References

Your Target Audience: Are You Talking to Me?

Kelsey and I were part of a group text, rushing to reach a looming deadline. Tired, frustrated and ready to be done with it, I carelessly shot Kelsey a private message about Rachel’s nonchalance about the whole project. Kelsey immediately texted back. At least she thought she did. It’s your worst texting nightmare. Instead of sending the text to me privately, she responded in the group text. Luckily, she was able to apologize and put a positive spin on the remarks. That incident came to mind while approaching the principle of knowing your target audience in social media marketing. When building your brand, it is too easy to skip this essential part of the planning.

“Your target audience is not “everyone.” Your task in defining your target group is to identify and understand your particular niche so you can dominate it.” (Newberry)

Your aim is to get your intended audience from a social media platform to your website. Know them well enough to know where they are spending their time online and what they want. Identify what motivates them to click. Do your research. Then you can fine-tune a plan to create the kind of content that will attract them and keep them. Remember the line from the movie, Field of Dreams. “If you build it, they will come.” (Sailer)

The benefits of reaching out in the right platform were shown by a resourceful company looking to expand. The moving company cleverly named, You Move Me decided to try social media as a means of building their brand. (LinkedIn, http://www.slideshare.net/happymarketer/40-inspiring-social-media-case-studies) Additionally, they wanted to promote a business opportunity for selling franchises across the country. It was obvious that their target audience would be professionals looking for new business opportunities. With its tools for creating and targeting specific professionals, LinkedIn was the chosen platform. They felt they would find someone who was the right fit for the kind of business opportunity they had in mind. After doing their research they created a campaign strategy that was successful in growing their business.

Knowing what motivates your target customer to engage is key. Willingness to give something in return for followership is one tactic that works for some social marketers. Qwertee sells limited edition t-shirts. They created a campaign to give one away one free shirt every day: Engage by clicking the Like button on the image of that day’s t-shirt, you got one chance to win. If you shared the image, you’d have two chances to win. For a third chance to win, all you had to do is comment on the image. (Admin) Can you see the potential for Likes, Shares, and Comments? I know I want a free t-shirt.

Ultimately, you should profile the kind of relationship you want to have with the customers you seek. It has to be more in building a relationship than making a sale.

Jenn Herman, a social media consultant, humorously compared social media marketing to a date on Valentine’s Day. “Rather than getting all hyped up and convinced you’re going to get 10,000 Facebook fans overnight, become an internet sensation, and tell the world how amazing you are,” she said, “social media is a long term commitment. It’s understanding that you have to woo your fans. You have to ‘date’ them and foster a real relationship. Ask them questions, help them, get to know them. Then, once you’re in a long term relationship, the real value arises.” (Herman)

Just like Kelsey and me in the texting fiasco, be sure you know who you’re talking to before you begin. Know your niche. Then create content for the right platforms to reach your target audience. You may need to give something away to build the hype around your product or service. If you’re smart, you will build trusting and lasting relationships.

Comment with your tip for knowing your audience. I’d like to hear it.

Herman, Jenn. Social Media is a Relationship, Not a Valentine’s Date. 14 February 2014. Blog Post. 4 March 2020.

Newberry, Christina. How to Define Your Target Market: A Guide to Audience Research. 31 October 2018. Article. 4 March 2020.

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