Digital Marketing for Creatives

In today’s digital age, authors and artists must navigate a complex landscape of platforms to effectively reach their target audience. Identifying where your audience spends their time online can be the difference between obscurity and success. Fortunately, there are numerous free tools (and let’s face it, who wants to pay for something when you can get it for free?) available to help you discover the platforms your potential fans frequent. This blog post will guide you through some of the best free tools to achieve this, ensuring that your creative work finds the right audience.

1. Google Analytics

Overview:
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides comprehensive insights into your website traffic. While it’s primarily used for tracking website performance, it also offers valuable data about where your audience is coming from.

Key Features:

• Audience Reports: Gain insights into your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Acquisition Reports: Discover which platforms (social media, search engines, referrals) are driving traffic to your website.
• Behavior Reports: Understand how your audience interacts with your content, helping you tailor your strategies.

How to Use:

1. Set Up Google Analytics: Create an account and install the tracking code on your website.
2. Explore Audience Reports: Navigate to the “Audience” section to analyze demographics and interests.
3. Analyze Acquisition Reports: Check the “Acquisition” section to see which platforms are bringing in the most traffic.

Why It’s Useful:
Google Analytics helps you understand not only where your audience is but also how they interact with your content. This dual insight can inform both your platform choices and content strategies.

2. Facebook Audience Insights

Overview:
As an author, artist or a creative, providing your audience is on Facebook, having a Facebook Page is a must. Facebook Audience Insights is a tool provided by Facebook that allows you to learn more about your audience on the platform. It’s especially useful for authors and artists looking to tap into Facebook’s vast user base.

Key Features:

• Demographics: Access data on age, gender, and location of your audience.
• Interests: See what pages and topics your audience likes.
• Behavior: Understand purchase behavior and device usage.

How to Use:

1. Access Audience Insights: Go to the Facebook Business Manager and select “Audience Insights.”
2. Select Your Audience: Choose between “Everyone on Facebook” or “People connected to your Page.”
3. Analyze Data: Explore the different tabs to gather information on demographics, interests, and behaviors.

Why It’s Useful:
By understanding the interests and behaviors of your Facebook audience, you can tailor your content and engagement strategies to better meet their needs and preferences.

3. Twitter Analytics

Overview:
Personally, I’m not a huge Twitter/X fan. I think it is quite easy to get lost in the noise. However, it van be useful for driving traffic or used as a customer service platform. Horses for courses. Twitter Analytics provides detailed insights into your Twitter account’s performance. It’s an excellent tool for understanding how your audience engages with your tweets.

Key Features:

• Tweet Performance: Analyze the reach and engagement of your tweets.
• Follower Insights: Gain data on your followers’ demographics and interests.
• Audience Engagement: See how often your audience interacts with your content.

How to Use:

1. Access Twitter Analytics: Log in to your Twitter account and go to the Analytics section.
2. Explore Tweet Activity: Check the “Tweets” tab to analyze engagement metrics.
3. Review Follower Data: Look at the “Audiences” tab to understand your followers’ demographics and interests.

Why It’s Useful:
Twitter Analytics helps you understand which types of content resonate with your audience, allowing you to optimize your tweets for maximum engagement.

4. Instagram Insights

Overview:
Instagram is such a great platform, especially if your create visuall appealing products such as art or jewellery. Instagram Insights is a built-in tool for Instagram business accounts that provides data on your followers and how they interact with your content.

Key Features:

• Follower Demographics: Learn about the age, gender, and location of your followers.
• Content Performance: Track the reach and engagement of your posts and stories.
• Activity Metrics: See when your followers are most active.

How to Use:

1. Switch to a Business Account: If you haven’t already, switch your Instagram account to a business profile.
2. Access Insights: Tap the “Insights” button on your profile.
3. Analyze Data: Explore the “Content,” “Activity,” and “Audience” tabs for detailed analytics.

Why It’s Useful:
Instagram Insights provides a clear picture of who your followers are and how they engage with your content, helping you tailor your Instagram strategy accordingly.

5. YouTube Analytics

Overview:
I was a little shocked to discover that people use YouTube much like a search engine. Need to know what works really well for removing stubborn stains? Let’s see if there are recommendations on Your Tube. YouTube Analytics offers detailed statistics on your channel’s performance, including data on your viewers’ demographics and engagement with your videos.

Key Features:

• Audience Insights: Learn about the age, gender, and geographic location of your viewers.
• Engagement Metrics: Track likes, comments, shares, and watch time.
• Traffic Sources: Understand how viewers find your videos.

How to Use:

1. Access YouTube Studio: Log in to your YouTube account and go to YouTube Studio.
2. Open Analytics: Click on the “Analytics” tab in the left-hand menu.
3. Explore Data: Use the “Overview,” “Reach,” “Engagement,” and “Audience” tabs to analyze different aspects of your channel’s performance.

Why It’s Useful:
YouTube Analytics helps you understand who is watching your videos and how they interact with your content, allowing you to optimize your video marketing strategy.

6. LinkedIn Analytics

Overview:
If you’ve written a book for business, or something for the business sphere, then LinkedIn is a must-use platform. LinkedIn Analytics provides insights into your LinkedIn page’s performance and your audience’s demographics and interests.

Key Features:

• Visitor Analytics: See data on who is visiting your LinkedIn page.
• Follower Insights: Learn about the demographics and professional background of your followers.
• Content Engagement: Track how your posts are performing in terms of likes, comments, and shares.

How to Use:

1. Access LinkedIn Analytics: Go to your LinkedIn page and click on the “Analytics” tab.
2. Explore Data: Use the “Visitors,” “Updates,” and “Followers” sections to gather insights.
3. Analyze Performance: Review the metrics to understand what content resonates with your audience.

Why It’s Useful:
LinkedIn Analytics is particularly valuable for authors and artists focusing on professional networking and B2B marketing, providing insights into the professional background of your audience.

7. Pinterest Analytics

Overview:
Again, if you have a very visually orientated product then using the power of Pinterest would be very beneficial to you, as people use Pinterest as an image search engine. Pinterest Analytics offers insights into how your pins are performing and who is engaging with your content on Pinterest.

Key Features:

• Audience Insights: Learn about the demographics and interests of your Pinterest audience.
• Content Performance: Track the reach and engagement of your pins.
• Traffic Sources: Understand where your Pinterest traffic is coming from.

How to Use:

1. Access Pinterest Analytics: Log in to your Pinterest business account and click on the “Analytics” tab.
2. Explore Data: Use the “Overview,” “Audience Insights,” and “Website” sections to gather information.
3. Analyze Performance: Review the metrics to see which pins are driving the most engagement and traffic.

Why It’s Useful:
Pinterest Analytics helps you understand which types of visual content resonate with your audience, allowing you to optimize your pinning strategy.

8. TikTok Analytics

Overview:
Irrespective of what you’re selling, TikTok is worth some serious consideration. Authors have benefited from the BookTok hastag. Artists are showing their proess and finished product to great success. TikTok Analytics provides data on how your TikTok videos are performing and insights into your audience’s demographics and behavior.

Key Features:

• Video Performance: Track views, likes, comments, and shares.
• Follower Insights: Learn about the age, gender, and location of your followers.
• Content Insights: See which types of content perform best with your audience.

How to Use:

1. Switch to a Pro Account: If you haven’t already, switch your TikTok account to a Pro account.
2. Access Analytics: Tap the “Me” tab, then the three dots, and select “Analytics.”
3. Analyze Data: Explore the “Overview,” “Content,” and “Followers” tabs for detailed insights.

Why It’s Useful:
TikTok Analytics provides a comprehensive view of your video performance and audience engagement, helping you refine your TikTok strategy to better reach your target audience.

9. SurveyMonkey

Overview:
SurveyMonkey is a popular tool for creating and distributing surveys, allowing you to gather direct feedback from your audience.

Key Features:

• Custom Surveys: Create surveys tailored to your specific needs.
• Audience Targeting: Distribute surveys to specific audience segments.
• Data Analysis: Analyze survey responses to gain insights into your audience’s preferences and behaviors.

How to Use:

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a free SurveyMonkey account.
2. Design Your Survey: Use the survey builder to create questions.
3. Distribute and Analyze: Share the survey link with your audience and analyze the responses.

Why It’s Useful:
SurveyMonkey allows you to gather direct feedback from your audience, providing valuable insights into their preferences and behaviors that can inform your platform strategy.

10. Google Trends

Overview:
Google Trends is a tool that shows the popularity of search terms over time, providing insights into what your audience is interested in.

Key Features:

• Search Volume: Track the popularity of search terms related to your work.
• Geographic Insights: See where search terms are most popular.
• Trending Topics: Discover trending topics that are relevant to your audience.

How to Use:

1. Access Google Trends: Go to the Google Trends website.
2. Search for Terms: Enter search terms related to your work.
3. Analyze Trends: Explore the data to see how interest in your topics changes over time and across regions.

Why It’s Useful:
Google Trends helps you stay informed about what your audience is interested in, allowing you to create content that aligns with current trends.

11. BuzzSumo

Overview:
BuzzSumo is a content research tool that helps you identify popular content and influencers in your niche.

Key Features:

• Content Analysis: See which types of content are performing well in your niche.
• Influencer Identification: Find influencers who can help amplify your reach.
• Competitor Analysis: Track your competitors’ content performance.

How to Use:

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a free BuzzSumo account.
2. Search for Content: Enter keywords related to your work.
3. Analyze Results: Review the top-performing content and influencers in your niche.

Why It’s Useful:
BuzzSumo helps you understand what content resonates with your audience and identify key influencers who can help you reach a wider audience.

12. Hootsuite Insights

Overview:
Hootsuite Insights is a social media listening tool that allows you to monitor conversations about your work across various platforms.

Key Features:

• Keyword Monitoring: Track mentions of specific keywords related to your work.
• Sentiment Analysis: Analyze the sentiment of conversations about your work.
• Competitive Analysis: Monitor your competitors’ social media activity.

How to Use:

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a free Hootsuite account.
2. Set Up Streams: Create streams to monitor specific keywords and competitors.
3. Analyze Data: Review the data to understand how your audience is talking about your work.

Why It’s Useful:
Hootsuite Insights provides a comprehensive view of conversations about your work, helping you understand audience sentiment and identify opportunities for engagement.

13. Reddit Insights

Overview:
There is a sub-reddit for everything. Reddit Insights is a tool for analyzing Reddit activity, helping you understand which subreddits and topics are popular with your audience.

Key Features:

• Subreddit Analysis: Identify popular subreddits related to your work.
• Content Performance: Track the performance of your posts on Reddit.
• Audience Insights: Learn about the demographics and interests of Reddit users engaging with your content.

How to Use:

1. Access Reddit Insights: Use third-party tools like “Reddit Insight” to analyze Reddit activity.
2. Search for Subreddits: Enter keywords related to your work to find relevant subreddits.
3. Analyze Engagement: Review the performance of your posts and interactions on Reddit.

Why It’s Useful:
Reddit Insights helps you identify active communities and topics of interest on Reddit, allowing you to engage with a targeted audience.

14. SEMrush

Overview:
SEMrush is a comprehensive digital marketing tool that offers insights into SEO, content marketing, and social media performance.

Key Features:

• Keyword Research: Identify popular keywords related to your work.
• Competitive Analysis: Track your competitors’ SEO and content strategies.
• Social Media Analytics: Analyze your social media performance across platforms.

How to Use:

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a free SEMrush account.
2. Perform Keyword Research: Use the keyword tool to identify relevant keywords.
3. Analyze Competitors: Use the competitive analysis tools to track your competitors’ performance.

Why It’s Useful:
SEMrush provides a holistic view of your online presence, helping you optimize your SEO and content marketing strategies to reach your target audience.

15. Canva Audience Insights

Overview:
If you’re looking for a tool to create some content, then Canva must be on your to-do list. However, Canva offers more than just design tools; it also provides insights into what types of visual content perform well on various platforms.

Key Features:

• Template Popularity: See which design templates are most popular.
• Platform-Specific Insights: Learn what types of visuals work best on different social media platforms.
• Trend Analysis: Stay updated on the latest design trends.

How to Use:

1. Access Canva: Create a free Canva account and explore the design templates.
2. Analyze Template Usage: Review the popularity of different templates.
3. Adapt Designs: Use these insights to create visuals that resonate with your audience.

Why It’s Useful:
Canva Audience Insights helps you create visually appealing content that is tailored to the preferences of your audience on different platforms.

Conclusion

Identifying the right platforms for your target audience is crucial for the success of authors and artists in the digital age. By leveraging these free tools, you can gain valuable insights into where your audience spends their time online and how they engage with content. From social media analytics to survey tools and content research platforms, these resources provide the data you need to make informed decisions and reach your audience effectively. Use these tools to tailor your strategies, engage with your fans, and ultimately, grow your presence in the digital landscape.