The Weekly Authority #31
By: Digital Authority Co
Tags: Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Content, Digital Marketing

The Marketing Psychology Series: How to Pinpoint Your Target Audience (Part 1)

Knowing how people operate and what motivates them to take action are important aspects of digital marketing. In fact, with a deeper understanding of marketing psychology, you can figure out who your target audience is, where (and when) they are online, and what you need to do to get their attention and compel them to respond to your calls-to-action.

And these insights can be important to:

Refining your content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing and other digital marketing efforts

Cutting through the noise and distractions online

Making your brand memorable and improving engagement with your audience (so they will want to find out more about your brand)

Generating more conversions, prospects and new clients for your business.

To help you start gathering this essential intel for your business, I’ll be sharing some helpful information over the coming weeks as part of our Marketing Psychology Series. This multi-week series will delve into topics like psychographics, ideal clients and demographics. And to kick it off this week, I’m going to start by discussing target audiences — and how to figure out exactly who makes up your business’ target audience.

Dialing into Your Target Audience: 4 Essential Questions to Ask (& Answer)

Whether you’re just getting a business going and starting to determine who your target audience is — or your business has evolved over the years and it’s time to revisit and redefine your target audience, here are some key questions to ask yourself (and answer) in order to start revealing exactly who makes up your target audience:

1. What needs do my product(s) and/or service(s) fulfill? — In other words, what problem(s) does your business solve? What solution(s) are you offering? What does any customer have to gain from patronizing your business? And how are you different from (and, ideally, better than) your competitors?

2. Who is most likely to benefit from the product(s) and/or service(s) my business offers? — Think critically about the type of customer who would gain the most value from your offerings. Consider whether this customer is aware of the “problem” that your business solves and whether people are really looking for the “solution” your business provides.

3. Who are my current customers or clients? — Details matter here. Take some time to assess the trends in your client base to determine precisely who your brand is currently appealing to. Some of the important details to take note of here include gender, age range, and location of your client. You can take this a step further to create a ‘character’ profile of your average client (that details more specifics like whether (s)he goes to school, works, travels, is active online, etc.).

4. How are my current clients buying from my business? — Are you selling your product(s) and/or service(s) through a brick-and-mortar storefront? Or online? Are your clients mostly locals within your neighborhood? Or are they from across the state (or the nation or world)? This will reveal more about how to shape your message — and possibly where you need to be sending your marketing messages in order to reach your target client.

These questions are, of course, just the beginning of the process. As you continue and dig deeper, you’ll likely uncover more revelations that can

Help you define, find and engage with your target audience

Be the key to developing targeted campaigns and strategies.

Have you experienced any challenges (or successes) in defining or connecting with your target audience? Tell me more about them on Facebook or LinkedIn.

And stay posted for the upcoming editions of this series when I’ll share more important insights about marketing psychology!

(note: In the spirit of full disclosure, some links are an affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from X company. I only recommend products & systems that I use or have used and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.)

(This article was originally published on DigitalAuthority.co)