About 85% of consumers use the internet to search for local businesses. Understanding how to reach your ideal customers online can help you drive sales. In time, you can boost brand loyalty to retain customers long-term.
Audience targeting requires research and a well-thought-out marketing strategy, though. Otherwise, your content, imagery, and ads won’t appeal to your ideal customers.
Not sure how to develop a targeted marketing strategy? Read on to discover everything you need to know today!
How to Research Your Audience
Before you can develop a targeting marketing strategy, you need to gain a better understanding of your customers. Understanding your target audience can help you create consumer-focused content and ad messages. Then, you can use personalization to forge stronger connections with your audience.
About 98% of marketers say personalization advances customer relationships. About 70% say the impact is “strong” or “extremely strong,” too.
Meanwhile, personalization could improve your marketing ROI by eight times, while lifting sales by 10% or more.
Neglecting to research your audience could cost you customers. In fact, 52% will switch brands if a company doesn’t personalize communications. About 74% get annoyed when web content doesn’t match their interests.
Here are a few ways you can start researching your target audience before developing your marketing strategy.
Conduct Client Interviews
The easiest way to learn about your target audience is to talk to your customers. Consider conducting client interviews this year.
Turn to the people who already love your product or service. Then, ask them questions related to their demographics and psychographics. For example, you might talk about their:
- Gender
- Location
- Age
- Pain points
- Salary
- Career
- Education
- Interests
- Hobbies
- Buying behaviors
- Online behaviors
If you need help, consider working with an experienced digital marketing agency this year. They can help you gather audience research through online surveys.
Check Out Competitors
You can also learn more about your target audience by researching your competitors.
Consider who your competitors are trying to reach online. Review the digital marketing and advertising campaigns they’ve created in the past. Think about their messaging, too.
Determine if your competitors are focused on a smaller, niche audience or broader group of consumers.
You can get ahead of the competition by focusing on distinct buyer personas. Creating buyer personas will help you develop personalized messages.
Gather Marketing Research
Make sure to research your industry and niche as well.
Consider what gaps your products/services can help satisfy. Look for any trends that are impacting your industry, too. You could discover new ways to reach your audience with targeted marketing.
Create Buyer Personas
Once you’ve gathered your audience research, start creating buyer personas.
Think of each buyer persona as a real person. What do they look and sound like? What problems are they facing?
Consider how you would speak to that customer in person. Think about the products, services, and solutions you would offer them, too.
Outline Exclusions
When using digital marketing strategies like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, it helps to consider exclusions, too. Establishing exclusions can help you save time and money. Otherwise, you might waste energy targeting the wrong audience groups.
Check Your Analytics
Once you develop your target marketing strategy, make sure to check your website analytics. Your Google Analytics can help you learn more about your audience.
Then, make adjustments to your audience targeting to ensure you’re reaching the right customers.
How to Reach Your Audience
Now that you know how to research your target audience, let’s talk about reaching them.
Here are a few tactics you can add to your digital marketing strategy this year to ensure you reach your ideal customers.
Content Creation
During the above research stage, consider gathering keyword research. Determine what phrases customers use to find your business online. Then, start creating consumer-focused content based on the questions they ask.
Create content for different stages of the buyer’s journey, such as:
- eBooks
- Articles
- Polls
- Quizzes
- Videos
- Infographics
- Tutorials
- Webinars
Show consumers you can offer the helpful resources they need. Your content can help consumers make more informed buying decisions.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your ideal customers find your content online. You can use your keyword research to optimize your posts. When someone searches for a specific keyword, your content could appear.
Consider working with an experienced SEO marketing agency to start improving your organic rankings.
Make sure to claim and optimize your Google Business listing for local searches as well.
Pay-Per-Click and Programmatic Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) and programmatic advertising are effective ways to reach your ideal customers. Using these marketing methods alone can require time and money, though. Working with an experienced advertising agency can streamline your efforts and boost your ROI.
Consider expanding your reach by using Google in-market audiences. You can target consumers who are already researching your products and services.
Otherwise, create a remarketing campaign to appear in front of consumers who visited your site in the past.
You can also use Facebook custom audiences or retargeting to engage potential customers with personalized ads.
Social Media Marketing
Don’t neglect the power of social media marketing, too. Make sure you choose platforms where your customers already spend a bulk of their time.
Social media marketing can help you generate brand awareness with your ideal customers. You can develop targeted ad campaigns based on consumers who are interested in your offerings. Targeting these consumers can help boost your ROI.
Meanwhile, social media platforms provide you with helpful data, allowing you to determine which ads best appeal to your customers. Then, you can adjust your campaigns to further improve your ROI over time.
Consider Your Customers: Improve Your Audience Targeting Today
Effective audience targeting can help improve your entire marketing strategy. You can focus on ideal consumers who already want your offerings to save time and money. With a target marketing strategy, you can attract those customers to your brand.
Learn how to drive sales with these targeted marketing tips today.
Need help developing your strategy? We’re happy to lend a hand.
Contact us today to get started.
