A target audience refers to the group of people who share common attributes that are most likely to be interested in your product or services.
People use social media for different reasons, but ultimately they love being in places that support their beliefs and lifestyle.
It is very essential to have a very clear understanding of your target audience before spending time and resources on creating contents, because they are the set of people who are most likely to be interested in what your business offers.
This article explores some few questions that will guide you on how to reach your target audience with this steps:
1. Who is your current audience?
Who is your target audience? The answer lies with the people who identify with your brand.
The first stage of any social media marketing campaign is to define your target audience. You certainly can’t love locate them if you have no idea who they are.
Monitor who follows you on social media and interacts with your posts. Who likes, shares, comments on your content? Then narrow down on key common characteristics such as age, location, language, interests and so on.
2. What kind of information are they looking for and why?
Understanding the kind of information followers seek will help with understanding your audience. And you’ll identify their needs and how to approach them on social media.
It’s good to note that people will have different reasons why they follow brands on social media. And you’ll have to adapt your social media content strategy accordingly.
3. Where do they go for this information?
Which social media networks does your target audience frequently visit? according to your research, what platform have you noticed your audience the most?. As a marketer, your main task is to establish the social sites where your target audience spends their time.
Take an instance, launching an Instagram campaign is out of the ordinary if majority of your target audience is most active on Facebook. Understanding what your audience wants and on which platform will define your content strategy.
4. What are they talking about?
What challenges and what solutions are your target audience in search for, what are their likes and dislikes, what are they saying about your brand or products? This is one of the most crucial questions that can give you the most insight about your target audience. Instead of guessing, you’ll know exactly what your audience is talking about.
Knowing the answers to these questions will help you narrow down on their biggest pain points and desires.
5. Who do they trust?
The reputation of your company is crucial. Taking care of the relationship with your customers is essential as they spread information about your brand on the internet and to their friends and family.
Trust is important when building relationships with your followers? Think about your social habits, do you trust any brand online? Do online reviews from other customers way your purchase decisions?
Think about how your business handles its reputation as well. Do you respond to all messages? Being present for your brand and for your audience is important to build trust and attract your target audience.
If you get good reviews, have positive comments, and attain a great reputation, customers will be more motivated to buy from you.
6. Find and Connect with Your Target Audience
Once you know your target audience, you should gofurther by encouraging your existing customers to contact with you on their preferred social networks.
Luckily, you know your target audience well by now. You’ve researched what they like, what they want, how they use social media and plenty of other important information.
Now it’s time to start creating social media content geared toward them!
7. Create Content Your Target Audience Will Love
Engaging people through social media is the key. You need the right content to keep your target audience interested in your services. When people find you fun or inspirational, they will likely promote you to others.
Your social media content needs to provide value to users, and since you’ve done the research, you know what they value.
You need your social pages to be inspirational to these people. You want them to come to your page because they value the content you create and share.
Whatever you do, don’t be too salesy with your posts. Sure, a small percentage can be promotional, but the vast majority of people who follow you do so because they want value from your posts, not because they want to buy your product.
You can easily engage your audience by providing up-to-date information. You can use video marketing, articles, and blog posts to engage with your target audience.
Relevant and interesting content will keep your target audience engaged and coming back for more.
Stay focused on your analytics to determine the post types that generally work, as some people will prefer to read blog posts, others are only interested in funny pictures or short videos, a number might religiously share the motivational quotes you offer. It is an excellent idea to share a variety of post types but more of those which your followers most love.