5 tips to build REAL connections with your audience through market research

Author

Francesca Angeles
January 15, 2024

Read time: 2 mins

How’s 2024 going, friend?

This year, one of my goals is to continue building genuine friendships on LinkedIn — none of that surface-level connections.

When it comes to running your own thing, building real connections with your audience is key.

My biggest business no-no is to assume you know them already. It’s a trap!

Instead, do market research.

After all, it's not about perfection; it's about progress.

Here’s what I think: Authenticity is the magic ingredient.

So even if you’re just some face behind a business, it’s equally important to share your genuine self.

Personally, I found that asking questions sparks great conversations. People love to share their thoughts. People crave for the feeling of being listened to. Come to think of it, my friends who are the best listeners are also the best learners.

But anyway, enough about friends…

Here are 5 tips to connect with your audience this year:

1 — Try Short Surveys

Short and engaging surveys are the best. People dig sharing their opinions when it doesn’t take too much of their time.

Something I like to add in my surveys is the option to provide a text answer.

When you provide your audience the freedom to express their thoughts further, the more you’ll know about the nuances in insights.

2 — Social Media Stalk (nicely)

Check your audience's posts. It's like window shopping into their interests.

Since learning about good-natured social media stalking, I’ve learned more about my LinkedIn audience than ever. Not only from their posts, but from their profile and comments too.

3 — Interviews

A good old chat works wonders.

The best thing about 1 on 1 interviews is you get to spend quality time with one person. Which also means you can ask deeper questions and get touchy-feely with the topics you need to talk about.

4 — Analytics

It’s impossible to talk to each person who has their eyes on your business so you gotta rely on numbers sometimes.

I don’t even have 2k followers on LinkedIn yet, but I already consider it a pointless attempt to talk to them all.

Here’s what I do instead:

  • I look at my analytics to see my top performing posts (engagement-wise).

  • Check what topic I wrote about and the format I used.

  • Take note of it and label it as “this worked well”.

“This worked well” meaning: this is what my audience resonates with.

5 — Feedback Loop

Keep the convo going. Regularly check in with your tribe to see if you're on the right track.

Don’t ask them “Hey there, am I on the right track?” (please don’t haha)

Instead, ask them what they think about your business. Is there anything you can improve? Is there anything you’re so stellar at?

And before you go, here’s a reminder I’ve mentioned a year ago in my newsletter.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Building your business takes time, and so do real connections.

Have a great week,

Francesca

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