You snap the perfect photo, you know what you’re going to be selling when you post it, and you’ve whipped up a caption that should do. And then crickets. 

Not just crickets once, but over and over again. 

When my clients come to me asking why this happens, the first question I ask is: ‘are you posting online where your target audience is hanging out already?’

You’d be surprised by the number of people who answer that they don’t know who their target audience is in the first place. 

Which means we have a lot of work to do! 

You need to sell to someone

When you’re selling a product or service, you can’t aim it towards everyone, because you end up aiming it at no one instead. 

Imagine having a product that millennials love, but you speak the same way to them as you would a senior? You probably wouldn’t land nearly as many sales. 

Does your audience want to read a blog post? Or would they prefer you Vlog about it? What hashtags do you need to be using? And what should your caption say? 

All of these questions can be answered by knowing your target audience. 

If you’re wondering how to get started, you’re not alone. At an event I presented for recently, one of the questions I got was ‘How do I find my target market?’ 

Establish Your Target Market

When you first get started, get as specific as possible. The more specific you are about who you’re selling to, the more targetted your message becomes. And the more likely it is that you’ll resonate with your ideal audience.

I tell my students to start with broad categories of people. Millennials, young parents, small business owners with Niche Customers, etc. 

The goal is NOT to sell to everyone. It’s to figure out who you should be speaking to every time you craft a caption, design a new image in canva or connect with a new account on any platform. 

How do I find my target audience? 

The first step in finding your audience is to create a buyer persona. This is a powerful exercise I get all of my students to do before we ever open a content calendar. 

Flip to a blank page in your favourite notebook, and get ready to use your imagination to connect with just ONE person from your ideal audience. 

Ask yourself these questions: 

1. What’s my buyer’s name? 

2. So my buyer’s gender is? 

3. And how old are they? 

4. Write in detail where you think they live. Picture it very clearly. Describe in detail. 

5. Alright, so their house can probably give a clue to their level of education? Write it down.

6. What is their problem that you solve? 

7. What makes them want to work with you instead of someone else? 

8. How did they find you? (Referral, internet search, describe it in detail how they might come across you)

9. What would they type into google to find your website? 

10. What do they look for on your website before deciding to buy from you or work with you? 

11. What are the common objections they have? 

12. How does their life change from working with you?  

It’s not enough to have a general idea of who you’re selling to. Marketing the right people relies on knowing exactly who the right people are. 

Social media audience research doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s just narrowing your focus and understanding your product’s benefits and talking about it regularly. 

Yelling in a stadium

Being online without knowing your target audience is the same as going to a crowded stadium and shouting about your business to no one in particular. Sure, someone might hear you and be a good fit, but for the most part, you’re just going blue in the face yelling for nothing! 

Knowing your audience, what they like, what they respond to, and why they will respond to you will make your message clear and your work less difficult. 

Once you know them, you can use this post to figure out where you should be hanging out online to connect with them.