{"id":2839,"date":"2017-10-20T16:17:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T16:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=2839"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:47","slug":"3-steps-to-build-an-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/3-steps-to-build-an-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Steps Marketers Should Take To Build An Audience They Can Own"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are usually three audiences marketers tend to focus on. There are the customers they already have, the prospective customers they\u2019d like to attract, and those who are not necessarily the lead decision-maker at a prospect but those who may influence them.<\/p>\n

Now there\u2019s a fourth audience every marketer should consider: the one you actually own.<\/p>\n

By \u201cown,\u201d we mean audiences who have directly given their consent to be contacted for the purposes of receiving business information. This distinction is important, especially in Canada, where legal requirements such as CASL ensure people don\u2019t get spammed with marketing content they don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n

According to the most recent research from the Content Marketing Institute, 80% of B2B marketers agree their organization is focused on building audiences of one or more subscriber bases. For those who the CMI considers \u201ctop performers,\u201d the number is even higher, at 92%.<\/p>\n

Technically, social media followers could be considered part of a company\u2019s owned audience, but much of the information shared through social media could theoretically be found and consumed by anyone. For the purposes of this post let\u2019s focus on e-mail, which offers a lot of flexibility and potential in terms of nurturing demand or contributing to the overall customer experience. Tools such as Marketing Cloud<\/a>, for instance, have extensive capabilities to maximize the value of e-mail marketing, and having a strong audience will provide a strong foundation to anyone who uses it.<\/p>\n

1. Describe A Clear Value Proposition At The Sign-Up Stage<\/h3>\n

Many web sites will have a pop-up or interstitial ad unit appear when visitors first arrive that encourages them to opt in to their database. If it\u2019s as vague as \u201cSign Up To Receive Updates!\u201d, however, you\u2019re unlikely to get much traction.<\/p>\n

Instead, try to help site visitors visualize the kind of benefits they\u2019ll get once they join your audience. This could include:<\/p>\n