Understanding Your Audience and Goals

Who, What & Purpose

First, we're going to Define your client and brand this is very important to know exactly who your ideal client is and what your brand stands for it before we go further with setting up your Pinterest account.

The first thing I want you to think about the what. What does your business and what does your brand provide?   For example, for my own business I teach sellers how to refine their business, find what they are good at and maximize their potential.  

Another example for a different business is we create hand-sculpted mugs and bowls or I plan Elegant custom-designed events.  I want you to think about what is one simple sentence and write it down the describes what your business does.

Once you have that, think about the who. Who is your business for? Who are you serving or who are you providing products for?  For me if I'm providing them for serious entrepreneurs and small-business owners.  

Maybe it's for the people who appreciate the simpler things in life or maybe it's for the engaged couples that desire detail rich and an exquisite wedding event.   So contemplate for a few minutes right now how can you simply some-up exactly who your business and brand is for.

Finally, the purpose. What are some words that describe how you run your business and how you provide your products or services.  

For example, maybe you provide them in a way that's fresh, smart, bright and focused or maybe it's Nature Center handcrafted with love and calm or perhaps it's elegant excellence, one-of-a-kind, exquisite.  

Think of several words that really describe what your business and what your brand means to you and your clients or customers

Then I want you to put it all together into one sentence.  I've given you three different examples here in three very different Industries:

I teach serious entrepreneurs and small-business owners to build successful, sustainable eCommerce businesses that through diversification reach their audience providing a superior product, value and experience.

Or We create hand-sculpted mugs and bowls crafted for those who appreciate the simpler things in life made with love or

I design elegant wedding rings for couples who dream of a detail Rich one-of-a-kind exquisitely planned wedding day

Right now I want you to take your three sections and put them together into one sentence that describes exactly what your business does and what it's all about.   We're going to use this as we create our Pinterest profile

If you're struggling and trying to decide what your business is all about, if you're just kind of getting started, think about what will be your businesses defining feature.  

How are you going to become the go-to person or the go to business?  

What is that one thing that you're going to really focus on?

You can always expand later but let's get really specific on what you're going to be known for in your business.

What you are going to do in the future as you're thinking about these questions Is to get more and more specific as to exactly who you're providing your business for.  We really want to put them in the forefront of your decision making.

I hope now this image of your ideal client is starting to take shape in your minds’ eye.  It's time to do some additional research.  What I want you to do right now is go to Pinterest and log-in.

We're about to create a list of topics that align with the hopes, dreams, aspirations and the interests of your ideal client.  This information will be part of the backbone of your Pinterest account.

We're going to use this information to craft boards and pins that appeal to your target audience.   Detailed notes and lists in the upcoming exercises are very important.  

The better the notes that you keep during your research, the easier it will be moving forward to focus on your audience, create effective Pins and present a clear message now and in the future.   

Go back to your Pinterest Profile Development worksheet and go to the tab for the first persona.

Look at your answers for the first 4 questions, I want you to take those answers and stack them in column c as shown on the sample page.  Then go to Pinterest.com and find the Pinterest profile of each of those items.  Find the Pinterest account of each of the magazines, blogs, brands and influencers that you listed as favorites of your ICA.

The first one is parenting magazine. When I typed in parenting magazine, I got far too many choices.  So I typed in the magazine URL instead.  Parenting.com, then as shown in the image, at the right end of the search bar, I clicked the dropdown and chose people.  

Make a note of that dropdown at the end of the search bar.  You will use it again to find accounts to follow.

The magazine that our persona follows is the second one, but looking at the first one, they are very similar.  I would follow them both and add their profile links to the spreadsheet.  

I didn't add the profile for Youtube because it is not specific enough and Heidi owns whattoexpect, so we already have her.  

Once you have found the different Pinterest accounts, I want you to start looking at the broad categories that they have on their profile and make note of them in your spreadsheet.

Looking at the profile for Rookie Moms, they have boards about Mom Tips, activities for kids.  And I got a bunch of other ideas from the other profiles as well.   

It's very likely that these categories are also of interest to your target market.   Be sure to make note of those as you go through the accounts

See what these larger Brands and businesses believe that their ICA likes as well.

Now check to see what other Pinterest brands that those profiles themselves are following it's likely your ICA probably like them too.  

Continue to check out the related brands that you find and continue to research their board topics.   You're going to use this research that you're doing in today's lesson throughout this entire course

This is really a key step to figuring out how to create a Pinterest account ready to attract the correct audience.  Your Pinterest business account is not about you.  It needs to be about your target market and what they value.

it's time to take action.  If you haven't already, I want you to go to Pinterest and start researching these Brands and taking notes about the boards.   The categories the brand that are going to attract your ICA to your Pinterest profile