Understanding Your Target Audience on Social Media

Most of our favorite brands use social media platforms with the intention of gaining awareness, conversions, and sales. While there are many factors that can contribute to a successful social strategy, we as marketers see extra importance in understanding the people that we are trying to reach. After all, where would we be without the consumers we’re marketing to? 

When creating content, utilizing knowledge of your target market and how to best reach them will ultimately drive the right people to your pages. Here are some important factors for understanding your brand’s social media audience.

Defining Your Audience

First things first: knowing who your audience actually is! You can’t target everyone, so find areas of the market in which you can best provide value. Determining your key segments, or groups, in the market is a core component of any marketing effort, so your brand most likely already has an idea of who you want to reach. 

If not, this is the opportunity to review or conduct market research and analyze any consumer profile data your brand has collected. Data platforms like Google Analytics –or a digital marketing consultant– are your best friend. Demographics, language settings, location, interests, and more can help you see who has engaged with your brand and who you want to further target.

Tools like consumer profiles or personas can be a fun method to get to know your audience better. Look at the general demographics and interests of the segments your brand is targeting to create personalities, behaviors, and overall characters to humanize them. For example, if I am promoting a high-end workout apparel brand, one persona may look like:

Meet Angela, a 30-year-old woman living in New York City. She has a mid to high-income level job, working full-time as a regional director for a corporation. In her free time, Angela values investing in health and fitness, attending workout classes, and hiking with her labrador… and so on, giving a face and name to the people you are trying to understand. 

Choosing the Right Platforms

Know where your target market is! What platforms are they frequenting? Wherever they are is where you need to meet them. Be sure to check out the current demographics and usage for each platform. If you are looking for a Gen-Z crowd, you may need to prepare your TikToking skills to reach this age group. Of course, you will most likely need to invest in more than one platform, just keep in mind where your audience is frequenting.

In addition to using the right platforms for your target audience, consider how platforms align with your personal brand goals. If you are trying to acquire new eyes on your brand, consider the virality of the algorithm and the different ad capabilities of a platform. If you are looking to increase your current brand loyalty, a platform that you can really invest in your profile quality and ability to communicate with consumers may be best for you. This is often not mutually exclusive, as most platforms have a variety of features to utilize in reaching different goals.

Knowing the Content Your Audience Prefers

Hand-in-hand with preferred platforms, you need to know the type of content your audience is interested in. Look into research and data on preferences among your demographics in addition to the performance of your brand’s previous ads and content. This can help tell you what your consumers like to see. Some segments prefer more authentic and organic content on their Instagram or TikTok feeds, while others believe email marketing is still the most personal channel for brands to reach out (HubSpot’s Email Marketing Stats 2022).

Cross-reference these consumer preferences with your brand’s capabilities. You don’t have to have all the marketing assets in the world to gain attention - many smaller brands are gaining popularity on platforms like TikTok due to the virality of the algorithm. There are also free tools like Canva to use to design posts, access templates, and more for aesthetically pleasing Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook posts. If you have access to a design and content team, great! If not, take note of what your consumers are looking for and get creative!

Listening to Feedback

Once you are on your platforms and posting away, take note of feedback in many forms. Engagement is a clear way to tell what is doing well and what isn’t. Track what posts are gaining the most likes, shares, comments, etc. With most platforms, having a business account gives you access to performance analytics. Pay attention to conversion goals like website traffic from each platform. What is driving people to click on your links? Keep doing more of it!

The comment section is a great source of feedback. As we know, many people are not shy about sharing their unfiltered opinions behind a screen. Take valid criticism as a chance to improve and pay attention to what viewers are reacting positively to. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask these commenters how you can rectify a situation or improve your content.

When deciding which platforms or content types to prioritize as a brand, consider the people you want to reach. Don’t make them come to you. Understand where and how to meet your target audience on social media to let them know: Your brand was made for them!