Leveraging other brands or individual audiences is the best way to grow your business authentically and sustainably. It is also a super cost-effective way to get new, loyal leads into your pipeline.
What does it mean to Leverage an Audience?
Other People's Audiences (OPA as it is referred to in the marketing world) is the process in which you put yourself or your brand in front of audiences that don't know who you are.
Audience comes in many forms. They are most commonly referred to as the email list, but this could also be social media followers, podcast audience, or even event participants.
Here are some examples of how you can leverage audiences:
Joining Conferences or Events
Partnering with brands that have a similar audience but aren't competitors
Being interviewed on podcasts
Influencer marketing
Networking
All of the tactics described below can be used to introduce your brand, product, or service to brand-new audiences. There are generally two scenarios by which you can leverage audiences: Partnerships or Paid Engagements.
Marketing Partnerships Defined
When we talk about creating partnerships with brands or individuals, this means that the relationship is usually mutually beneficial. This can mean that you are doing something in exchange for the exposure that partner can offer you.
If both brands in this example are smaller, this could look like a swap. Perhaps you send a message through your email list promoting one brand and they do the same for you. This concept can be done via social media or podcasts as well. It's an even exchange.
There are other situations where you can leverage much larger audiences by being a speaker or providing content, discounts, or something of value to a larger partner in exchange for exposure to their audience.
How to use Paid Engagements to Grow your Audience
If you are looking to grow quicker, you might consider paid partnerships. This could look like approaching a bigger, non-competitive brand or a blogger or social media influencer and asking them to advertise your company through their email list or social channels.
For brands, this happens more often than you may think. Pay attention to newsletters from brands you admire and would like to partner with. You can simply email the marketing team of the company you'd like to partner with and ask for the rate card. This same concept can be applied to social media posts.
For social media influencers or bloggers, there are some websites that will help develop campaigns for your brand such as Like to Know it.
Don't make this mistake
If you decide to focus on growing your business through partnerships, it is important to be able to track the performance of the relationship. The best way to do that is by creating lead magnets to share with the new audience that you are getting exposed to. This way, you can make sure that the audience you are getting in front of not only is becoming aware of your brand, but they are becoming your email subscribers.
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Victoria is a Marketing Mentor to early-stage founders. She has built compelling brands around the globe and has worked as a marketing director across several verticals. She is passionate about helping women think BIGGER about their businesses and giving them the tools to grow. She'd love to connect on LinkedIn or email her at hello@ugliboss.com.