One of the biggest mistakes in marketing is thinking that you can reach every individual at the same time. This usually results in failure and a lack of interaction from your customer base. This is why knowing who your target audience is – and knowing what they want - is so vital. If you know who you’re targeting, you can cater content specifically for that group and see a good return on the time and energy that you put into the content. No matter what your goal is (more Instagram followers, more people engaging with your business, or even more views on your website), these simple and universally applicable tips will streamline your process and will help you uncover your target audience.
What is a Target Market/Audience?
The first thing to figure out is what a target audience is. Put simply, it’s an audience that you want to target your content around. You target a group of people that you think would be interested in what you have to offer based on their age, gender, location, etc….. The next logical question then is – how do you find your target audience?
Finding your Target Audience
No matter the end goal (more followers, marketing, or expanding growth), finding your target audience, and who those people are, is necessary to gain momentum. YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO TARGET EVERYONE. There are too many people with different interests to successfully target multiple groups at once. Creating a target audience allows you to focus your effort and resources on a certain group of people and not expend all of your energy catering to anyone and everyone.
Here are a few tips to help you find your target audience:
Tip 1: Look at who currently follows you
Is there a trend with these types of people and organizations? If so, what is the reason these people are attracted to you?
Tip 2: Look at your competitors and see who they attract
Knowing what audience similar companies attract is very useful when determining what audience you are going to target. You can either look to attract the same type of people (this is difficult because they are already being targeted), or you can target more of a niche audience and gain more momentum.
Tip 3: Choose specific characteristics that link to your audience
There are common characteristics that groups of people all have in common. These can include
- Location
- Age
- Income
- Gender
- Occupation
- Education
Once you narrow down the characteristics of who you want to cater to, your job becomes a lot easier and you can confidently look at what drives that audience to your product or service.
Tip 4: Look at the psychographics - the “why” behind the person
This step looks deeper into why people with the characteristics that you chose do what they do - what makes them tick. Things that often show up as common trends are:
- Values
- Lifestyle choices
- Behaviors
- Habits
- Hobbies
Knowing your target audience is the first and most important step to create a bigger following and keep your momentum going. What comes after finding a target audience? That’s where the connection comes into play. At Americaneagle.com, we can help you find your target audience and strategize what market suits you best.
Connecting with Your Target Audience
The one thing that sets great companies apart from good companies is the ability to find an audience and make that audience feel like they belong. There are hundreds of different channels to reach people in our increasingly digital world. Knowing who you want to target allows you to focus on specific channels that those people use to connect with them. There are three universal ideas that have worked for businesses in the past and will continue to work in the future.
- Interact directly with your followers: People are more likely to respond to brands that take an active interest in their followers. Be personal and show loyalty to your audience. Show people that you are invested in creating discourse and conversations. This is where knowing your target audience comes into play. For example, if I wanted to connect with a 25-year-old, working, middle-class female, I would use a site like Facebook to reach that audience. According to Notify Visitors, 84% of 25-30 year-olds actively use Facebook and a higher percentage of women use it more than men (31 Target Audience Stats Across The Social Media Platforms (2021) (notifyvisitors.com)). Knowing your target audience allows you to cater content and use the most effective channels to reach those people.
- Connect with your audience’s emotions: People are naturally drawn to things that they find enjoyable. Why do car commercials usually have a happy family and a dog showcased in them? It’s because people connect with that and equivocate that feeling of joy to a car. Many brands find success because they make their audience laugh and make them feel like there is more to the business than just the service or product they are selling. Click here for some examples of successful brand engagement and how certain brands can connect with their audience and gain active participation.
- Create something that only comes from you, not something your competitors can do: Be unique. Look at what you have to offer and show yourself in a different light. Why should someone choose you above any of your competitors? Look at what makes you unique and use that fact to set you apart. A great example of this is Patagonia. The creator of this brand, Yvon Chouinard, valued the outdoors and preserving the environment. He created a brand that is inundated with that idea and is reflected even in their office spaces. His commitment to this uniqueness has pushed Patagonia to be incredibly successful.
Finding and connecting with your target audience is the key to success and one of the reasons that a good brand turns into a great brand. If you can learn how to connect and make your community feel like they are part of something bigger, you will start to see more revenue and more of a following because of the excitement behind your brand.
Americaneagle.com has incredible experience assisting clients by strategizing how to connect with a target audience. We have a strong team of content creators, digital marketers, and SEO specialists to help you reach your goals. Contact us or browse our digital marketing services to see how we can help your audience come to you.
