Stuck. Idk how to market?

[ajakupi]

Like the title says, I feel stuck.

I need help how to market my natural energy drink company for men. I know my target audience are men who work out, who take care of their health, fathers (I say fathers because of my planned future for the drink and that is to promote fatherhood and raising "strong" sons), for those who love energy drinks and coffee, students who want a bit of a natural kick to their work-out / study session...

I often wonder is marketing only social media content, but I know it's not, and I don't know how to get the word spread out.

I need help. I am not an expert at this, but I am willing to learn or at least hear the critics, even about my thinking or whatever.

 

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[Muhammad Ibrahim]

Like the title says, I feel stuck.

I need help how to market my natural energy drink company for men. I know my target audience are men who work out, who take care of their health, fathers (I say fathers because of my planned future for the drink and that is to promote fatherhood and raising "strong" sons), for those who love energy drinks and coffee, students who want a bit of a natural kick to their work-out / study session...

I often wonder is marketing only social media content, but I know it's not, and I don't know how to get the word spread out.

I need help. I am not an expert at this, but I am willing to learn or at least hear the critics, even about my thinking or whatever.

it doesnt matter if you're not good at something because you can practice. it doesnt matter if you dont know how to do something because you can learn.
STEP 1: if you've got your dream client identified, good.
STEP 2: now it's time to find out more ABOUT them. find out their likes, dislikes, where they hang out, the jargon they use etc.
STEP 3: then use that information to create a message that they will understand, like and identify with.
STEP 4: once the message has been created, it's all a matter of showing it to them, which you can do through the medium most likely to reach them. if they use facebook a lot, do that, if they watch youtube, do that.
heck if they like to go to some weird movie theater in the suburbs, why not market there?
this 4 step programme is an oversimplified approach to marketing but it'll work for now

 

[Muhammad Ibrahim]

if it's more a matter of learning the mechanics e.g. HOW to run instagram ads, HOW to set up a facebook ad account [stuff i struggle with] then simply sit down and learn.
free youtube videos, websites, paid courses, it doesnt matter.
dont know how? learn.

Like the title says, I feel stuck.

I need help how to market my natural energy drink company for men. I know my target audience are men who work out, who take care of their health, fathers (I say fathers because of my planned future for the drink and that is to promote fatherhood and raising "strong" sons), for those who love energy drinks and coffee, students who want a bit of a natural kick to their work-out / study session...

I often wonder is marketing only social media content, but I know it's not, and I don't know how to get the word spread out.

I need help. I am not an expert at this, but I am willing to learn or at least hear the critics, even about my thinking or whatever.it

 

[ajakupi]

it doesnt matter if you're not good at something because you can practice. it doesnt matter if you dont know how to do something because you can learn.
STEP 1: if you've got your dream client identified, good.
STEP 2: now it's time to find out more ABOUT them. find out their likes, dislikes, where they hang out, the jargon they use etc.
STEP 3: then use that information to create a message that they will understand, like and identify with.
STEP 4: once the message has been created, it's all a matter of showing it to them, which you can do through the medium most likely to reach them. if they use facebook a lot, do that, if they watch youtube, do that.
heck if they like to go to some weird movie theater in the suburbs, why not market there?
this 4 step programme is an oversimplified approach to marketing but it'll work for now

How do I engage them, to ask what they like/dislike etc…?

 

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[ajakupi]

if it's more a matter of learning the mechanics e.g. HOW to run instagram ads, HOW to set up a facebook ad account [stuff i struggle with] then simply sit down and learn.
free youtube videos, websites, paid courses, it doesnt matter.
dont know how? learn.

I've already run Instagram/FB ads. But I haven't gotten any engagement

 

[rjdgreat]

How do I engage them, to ask what they like/dislike etc…?

Give them the right bait to get hooked on your questions

 

[Muhammad Ibrahim]

How do I engage them, to ask what they like/dislike etc…?

thats your choice. you could go onto forums, facebook groups
OR you could do my personal favorite,
surveys. give them a small incentive to fill an online google form (it could be a small cash prize lottery or a free e book etc]
or you could get more creative.
it's like, how would you talk to a girl?
many ways
you could find someone on tinder, DM on insta, cold approach on the street
there's tons of ways

 

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[Muhammad Ibrahim]

I've already run Instagram/FB ads. But I haven't gotten any engagement

then there's only 1 solution to that isnt there?
FIND. OUT. THE PROBLEM.
are you running ads on the wrong audience, is your ad ugly with bad design, or is your offer just not valuable enough for anyone to give a shit

 

[machinistguy]

TBH, from a quick glance at the drink market, there's not way you can compete with the big brands through traditional marketing efforts. I'd be looking at guerilla type marketing to build a following with a niche group of people at first. Who would care about natural energy drinks? Mountain bicycle enthusiasts? Rock climbers? How do you build a brand with them? How did others do it? Laser focus on one then use that as leverage to grow into a wider market, but it'd be pretty tough to go after the a wide market right away.

Ads really seem like the wrong type of marketing for this.

 

[Muhammad Ibrahim]

TBH, from a quick glance at the drink market, there's not way you can compete with the big brands through traditional marketing efforts. I'd be looking at guerilla type marketing to build a following with a niche group of people at first. Who would care about natural energy drinks? Mountain bicycle enthusiasts? Rock climbers? How do you build a brand with them? How did others do it? Laser focus on one then use that as leverage to grow into a wider market, but it'd be pretty tough to go after the a wide market right away.

Ads really seem like the wrong type of marketing for this.

exactly. your offer needs to be compelling.
to the poster, i would suggest readin 1OO million dollar offers by Alex Hormozi

and i've made a new post you can go check it out

 

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[ajakupi]

Give them the right bait to get hooked on your questions

Do I do it privately in messages or ?

 

[ajakupi]

thats your choice. you could go onto forums, facebook groups
OR you could do my personal favorite,
surveys. give them a small incentive to fill an online google form (it could be a small cash prize lottery or a free e book etc]
or you could get more creative.
it's like, how would you talk to a girl?
many ways
you could find someone on tinder, DM on insta, cold approach on the street
there's tons of ways

I like the idea of cold approach. I work as a waiter so I have a lot of guests coming. I could ask them.

 

[ajakupi]

then there's only 1 solution to that isnt there?
FIND. OUT. THE PROBLEM.
are you running ads on the wrong audience, is your ad ugly with bad design, or is your offer just not valuable enough for anyone to give a shit

Hmm. I believe my offer is valuable but the presentation lacks. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

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[Muhammad Ibrahim]

Hmm. I believe my offer is valuable but the presentation lacks. Thanks for pointing it out.

presentation is the problem a lot of the times.
i know people who had the best ever offer but presented in such an ugly way it didnt work.
make everything smooth. hire a freelancer if you need to (i'd just learn it myself btw
did this with canva posts and video editing

 

[ajakupi]

TBH, from a quick glance at the drink market, there's not way you can compete with the big brands through traditional marketing efforts. I'd be looking at guerilla type marketing to build a following with a niche group of people at first. Who would care about natural energy drinks? Mountain bicycle enthusiasts? Rock climbers? How do you build a brand with them? How did others do it? Laser focus on one then use that as leverage to grow into a wider market, but it'd be pretty tough to go after the a wide market right away.

Ads really seem like the wrong type of marketing for this.

I am familiar with the term guerilla marketing but I am not sure how to use it my case? I would be thankful if you could give me some insights or examples.

 

[ajakupi]

presentation is the problem a lot of the times.
i know people who had the best ever offer but presented in such an ugly way it didnt work.
make everything smooth. hire a freelancer if you need to (i'd just learn it myself btw
did this with canva posts and video editing

I've runn an ad with an animation but the animation was laggy a bit. So could be that

 

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[Muhammad Ibrahim]

I've runn an ad with an animation but the animation was laggy a bit. So could be that

listen be creative. yk what redbull did? they knew that university students would love thier drink so they would send tons of free sample to unis. uni students got addicted and they made shittons of profits.
even now in my sisters' uni some guy is handing out free sample. redbull is a beast.
they also sponsors tons of stunt and daredevil events, heck even own an f1 team. i mean wtf?
they knew their audience would love stunts and daredevilness so they acted.
be creative

 

[ajakupi]

I’ll take some time to think about some guerilla ideas. Thank you all

 

[Muhammad Ibrahim]

I’ll take some time to think about some guerilla ideas. Thank you all

Tip: shut of all social media, all distraction and dopamine for a day.
Close your room and lay down in your bed and just think
Creativity will soar
You will come and teach US about guerilla marketing

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

How Red Bull Took London By Storm

And how it all starts with the mere exposure effect.

bettermarketing.pub

 

[James Klymus]

Have you read The Great Rat Race Escape ? Go over the part where the couple wants to market their soup. They give samples. Do that for your drinks.

 

[ajakupi]

Have you read The Great Rat Race Escape ? Go over the part where the couple wants to market their soup. They give samples. Do that for your drinks.

I haven’t read that book. Only unscripted . But I will check it out

 

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[Xeon]

Like the title says, I feel stuck.

I need help how to market my natural energy drink company for men. I know my target audience are men who work out, who take care of their health, fathers (I say fathers because of my planned future for the drink and that is to promote fatherhood and raising "strong" sons), for those who love energy drinks and coffee, students who want a bit of a natural kick to their work-out / study session...

I often wonder is marketing only social media content, but I know it's not, and I don't know how to get the word spread out.

I need help. I am not an expert at this, but I am willing to learn or at least hear the critics, even about my thinking or whatever.

Not familiar with Croatia, but before spending any $ on ads or marketing, I think you need to consider

- whether there's a market for it (you mentioned men who work out and fathers etc, but will they respond to this and are they the right audience?)
- whether this target market will buy it
- how you're going to demostrate the benefits to them
- what makes you different from the main competitors
- and if they do, how will you reach them (and also is it possibilt within your budget to reach them effectively)

I did some quick google search and saw this: Energy Drinks in Croatia

Energy drinks are expected to be the worst performing soft drink in Croatia in 2022, with retail volume sales falling significantly. Several factors underlie the dismal performance. Significant price rises, driven by increasing costs stemming from the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, is expected to dampen volume sales. Price rises in particular are having a serious impact as energy drinks are mainly consumed by younger people, and they in general are even more price sensitive.

The full report is expensive, but what is sure is that you're facing very strong headwinds. Your target audience is too broad currently, maybe narrow it all the way down to one sub-niche, like students or blue collar workers (welders, mechanics etc.). Again, when targeting folks like students and blue collar workers, the fact that many lack $$$ will be an issue for you. The report says high price is one of the main factor for significant sales decline, so if you can compete in price, well.....although I don't think that's a good long term strategy.

The odds for success are low because interest in Croatia for gyming and energy drinks is lukewarm:

Personally, if I see a graph like the above, I would give up and move on to other ideas, because it's hard to educate and change people's minds on accepting something they're not ready for (unless you've US$520 billion to throw into ads over 15 years to brainwash them gradually via propaganda)

But in countries like the US, it's high:

Maybe there's some other popular drinks in Croatia (e.g: some traditional Croatian drink) that can be "modernized" and given a different spin to turn into a trendy product.

 

[ajakupi]

Not familiar with Croatia, but before spending any $ on ads or marketing, I think you need to consider

- whether there's a market for it (you mentioned men who work out and fathers etc, but will they respond to this and are they the right audience?)
- whether this target market will buy it
- how you're going to demostrate the benefits to them
- what makes you different from the main competitors
- and if they do, how will you reach them (and also is it possibilt within your budget to reach them effectively)

I did some quick google search and saw this: Energy Drinks in Croatia

I read another similar report overview for Croatia for alcoholic beverages and the report says that it is on a decline also. I know for a fact that the alcohol beverage industry in croatia is constantly growing and there is high demand.

I still believe in the product because we would be the only natural energy drink that there is in Croatia. Perhaps in other countries there already may be some, but we can leverage our position.

I don't think of OMNI only as a energy drink company. I believe in creating a stronger message. I mentioned fathers, because I believe new generations (including mine '01) are becoming more softer then ever. I want to change this. I want to create events where we will push boundaries and create stronger boys, sons, men, fathers...

I've thought on some guerilla marketing ideas with my girlfriend. I would love to hear the feedback. I believe that strong mind comes after working on a strong body. I would contact gyms overall croatia, starting with a well known local gym and Gym4You franchise where I would ask them to put my fridge with OMNI wrap and a popup sign saying record a video where you point the worst time of your life and how you managed to overcome it with OMNI drink in the video. This way I will have a lot of users posting content for me. Users won't do it for nothing so I will reward the most "interesting" story with 1000€.

 

[The-J]

Here's a case study. One of my clients is a skincare company. Sells typical skincare to a typical clientele (older women). Yet we've been growing fast recently, on track for $85k this month. I've been with them since the beginning. We were struggling for a long time but we figured out several things.

The first thing we figured out, early on, was why women buy skincare. What is it they actually want? They want beauty, youth, and confidence, and they want others to see it too. And why do they keep trying new brands even though other skincare promises the same stuff? In this niche, everything works but nothing works forever, and nothing works for everyone.

Workshop question for you: why do men buy energy drinks? How brand loyal are they? Why do they switch brands? (This is simpler than you think)

We also figured out the right channel: where older women spend their time. That's Facebook. I know Facebook ads pretty well. I learned it at a job I had before. Thing is, you don't need a ton of experience to succeed on Facebook or on any channel for that matter. You just need to create winning content and get that to as many people as possible. The methods are many but the concepts are few.

Workshop question for you: where do men spend most of their time? Where do men always go? What advertising or marketing channel represents that? And what kind of content, visuals, or narratives "win" in those channels?

Then we had to figure out a niche, a product category that we could legitimately claim superiority in, to justify high prices (and maintain margins of ~90%) and keep them buying for a long period of time. It took us a long time to find one because we were resistant to it. We wanted to sell Niche A, but we ended up selling Niche B. After collecting data on product efficiency for Niche B, we are moving in the direction of altering our offer to make it even better at delivering the result for Niche B.

Workshop question for you: what is your energy drink absolutely best at? How much do men care about that? What kind of men care about it?

There is a lot missing from this case study. We're terrible at telling a compelling story that gets new people bought in. You'll need to be good at that. You talk about men raising strong children: that's an excellent starting point for a story that's the backbone of your brand.

We spend a lot on new customer acquisition, but our margins are fat and our returning customer rate is 40% so we justify it in the short term because people buy us over and over again. Your product HAS to be good enough that people buy it again. There's no getting around that.

Hope this helps.

 

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[ajakupi]

Here's a case study. One of my clients is a skincare company. Sells typical skincare to a typical clientele (older women). Yet we've been growing fast recently, on track for $85k this month. I've been with them since the beginning. We were struggling for a long time but we figured out several things.

The first thing we figured out, early on, was why women buy skincare. What is it they actually want? They want beauty, youth, and confidence, and they want others to see it too. And why do they keep trying new brands even though other skincare promises the same stuff? In this niche, everything works but nothing works forever, and nothing works for everyone.

Workshop question for you: why do men buy energy drinks? How brand loyal are they? Why do they switch brands? (This is simpler than you think)

We also figured out the right channel: where older women spend their time. That's Facebook. I know Facebook ads pretty well. I learned it at a job I had before. Thing is, you don't need a ton of experience to succeed on Facebook or on any channel for that matter. You just need to create winning content and get that to as many people as possible. The methods are many but the concepts are few.

Workshop question for you: where do men spend most of their time? Where do men always go? What advertising or marketing channel represents that? And what kind of content, visuals, or narratives "win" in those channels?

Then we had to figure out a niche, a product category that we could legitimately claim superiority in, to justify high prices (and maintain margins of ~90%) and keep them buying for a long period of time. It took us a long time to find one because we were resistant to it. We wanted to sell Niche A, but we ended up selling Niche B. After collecting data on product efficiency for Niche B, we are moving in the direction of altering our offer to make it even better at delivering the result for Niche B.

Workshop question for you: what is your energy drink absolutely best at? How much do men care about that? What kind of men care about it?

There is a lot missing from this case study. We're terrible at telling a compelling story that gets new people bought in. You'll need to be good at that. You talk about men raising strong children: that's an excellent starting point for a story that's the backbone of your brand.

We spend a lot on new customer acquisition, but our margins are fat and our returning customer rate is 40% so we justify it in the short term because people buy us over and over again. Your product HAS to be good enough that people buy it again. There's no getting around that.

Hope this helps.

@The-J I would love to personally thank you.

Without a doubt, this helps me a lot. You made things so much clear for me. I guess you had to go thru a lot to give an answer this simple.

I will take your post as a guide. Sometimes I need people to pinpoint things they say to my case because I can't comprehend the idea.