Audience targeting is vital, but it’s also susceptible to human error.
One of the most important variables in your marketing success is your ability to effectively target an audience. Choosing the right audience, and appealing to them specifically, is what will make your campaign effective.
The trouble is, most new marketers make fundamental audience targeting errors before they even begin planning the core structure of their campaign.
These are some of the most common:
- Targeting too broad an audience. Intuitively, it’s tempting to think that the best audience segment to target is the largest audience segment. What if you could market to “everybody?” Wouldn’t that give you the biggest pool of customers? While this is certainly the biggest possible audience segment, if you try to target it, you’ll be sacrificing relevance. For most marketers, it’s better to narrow down your focus to a single, highly specific demographic.
- Operating on assumptions, rather than research. You may assume that you know how your target demographic thinks, especially if you know some people in those demographics personally. But assumptions don’t always agree with the hard data. Back up all your ideas with objective research.
- Getting involved in a hotly contested niche. If you’re thinking of targeting a demographic, chances are, one of your competitors has thought of it too. If you start getting involved in a niche that’s too hotly contested, you may find it hard to get any visibility. Choosing something less competitive may be advisable.
- Not creating a customer persona. Customer personas are mockups of your target customers, and they’re effective for helping you sculpt your messaging. It’s a valuable exercise that’s too important to ignore.
- Failing to adapt. Even if you do your research and plan effectively, you’ll need to change your plan over time if you want to succeed; learn from your mistakes, gather new information, and keep experimenting.
Are you interested in refining your audience targeting? Or do you need help planning your marketing campaign? Contact Quez Media today for a free consultation.
