How to define your target audience and get it right

Following the social media revolution, companies are now closer than ever to communicating with the right audience in the easiest way possible.

Before this happened, communication was mostly offline, with astronomical costs and results that were difficult to measure. Not to mention how complicated it was to define the audience and determine the best way to reach them.

Thanks to the combination of big data and social media, companies can now understand, to levels never before imagined, and define the type of person who represents their ideal customer. This, combined with algorithms within many different platforms, allows businesses to define their audience or target group and reach them all at once with just a few clicks.

Adding to this the massive use of smartphones, which has grown exponentially in recent years, it is fascinating as a company to know that you can impact your target audience whenever and wherever you want.

Let's take it step by step, from defining your audience to building it.

Definition

Firstly, let's define your type of business. Is it B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer)?

This will help narrow down your audience, determine the tools you need, understand the type of communication that suits your objectives, and, also importantly, decide which networks or channels to focus on.

Broadly speaking, B2B businesses will focus on top-of-funnel communication, emphasizing on educating and brand awareness, often targeting professional networks. On the other hand, B2C businesses have more flexibility to create content across all funnel stages, depending on goals and what works best for the specific company. They can focus more on either brand awareness or conversion — top or bottom of the funnel.

Creation

First of all, craft your communication as a story. The person reading your post, blog, or email should feel eager to see what comes next, much like someone who can't wait to watch the next episode of a series or read the final chapter of a book.

What stories should you create? At the beginning of your relationship with customers, tell them about interests and values you may share with them. As things progress, tell stories about the people in your life, such as employees or customers. Eventually, you can talk about your products and services. The Writing Manual states that stories must be divided into three categories:

• Convenient stories: Based on current news and events.
• Seasonal stories: Relevant only during specific times of the year.
• Evergreen stories: Timeless pieces that provide the same value to readers regardless of when they are written.

Optimization

How can you tell if a story is successful? Some of our favorite metrics are user engagement, number of sessions, shares, bounce rate, clicks on different post links, leads or subscribers gained, and the conversion rate when promoting something. Follow these three tips to boost your metrics:

• High-quality storytelling: At the beginning, all new forms of communication are exciting, but soon audiences crave unique content. Brands publishing blog posts, infographics, and social media videos may stand out now, but this won't last forever. To survive, your content must stand out from the competition.
• A rigorous strategy: Instead of serving as fuel for a brand's marketing strategy, sometimes content is just sitting there, passively waiting for something to happen. A blog hidden in the depths of a corporate website cannot be expected to succeed through sheer luck. You need to integrate great content into every part of your communication and marketing strategy.
• Optimized technology and data: Take Netflix as an example. Its shows are twice as successful as the average TV programme because of how it uses technology and data. Since viewers watch Netflix via its app, the company knows exactly how many people watch its content, how they watch it, when they pause, rewind, or skip, and what they watch next. This data allows Netflix to predict how many people will watch a second season or appreciate a new release.

Companies that intelligently leverage technology and data will definitely have a significant competitive advantage.