This is a very crucial step to starting a business, but it is ignored most times and you shouldn’t make such mistake knowing your target audience alone is like lifting off a very heavy load as a major business proble, has just been solved.
Although when i first started i strongly believd so much in just traffic, not even knowing there are different kinds of traffic including the ones that are not meant for me.
What Is a Target Audience?
A target audience is a share of consumers that a business directs is trying to reach with their advertising efforts.
That’s the simple version — your target audience is who you target with your marketing efforts.
The intention here is to target a group of people with the education, goals, interests, and problems as your ideal customer.
Basically, you want to target people who will buy your stuff.
The data used to define the target audience is usually:
- age
- gender
- education background
- purchasing power
- social class
- location
- consumption habits
Example of a target audience: Women, 20-30 years old, living in Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree, monthly income of $4,000 – $6,000, and passionate about fashion and decor.
What Is a Customer Persona?
In marketing, customer personas are profiles of buyers that would be your ideal customers.
Personas are fictional characters with characteristics of your real customers. They’re developed based on target audience research and may help you direct your marketing actions better.
A persona is a person that may be interested in what you have to offer since they’re very connected to your brand and you must make an effort to make them a client and retain them.
A persona involves much deeper and more detailed research than your audience since it includes:
- personal characteristics
- purchasing power
- lifestyle
- interests
- engagement in social networks
- professional information
Persona example: Mikky, 22, blogger. Lives in South Africa, Pretoria. Has a journalism degree. Has a blog and posts tech tutorials and tips about fashion and decor. She always follows fashion events in the area and participates in meetings with other people in the fashion niche. As a digital influencer, she cares a lot about what people see on her social network profiles. Likes to practice indoor activities and go to the gym in her free time.
How to Define Your Target Audience: 5 Questions to Ask
Figuring out your target audience isn’t rocket science. It just comes down to a few simple questions.
Six actually, to be exact.
Go through each of the questions below and you’ll know the exact audience you are targeting.
1. Who Are They?
When thinking about who might be in your audience, you must consider who are the people who identify with your brand.
One way to find out is to monitor who follows, likes, shares, and comments on your posts on social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.
If someone is willing to engage with you, then chances are they are your target.
In many cases, your ideal audience may not be inactive on social media, but buy from your company frequently or sign up for your services.
Even those who bought from you only once must be considered a part of your target audience, as someone who bought once might buy again.
There is no point in making a great effort to sell if you don’t make a similar effort to keep the customers you have already gained.
Customers like to feel special, and that is why the post-sales process is so important. Your relationship with the customer must remain even after the purchase is completed.
2. What Are Their Biggest Difficulties, Problems, or Desires?
What is cool, interesting, and good for you might not be for the customer.
Don’t think of yourself when it’s time to define the difficulties, problems, and desires of your target audience. Put yourself in their shoes.
Don’t make offers based on what you think. Make them according to research grounded in data, previous experiences, and analysis of your potential customers’ behavior.
Understand the greatest difficulties your audience faces to try to help solve them.
3. Where Do They Look for Information Online?
Everyone needs information.
Every day we are inundated with tons of information, but when you need it the most, where do you go to find answers?
Identify the communication channels most appropriate to your target audience and try to talk to them using a specific language from their universe.
For example, I know my audience reads marketing blogs and spends a lot of time on social sites like YouTube and LinkedIn consuming information.
4. What Real Benefit Do You Offer?
Everyone wants solutions for their problems and to make their lives easier. This is a collective desire and it’s no different for your target audience.
Think a little about your product and the problem it solves. What benefits does your product or service offer? What can it do to solve those problems? What is the main value offer?
With so much competition, you must try to find your competitive advantage in your niche and always try to improve your product, offering something extra that others do not. For example, better customer service, a free tool, or a free trial period.
5. What Draws Their Attention Negatively?
Being optimistic helps a lot, but thinking about the negatives can also help, especially when we talk about target audiences.
Better than considering what your audience wants, think about what they definitely don’t want and what they avoid.
With this powerful information in hand, you may have more chances to captivate your potential customers.