I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about the challenge of identifying your target customer.
People say to me, “My target audience is EVERYONE!”
And maybe you DO have a broad audience of people you want to reach…
But you still need to get specific with each different initiative you employ. You can’t communicate with everyone ALL the time. And when you try to, often marketing falls flat.
For example, if you’re trying to reach millennials using Facebook ads tailored to Gen X, you’re likely to not be noticed or heard… because you aren’t speaking their language OR targeting them where they hang out! (Millennials are more likely to be found on Instagram or Snapchat.)
Different generations have different goals, needs, challenges, and desires. Even if you serve multiple generations, you must communicate with each group specifically to be effective.
Here’s how you can do that:
Get specific and create a “persona” for your ideal customer in each audience. This will help you to connect emotionally with them.
Step 1: First, identify ALL of your different audiences.
Step 2: Then, identify a specific marketing initiative to focus on, and create your “ideal customer avatar” in that audience. Brainstorm answers to the following:
What is their…
- Occupation
- Income
- Age
- Location
- What are their particular needs and challenges?
- What are their goals or desires?
Step 3: Then, identify what kind of media they are spending their time on. Facebook? Instagram? Twitter? Specific news outlets?
Once you know WHO you want to speak to, then you can create campaigns for those audiences on the platforms they are spending time on.
‘Til next time,
Sandy
