If you try to sell to everyone, then you’ll end up selling to no one. It’s a commonly repeated phrase in the world of digital marketing, because it’s absolutely true. The key to effectiveness in any marketing campaign is clear, tailored targeting. Content needs to be created to appeal to a particular demographic, not the other way around.
Define your audience and then think about the content that might appeal to them. Only by doing so will you be able to craft compelling content that really gets results. If you’re thinking about who your target audience is, and how to reach them, it pays to carefully consider the demographics you’re looking to reach. Narrow down exactly who they are, what they do and what they need. The more specific you can be, the better.
We asked our team of experts for a few of their favourite tips on how businesses can define a target audience, in order to plan strategies like influencer marketing campaigns, social advertising and promotions. Here’s what they told us.
Take a Look at Your Customers
It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many business neglect research on their own customers. Your consumers are a powerhouse of data. They can really help you to understand your target audience and find out more about the products or services that might appeal to them.
There are many points about your current consumers that are worth investigating, and these go far beyond the most obvious information like age and location. Consider their time zone, the language they speak and the potential patterns in their spending. Think about their overall spending power and analyse their preferences. Get to know the interests they may have, and do some research into other brands or companies that they might be engaging with.
Use Social Media to Analyse Your Audience
Gathering so much information about your established customer-base might seem difficult, but there are many tools out there to help you do it. Use analytics tools available via social platforms to fill in any gaps in your knowledge.
Platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook come complete with their own free to use analytics services, and these can prove invaluable for brands looking to really understand their audiences.
Make Use of Your Competition
It’s not often that businesses see their competition as a good thing, but when it comes to defining your audience these competitors can be invaluable. Competitor research is really useful if you’re wanting to assess how your existing target demographic engages with brands that are similar to yours.
Looking into this data can show you which demographics are engaging successfully, and how much of an effect competitors’ content is having. Take a look at this Hootsuite article to learn more about analysing your competitors, and you’ll soon be tapping into huge amounts of information that could help you narrow down your target audience.
Consider how your product/service benefits customers
If you’re ever unclear about the different demographics that might purchase your product or use your service, it’s a good idea to examine its potential benefits. When you look at the advantages of your product, it’s very easy to come up with groups of people who might be looking for those exact benefits. And hey presto, you have a target audience.
Remember, the benefits of a product aren’t the same as its features. When marketing a product you’ll likely be fully aware of all of its different features, but you might not have every single one of its benefits clear in your mind.
If this is the case, don’t worry. It’s easy to find out what benefits your product might have. Ask your audience! Put the question out there on your existing social channels and see what your followers come back with. You never know, you might discover something new.
Use Social Advertising to Put it to the Test
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all enable brands to target particular demographics in minute detail. So, these platforms can be easily used to put the research you’ve done into your target audiences to the test.
Create tailored ads designed to appeal to the specific audiences you’ve identified, step back and wait for the results. Tests like these will enable you to see whether you’re targeting the right people, and using the right content. If it goes well, you can use these learning’s to inform your future marketing strategies. If it doesn’t, revisit your research and tweak the ads as necessary.
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Many brands think they know who their target audience is, but relatively few can tell you about their target demographics in the amount of detail that’s really needed. The more you know about your target audience, the more effective your communication will be. Get to know the audiences you want to reach, and the rest will follow.
To learn more about the best ways to engage with your followers and reach new audiences, make sure you give us a call. We’re here to take the mystery out of social media marketing.
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