Step Two: Identify Your Target Audience

This week, we are talking about social media strategy. Step 1 is defining and documenting your goals (and ensuring that they are SMART goals). Step 2 is identifying your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Who is that ideal customer? What are the characteristics of the customer with whom you have the best symbiotic relationship?

Any business relationship or partnership will not be successful if both parties do not benefit. In biology, they refer to those relationships as “symbiotic.” So in determining your target audience, it is important define the characteristics of that perfect customer. That is the customer with whom you will maintain a long-term, mutually-beneficial, symbiotic relationship. Here is what you have to look at…

Audience Demographics
Be very specific about their demographics. Are they male or female? How old is the perfect customer? Where do they work? What kind of title do they have within their company? What are some of their core interests?

Geographic Location
Where is your ideal customer located? I was recently listening to a podcast with the social media manager for the Boston Celtics. What percentage of his advertising is targeted in Boston vs. California? I will give you a hint… it’s 100 to 0. Guess which way. It may be obvious but define it and don’t be afraid to be too specific. One of my companies is a DJ company. We only advertise to specific towns and zip codes online.

Social Media Habits
This is harder to know. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or somewhere else? What are they searching for online? What kind of content are they looking for online? What kind of content will make their jobs/lives easier? Are they podcast listeners or blog followers? When they are online, where do they go? These can be difficult answers to find, but if you can get answers to a few of them, you are in great shape.

Interests
What are your target audience members interested in? They may be the c-suite of Fortune 500 companies who are looking for information on competitors but they may be interested in certain charities or flying or boating or something else. Sometimes you can be very successful in reaching a certain business audience by aligning an interest that has little to do with their job function.

Remember when defining your target audience to be as specific as possible. It doesn’t mean that these are the only people you will reach, but by getting the most detailed information, you can create plans that will reach the most lucrative prospective clients.