We All Have a Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is the fastest way to service their needs and increase revenue for any business. You must know your audience to be effective. The steps to tailoring a marketing or public relations plan to a specific target audience may seem daunting, but nevertheless, the results are rewarding. So, how does a company know its target demography? The first steps are understanding the basics of your audience; these include:
GenderPersonalityJob titleLocationIncomeNeeds
As a business, the target audience could be demographic/socioeconomic based or even behavioral based. The location is also a significant factor in reaching and targeting a particular group. The location of the intended audience is influential in research and preparation of any marketing or PR plans. It will allow the business to analyze the environment for factors such as competition or untapped opportunities which affect the abilities to increase the engagement of the audience.
Engaging Your Audience
Once you have discovered the targeted demographics and analyzed the environment, you need to know where the targeted audiences congregate. Thanks to social media, there are numerous mediums to engage your audience. The real research comes from knowing the right platform to interact with your audience. With so many social media outlets such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Pinterest; it is imperative to understand and proceed to engage in the right platform. Effective research will indicate a sufficient medium to approach your audience; this can be determined by which age groups spend more time on the five top social media platforms, and what gender utilizes certain outlets to receive relevant information. Google Analytics (see GetApp illustration below) is an excellent tool to discover this information.

Being Adaptable When Needed Is Important
Social media hypes come and go in a flash. Over the past few years, we have seen Keek, Vine and several other social media apps crumbled to dust. It is hard to predict and analyze the impending failure of a social media platform. So, how does one navigate through the right channels? The best strategy is to remain adaptable. A good company or brand should not feel uncomfortable utilizing different platforms, neither should they focus solely on one means of engaging their audience. A blog on the company website to divulge news and valuable information is always a good strategy, as SEO blogging is a “fad” here to stay. It is always easy to discover new strategies on traditional social media such as creating trending hashtags and seizing an opportune moment in the daily news. A perfect example of this is the Super Bowl XLVIIs blackout, which caused a brief darkness in the stadium. Nabisco’s Oreo cookie took to Twitter to post an impressive response to the blackout with a picture of an Oreo cookie and a statement “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark.” The delicious crème-filled cookie stole the moment during that year’s Super Bowl.
Harnessing an opportune moment during a nationally televised moment can set sparks on social media. Timing is always a critical component when executing strategies to gain audience attention. Knowing and utilizing the right avenue to approach your audience goes a long way in achieving goals created by the company. It also creates a symbiotic relationship with the audience and the outreaching company

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