What SEEKERS Want
SEEKERS are consumers in hot pursuit of information or entertainment via the Internet. Such folks may know exactly what they’re seeking, or they may not have a clue. What they all do know is that there’s something out there to serve their needs, and the Internet—accessed via a PC, smartphone, tablet, or other device—is bound to have the answer. SEEKER audiences include:
BROWSERS
LISTENERS
PROSPECTS
READERS
SEARCHERS
SHOPPERS
VIEWERS
VISITORS
The key attributes that make each of these audiences SEEKERS are:
1. They are looking for something of personal interest—information, a product, a service, a store location or even just entertainment.
2. You gain and retain their attention by providing relevant content that serves their interests.
3. They don’t become a part of your SEEKER audience until their attention is focused on your Paid, Owned, or Earned Media.
4. They initiate contact with you, browse, and leave as they like. You’re not able to initiate communications.
How SEEKERS Are Acquired
That last attribute is crucial to spotting a SEEKER: You have no means to initiate communications with them directly. This is not to say that you are powerless to attract them. Indeed, the entire fields of Content Marketing and SEO are focused on creating and optimizing content that will attract SEEKERS before the competition. However, search engines are just one tool SEEKERS use to find information. Their entire toolbox includes:
Directories
Location-based services
Maps
Mobile apps (third-party)a
Online communities (like Quora)
Reviews
Search engines
Social networks
The SEEKER audience is a slippery one; they move tangentially from search results to maps to apps and back again as their interests direct. Technically, a consumer does not become a true member of your SEEKER audience until they arrive at your:
Blog
Event
Landing page
Photos
Podcast
Store (office, restaurant, venue, etc.)
Social media profile or news feed
Video
Website
Whitepaper
Audience Exercise #3: Find Yourself
Search is no longer an activity solely for those seated in front of a computer. Smartphones and tablets have transformed search such that it can take place anytime, anywhere; there’s Web search, location search, social search, and video search. And if your company doesn’t appear in all of these search locations, you’re either invisible to consumers or a brand defined by others.
Find out how you appear to SEEKERS:
Search for your company on Google desktop search, Google mobile search, and Google Maps. Repeat the searches after you’ve logged into a Google product. Document how personalized search changes your results.
Search for your company on Facebook on the desktop. Compare that to the same search on Facebook’s smartphone and tablet apps. Do the same thing using LinkedIn.
If you have a physical location, visit one and use the AroundMe, Foursquare, and Yelp apps to see whether and how your location is portrayed. Document the accuracy of this information.
Search for your company or products on Google Images, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Vine. Document how you appear in these visual channels.
What did you find? Did you like the results? If not, it’s time to curate your online appearance as it may be the first (and only) impression you get with SEEKERS.
The Value of SEEKERS
SEEKERS are looking for immediate gratification when they arrive at one of your destinations. As a result, their membership in your SEEKER audience only lasts as long as you satisfy their needs. Your challenge as a marketer, therefore, is to convert SEEKERS into:
A CUSTOMER (financial value)
An AMPLIFIER (marketing value via extension of brand reach)
A JOINER (marketing value via cost-effective, direct communications)
Clearly, our primary goal is to convert all SEEKERS into paying CUSTOMERS (the ultimate JOINER audience). Short of that, getting them to contribute positively to the growth of your AMPLIFIERS or JOINERS (SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, and FOLLOWERS) is a great outcome. Without some conversion, SEEKERS will disappear from your marketing radar without adding any value—perhaps never to return.b
The Great Mobile Migration
In the early days of the Internet, SEEKERS were stationary creatures, tethered to the Internet by a keyboard, mouse, and wire. Today, however, they are mobile masters of their domain—using the Internet whenever and wherever they want on smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices (Google Glass, anyone?).
The impact of Internet ubiquity cannot be understated. By 2020, more than 30 billion devices will connect wirelessly to the Internet, and the majority of users will have never known a laptop computer.2 Today, smartphones comprise over 61 percent of the cell phones in the United States.3 This means your SEEKERS aren’t just looking for information; they’re armed with it on your doorstep, in your store, and at checkout. They know if there’s a better price across town or better food at the restaurant next door.