Businesses often make the mistake of running social accounts without knowing the right way to go about it. They do so simply because somebody “feels” that it’s the right thing to do!
They either try to follow everybody they come across (relevant or not), or they simply hope that people will find them. But this isn’t how it works!
The biggest problem that these businesses have is that they make no real effort to find their target audience on social media. Yet many of them are performing well on various socials. How? What do they do?
In many cases, it is that they understand the importance of identifying the right target audience and making efforts to find them. Finding the right target audience on social media not only helps niche down your target group but strategize better as well. This is true, as 78% of organizations opine social media tactics work for them.
In this blog post, we have encased 6 such effective methods that can help you identify your target audience and grow your brand on social media. So, sit back and grab your favorite beverage to dive into the world of social media targeting!
The people you want to target are out there somewhere in the depths of the internet. The trick is to know whom you’re looking for and how to identify the right ones.
This is why, going forward, your plan to identify your target audience for social should be based on research and data. Below, we've outlined 6 effective methods that will help you get started with the process.
If your brand already has buyer personas, start using the same for your social media target audience.
Brainstorm about your target demographics and be as specific as:
Harping on these demographic details will allow you to build on what you already know about your target audience on social. Besides, answers to these questions will help you understand your audience's pain points and actively work to resolve problems with the help of your product or service.
Additionally, considering your audience’s spending patterns and lifestyle trends will let you drill deeper into your customer's social media interaction.
Businesses that have adopted persona strategies have seen significant ROI boosts besides developing a better understanding of their customers. This is true, as 24% of companies generated more leads using buyer personas, while 93% exceeded their lead and revenue goals by implementing the same.
To identify your target audience, proceed to find out where they are hanging out online the most.
Figuring out your audience’s preferred social platform will help you prioritize the same and adjust as you go. You might even have to consider your audience preference for each social media platform.
For example, according to 2022 Facebook Demographics data, the platform has almost 2.93 billion active monthly users, with 51% aged between 50–65 preferring the same.
On the other hand, Instagram appeals more to younger generations, with 67% of users being 18–29 years of age.
Additionally, don’t forget to be a part of active groups and communities on various socials. They are one of the best hubs for finding your target audience.
While figuring this out can be tedious, it is not impossible! You can always take the help of social media analytics tools, not just to analyze demographics that make up your social media audience but also the platforms they prefer the most. These tools help businesses can gain valuable insights and better understand their target audiences.
For example, one of the best and most popular tools is Google Analytics because it allows you to check your social media traffic and thus identify these people.
After you are done with the basic preparations, start tailoring your social media content in the best way possible!
Remember, different audiences have different content preferences. This is why you need to figure out the one your target audience most resonates with. Some may like funny videos, motivational quotes, polls, or educational blogs. Whereas, others may prefer inspirational and resourceful information.
Keep a robust social media strategy along with a content plan ready to create the right types of posts for the right audience.
Besides, for ease of work, try switching to social media marketing tools like Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Later, Semrush, and Hootsuite. Among its various features, these tools not only help in social media scheduling but finding and sharing relevant content as well. They are designed to help businesses connect with their audiences and perform tasks important for a successful social media marketing strategy.
But, if you are looking for something user-friendly and economical, try opting for Hootsuite alternatives. These tools offer similar features (or even better) at much more affordable prices, which is best for your business.
Once you get an overall idea of who is interacting with your business, it’s time to gauge your competition. Keep track of your competitors to see if they are going for the same target market segment. If so, how are they reaching their target audience for social?
You can do this by keeping a tab on their social posts to check out how their target audience engages with them besides leveraging social data. Having said that, 90% of marketers agree that social data enables them to stay ahead of their competitors.
Besides, don’t forget to consider their preferred social platforms, top followers, engagement rate, and the kind of hashtags they use. You can also search for target keywords to see which competitors are ranking.
For better competitor insight, consider using social media marketing tools for detailed competitor analysis. This allows you to get an idea of the approach they’re taking to generate engagement online.
This analysis will give you a fair idea of targeting your audience in social media. This, of course, can be effective for your business. By studying your competitor's strategy, you can tweak and implement them according to your business needs and requirements.
Another important and effective method is to leverage the data on your existing customers before you can go after more people like that.
Collect information on the demographics of your customers, such as age, gender, location, interest, language, and income, to understand what topics they are most likely to talk about.
This task can be daunting, especially if your precise target market isn’t specific. For example, if you sell various products or offer services. In such a scenario, try looking deeper into the profiles of your existing customers to see if any common trends can point you in the right direction.
This method will help you leverage and identify trends that appeal to your existing customers and attract new ones with similar interests.
To get hold of your customer data and make your job easier, use Google Analytics to leverage useful information about your existing customers.
Social listening is one of the most powerful ways to discover conversations around your brand. It helps you gauge what your target audience is talking about. Thus, allows you to search for recurrent topics to guide you on your way.
For instance, if your potential audience is a group of artists on social media, then you may consider inviting them for a collaboration.
Through social listening, you can track every brand mention to get valuable insights into how customers feel about your products or services. Pay attention to their pain points, and what they’d like to see from you in the future. It also helps in competitor tracking and sentiment analysis on topics related to your business.
In fact, almost 61% of businesses now have a social media listening system in place, with 82% viewing it as a key planning element.
Thus leveraging social listening is an all-rounder when it comes to making data-driven decisions that will have a positive impact on your business’s marketing efforts.
Catching the right audience on social media isn’t rocket science once you learn to do it correctly.
Besides, finding your target audience on social media can be a game-changer for your business or personal brand. It will let you niche your marketing efforts. Thus, build strategies tailored to your audience's needs and preferences. But before that, it is important to understand your business goals and audience preferences to build a robust online presence.
Go ahead and give these methods a try, and see how they can help you connect with the right people on social media!
