We talked about search streams for monitoring keywords and hashtags above, but they’re also a great way to keep an eye on what your competition is up to. Once the business has gathered data from consumers about their demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioral situations, they can analyze this and use it to identify a rough target audience. [11], A thoroughly followed, planned and implemented media plan is required to achieve outright success in a campaign. This is due to advancements in technology and the Internet era developing brand new communication channels such as web advertising, social media and blogs (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schäfer, 2012, p. 770-772 ). You might not need to include all the demographic characteristics (like age and gender) in your target audience definition. Called “Couple Thinkers,” it features celebrities and inspirational figures. Customers may be sorted based on social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics (Kotler et al., 2014). This divides the market into demographic field such as age, life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, and nationality (Kotler et al., 2014). There are many methods of demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioral data collection. Distinguishing the correct target market(s) and defining a target audience is a crucial step when owning a business. The general principles for defining your target audience go back to the earliest days of marketing. Tyson, R. (2014, February 3). When it comes to B2B marketing, understanding who you’re talking to (and what they’re thinking) is … Micro-marketing includes both local and individual marketing. You can’t speak directly to your best potential customers if you’re trying to speak to their kids and parents and spouses and colleagues at the same time. Here are the top 10 ways to find, target and reach the right audience for your product or service: 1. Effective marketing consists of identifying the appropriate target audience, and being able to appoint the correct marketing strategy in order to reach and influence them. Markets differ in size, assortment, geographic scale, locality, types of communities, and in the different types of merchandise sold. She is educated, affluent, gregarious, fashion-oriented, and more often than not, she is a working woman who lives in or near a major metropolitan area.”. The specific conformity of the target audience to the desired supporting psychological operations objective is the product of assiduous work, mainly of the target audience analysis phase of influence process, this validates the importance of this role to the overall operation enabling decision makers, to gain substantial objectives in the information environment (Topolniski, 2013). Knowledge of consumers' demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral variables can enable relevant marketing processes to reach the target audience directly. They can be segmented into nonusers, former users, potential users, first-time users and regular users of a product, (Kotler et al., 2014). The better you understand your target market, the more you’ll be able to focus your ads and reach the audience most likely to convert into customers. Odds are, your social media audience overlaps with that of your competitors. Things like financials, interests, hobbies, and lifestyle will all be filtered by the business to create a target audience that will, in theory, be open to the product and will connect with the business through a marketing campaign aimed at them (Dowhan, 2013). The first part of the statement defines the target audience: “To urban-dwelling, educated, techno-savvy consumers who worry about the environment that future generations will inherit, Zipcar is the car-sharing service that lets you save money and reduce your carbon footprint, making you feel you’ve made a smart, responsible choice that demonstrates your commitment to protecting the environment.”. Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to quickly build your brand online and raise awareness among your target audience. (2016). V-Energy. Communicating to consumers through tools such as web banners, social media and email, allows direct targeting to the consumer. Factors like these are considered at a more in-depth level with a detailed media plan, one that cannot be found in a simpler target market strategy. A basic example of a consumer profile is: males aged 35–40 who live in the US and have a university-level education (demographic), are a sociable extrovert from a top-middle economic class and live an active lifestyle (psychographic), lives in Nashville, Tennessee (geographic) and makes small and frequent purchases without considering the product's brand (behavioural). For example, Kotler et al. You can’t assume that your overall customer demographics will match your target audience for social media sites. Retrieved from, Oxford Dictionary. It is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "A particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed" (Oxford Dictionary, 2016). Marketing for hospitality and tourism, (6th ed.) Be sure to incorporate any lessons you learn. Hoyer, W. D., Macinnis, D. J., & Pieters, R. (2013). A company can have different target audiences for different marketing campaigns. Side effects such as a campaign backfire and 'demerit goods' are common consequences of a failed campaign. What formats and channels have worked well for your competitors? They are the people who are most likely to be interested in your content, products, or services. An example of this was the marketing of the USDA's food guide, which was intended to appeal to young people between the ages of 2 and 18. Audience Insights provides valuable demographic information about your most engaged social media audience. These include: Then they took it one step further. In your social media management dashboard, set up streams to monitor your competition’s social posts and look for patterns in hashtags, post type, and content strategy. email, mobile no., home no., etc.). Individual marketing refers to accommodating merchandise and marketing programs, to the desired demands of individual customers. By increasing engagement with target audiences, businesses have the opportunity to increase brand equity through both traditional media and social media (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schäfer, 2012, p. 781-782). In this post, I’m going to share with you my 3-step process for identifying your target audience and creating data-backed marketing personas. Here’s how fashion retailer The Limited defined their target audience way back in their 1979 annual report (as cited in the textbook Retail Marketing Management): Reaching your target audience is an important step in marketing your business and your products. If you notice your Twitter posts drive way more traffic than your Facebook posts, this is likely a clue that your audience is more active on Twitter. Another way marketers can group buyers using behavioral variables is user status and usage rate. You’ll see a list of the top shared content across social networks, including engagement data. This is based on consumer demographic, psychographic, geographic information and behavior (Sherlock, 2014). A social media target audience is the specific group of people you want to reach with your social channels. People in a target audience share demographic similarities, such as age, location, or socioeconomic status. An example of this is when a child, part of a target audience, is positively reached through a communication channel such as a TV advertisement for toys. Revisit your target audience definition regularly. Psychographics is the use of sociological, psychological and anthropological factors, as well as consumer behavior, style of living and self-concept to determine how different market segment groups make decisions about a philosophy, person or product (Weinstein, 2014). Retrieved from: Duncan, T. (2005). Social media audience research isn’t complicated. Bonus: Get the free template to easily craft a detailed profile of your ideal customer and/or target audience. Social class has a large effect on preferences for cars, clothes, home furnishings, leisure activities, reading habits, and retailers (Kotler et al., 2014). When considering this strategy one must consider the increased sales against the increased cost (Kotler, et al., 2013). Traditional media is considered expensive for smaller businesses with limited ability to market to the intended target audience; this mass marketing approach serves the message market widely rather than deeply with the intended audience (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schäfer, 2012, p. 781-782 ). 1. For example they know that their target audience: Now that’s one impressive ceiling of stars Ari Rex captured this stunning sky show at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve…, Posted by Australia.com on Saturday, June 20, 2020. When you narrowly define your niche market, your messages are clear, your offerings are precise and your marketing efforts are more effective, even to those not within your target market. The business must also look to their competitors to see what processes they are currently taking to try and solve the problem, and which consumers they are targeting (Sherlock, 2014). 2014). To effectively determine the brand's target audience, marketing managers should consider the three main general aspects of target audience grouping: demographics, psychographics and consumer lifestyle (Percy, Rossiter, & Elliott, 2001, p. 65). Are they researching or ready to buy? This can be refined by the analysis of competitors' processes and targets, allowing the business to formulate a more segmented target audience. To understand the effects of marketing on audience improvement, the basic marketing principles need to be outlined, and the role that marketing strategies play in building a target audience examined. Facebook Audience Insights can be particularly helpful. Getting to know your target audience: Pearson New International Edition. Here you’ll find some ideas that you can quickly and easily fold into your current lifestyle. Try it free today. As you monitor keywords and hashtags, you may uncover other relevant hashtags your audience uses. This is because customers located in different geographic areas are going to encounter different things that influence their purchase decisions (Kahie, 1986). While target markets are marketed to with business strategies, the use of advertising and other media tools is what makes marketing to target audiences a more effective way of appealing to a select group of individuals. Examples of a target audience are "company employees, society as a whole, media officials, or a variety of other groups" (Tambien, E., n.d.). Looking for reviews? A lifestyle is defined with three main sections: activities, interests, and opinions (AIO). But those people are now adults who view the Atari brand not as a cutting-edge gaming system, but as a nostalgic part of their childhood. Principles of advertising & IMC (2nd ed.). You’ll find a breakdown of the most popular social media networks in your niche. It allows the business to craft their products or services to the wants and needs of customers, in order to maximise sales and therefore revenue. The market strategy and the marketing mix allow room to create value for customers and build profitable customer relationships (Kotler et al., 2014). Create innovative and compelling visual experiences that help Target guests connect to our products. The everything-but-the-kitchen-sink marketing plan where you throw resources into marketing to everyone with a pulse usually ends in similar disappointment: a lot of zeros on the bank statement, and all in the wrong places. Social media such as Twitter, Snapchat discover, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook allow two-way communication between the business and consumer which cannot be achieved by traditional media. You can link to your survey directly from a social post, like Amsterdam Marketing did here: Hello to our amazing followers. When businesses have a successful social platform which generates an interactive community around a brand, it enables better relationship building, which improves the brand's image and consumer-based brand equity (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schäfer, 2012, p. 781-782). Address specific pain points? Monitoring relevant keywords and hashtags reveals what people are saying about you and your competitors online, even when you’re not tagged. Target audience definition will be the foundation of your marketing efforts. According to Evans, O'Malley and Patterson, (1995) the direct marketing industry has been the fastest growing sector of marketing communications. If you need assistance to define your target audience or creating effective PPC and social media marketing campaigns, contact Edkent Media today! [7] Defining a 'target market' is the first stage in the marketing strategy of a business, and is a process of market segmentation. Although, this strategy often has more sales than those who use an undifferentiated marketing strategy. You’ll then reach exactly the audience you defined during your research. Tourism Australia defined its target audience as: “High value travelers who are motivated by what [Australia has] to offer and are most likely to choose Australia for their next holiday or business event.”. They also explored the reasons their target audience travels. Your target market could change over time. Enter a relevant hashtag you uncovered in the previous step. The Theory. Four key targeting strategies largely used within businesses are; undifferentiated (mass) marketing, differentiated (segmented) marketing, concentrated (niche) marketing, and lastly micro (local or individual) marketing (Kotler, et al., 2013). For example, a yoga leggings brand may identify a target market of single women, age 24-34, who regularly frequent gyms, and have a demonstrated interest in yoga. According to, Galvin (1998), marketing is considered to be as simple as selling or promoting a product or service to a client, customer or consumer who is in need of the distinct product. Therefore, the combination of the target market with the marketing mix is crucial to the success of the product or service.[10]. Often these characteristics can be segmented into four different marketing groups, geographic, demographic, psychographic or behavioral (Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L., & Armstrong, G., 2013). The advantage traditional media gives businesses is the ability to reach a huge audience. For example, McDonald’s might have two different campaigns marketing their breakfast menu. For example, back in the 1980s, Atari marketed its gaming console to kids. It is also a way the business can stand out against its competitors (Kotler, et al., 2013). From the marketing plan the marketer can establish the appropriate target audience necessary to successfully complete effective marketing communications (Percy, Rossiter, & Elliott, 2001, p. 65). As you focus on reaching your target audience for social media sites, you may need to adjust your organic and paid social content strategy . Demographic information is important to the business because it gives a basic background of the customers the business is intending to aim its marketing campaign at. This strategy commonly uses mass distribution and advertising to help create an admirable product and is possibly one of the most cost effective. Leverage these effective techniques to reach your target audience and grow your business. This strategy unfortunately is not cost effective and involves a lot of research and development, as well as a whole range of promotion that is unique to each specific product. Loyalty status can prove to be very significant to a marketer's product or service. Lookalike audiences share characteristics and behaviours with people who already interact with your brand. Geographic information is essentially where the customer is located and is vital to the business when they are determining their target audience. Using Boolean logic, you can get quite detailed here. How are they positioning themselves? If you’re using UTM parameters, you can also see which social posts are driving the most traffic to your site. Then scroll down to see which are the top sites, hashtags, and authors for your search. Chicago, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. With this audience in mind, they created a digital marketing strategy based around a YouTube series. Using these direct forms of communication, customers of the product or service will receive personal, efficient and easily accessed information on the product. This information can be used to allow the business to differentiate slightly from the competition in order to give them a competitive advantage once the marketing campaign begins. This will allow the business to get an idea of the type of consumer they will be targeting, and what the best way is to communicate with this type of consumer. With all these considered, the product can be efficiently marketed. Retrieved from: V Movement. Demographics is statistical information that does not require in-depth analysis to provide an answer, thus a business would use quantitative methods of data collection. Some key questions to consider: If you’re having trouble figuring out exactly what your social audience wants to see on your social channels, you could always ask them. In marketing, a market is targeted by business strategies, whilst advertisements and media, such as television shows, music and print media, are more effectively used to appeal to a target audience. This helps them to judge on a basic level how to communicate effectively with who they have identified as the target audience. Local marketing is "tailoring brands and promotions to the needs and wants of the local customer groups, cities, neighborhoods and even specific stores (Kotler, et al., 2013)." Consumers are divided by their knowledge, attitudes, and use of, or response to, the product (Kotler et al., 2014). The different aspects of consumers are all essential to a business when it is planning a marketing campaign, as the information that the business gathers will determine what the most profitable target market for the campaign is, and how to reach this market. Clearly defining your target audience — whether it’s senior citizens, busy moms or even as specific as millennials in Texas — can help you answer questions and overcome obstacles as you kickstart your online store. As well as segmentation, the marketing mix is a significant marketing strategy to pinpoint the target audience and further market appropriately to that audience. Each country has consumers of the same demographic, but due to the cultural influence of the geographical area, their purchase decisions are different. According to Dibb and Simkin, (1998) the final process of target marketing is the design of marketing mix programme. The lifestyle of a customer is often determined by purchasing behavior and product preference (Lin, 2002, p. 250). Kotler et al. (Note: You can enter a couple of searches for free, but beyond that you’ll need to start a free trial or sign up for a paid Buzzsumo account.). Let’s jump ahead a few decades. Direct marketing is targeting individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting consumer relationships, (Kotler et al., 2014). Market segmentation can be defined as the division of a market into its select groups, based on a variety of factors such as needs, characteristics and behaviours, so that the application of the marketing mix can be appropriate to the individual. target market - definition of target market in English from the Oxford dictionary. When determining their target audience, a business must examine consumer behavior trends. of your marketing target audience. The business must determine what kind of people are facing the problem they identified. Make sure it still accurately describes the people you most want to reach on social media. If a business enters the air-conditioning unit market selling their units at a low price, consumers who couldn't afford the other air-conditioning units will see this as a solution to the problem and will purchase the new units. (n.d.). [8] The target market, defined by the market segmentation, requires a unique set of the 4 Ps to have the product or service effectively and efficiently marketed to it. And once you have figured out your target audience, you can start thinking about channels. These will help increase brand awareness and encourage brand loyalty. They even learned how far in advance of a trip visitors are likely to book. It’s mainly about narrowing your focus while expanding your reach. A target audience is a group of people identified as likely customers of a business. Create, schedule, and publish posts to every network, get demographic data, performance reports, and more. (2001). Create, develop and implement strategies that captivate and engage new and existing guests. Finding your target audience definition will help you to create a tone of voice that really speaks to your customer. Northwestern University. It is also the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual customer and organisations (Galvin, 1998). Target marketing is also part of the segmentation process, where groups who share the same needs and wants are segmented into specific categories. A target audience is a group identified as the focus for communications, media, entertainment, information or advertising. If you’re not already, now would be a great time to incorporate UTM codes into social posts, either manually or using a social media management platform like Hootsuite. Notice that Zipcar is not targeting all residents of a particular city. [11] Failure to identify these trends can lead to campaigns being targeted at the wrong audiences, and ultimately a loss of money or no change at all. © 2021 Hootsuite Inc. All Rights Reserved. The audience considerations. So it’s worth checking out what they’re doing so you can benefit from the lessons they’ve already learned. Your task in defining your social media audience is to identify and understand your niche so you can dominate it. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. Demographics are key because they provide the foundation of who the business will be targeting (Sherlock, 2014). A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. Tom Duncan - Medill - Northwestern University. Concentrated (niche) marketing is a "market coverage strategy in which a company goes after a large share of one or a few sub-markets (Kotler, et al., 2013)."