
- Use the SEARCH feature in Twitter. Type in a phrase related to your business and see what people are talking about. For example, I typed in “pet friendly hotel” and found all kinds of interesting comments about what pet owners are looking for in pet-friendly travel accommodations.
- Post a question to your friends or fans in Facebook. You’ll be amazed by what happens when you ask a simple open-ended question in Facebook. I see it all the time. For example, a pet business recently asked it’s friends: what’s your favorite movie involving pets? The dialogue went on for days. If you’re selling gourmet dog biscuits, you could ask, “What flavor is your dog’s favorite when it comes to dog biscuits?” You’ll suddenly see a stream of “peanut butter,” “chicken,” “bacon,” etc. And that may prompt you to focus on the top flavors in your web content.
- Do a Google search using a phrase related to your business. You may be very surprised to see the latest results… from a competitive nature (you can see what your competition is saying), but also you to discover news articles, blog posts and other relevant topics you can piggyback with your web content. It’s great to tie your web content, blog posts or social media posts to a big topic currently being discussed by your audience. You’ll create an impression of being tuned in to your customers.
There are other ways, such as searching YouTube videos, pet news sites and other places too. And it’s all easy and free!
Have you had success in turning today’s news and customer comments into great web content for your pet business site? Please let us know. We’d love to see what you’ve done.
Until then,
Here’s a properous site!
Pam Foster
PetCopywriter.com
