How to find your social media audience

Wondering how to find your social media audience? You could just try a bit of everything, but this is never effective and wholly time-consuming. If you are looking to effectively market your business (and who isn’t?!), you need a clear understanding of your target audience. It will affect every decision you make.

Who are you looking to target through marketing? If you answered everyone, you are not thinking strategically. Very few businesses can hope to market universally and even those who do (hello Google!) break down their marketing into sub-groups and target them in diverse ways.

Who is your target audience?

Let’s take social media out of it for a moment and just think about who your target audience or ideal customer is as a piece of the puzzle.

• Age: This can be wide-ranging but think about whether it is people over 60, those aged 20-40 etc. Also, consider their stage of life. Are they parents? Students? Retired?
• Location: Are you selling to a local audience only or are you hoping for more global reach? If so, time zones and local customs should be part of your plan.
• Language: What language does your target audience speak? Are you selling to English speakers, French speakers, or a combo of both?
• Spending power: Are your audience wealthy? Looking to save? Do they have a preference for premium price points?
• Interests: What do they like to do? What hobbies do they have? What events do they attend? What shows do they watch? The more you build them into a complete person, the easier it is to market to them.
• Needs: What specific need or pain point does your product address that these people desire? What else do they desire?

How to find your audience info

It’s a bit chicken and egg but your social media analytics can answer a lot of the above questions. You will soon build a picture of who is noticing your posts and engaging with them. If you honestly have no clue who your audience is and your in-person experience can’t fill in the gaps, getting a basic collection of evergreen posts created can be a terrific way to find out. We can create product posts, testimonials and other reusable content and put them out on where we would expect to find your audience, based on our experience. Then, as the data rolls in, you can pivot as needed, able to make an informed decision.

Starting platforms

There are a host of social media platforms ranging from the widespread Facebook to the lesser-known Live.me. We recommend avoiding the more obscure platforms unless you have a good reason to believe your audience is on there in droves, and instead look at some of the following:

• Facebook – nearly everyone, from teenagers to the elderly, now has Facebook access. There is a great chance your audience is there, but being heard can be a struggle.
• LinkedIn – LinkedIn is still the be-all and end-all of business networking so if you are targeting B2B selling, it is worth putting time into the platform.
• Instagram – Instagram demographics tend to be more female and younger than 40, with most between 18 and 29 years old.
• YouTube – Starting a YouTube channel is an investment, but the number of users across all age brackets is high. It is particularly prevalent in teens and 20s. The statistics show a slight favourability towards men, but it is marginal.
• Twitter – Twitter is a strange beast. Many niche communities are strong on the platform, and many industries have a lot of presence on it, such as education professionals. Do some digging and see if your audience has strong representation there and decide based on the facts.
• TikTok – It may be new, but TikTok has changed the way that many view content – specifically 16–24-year-olds of both genders.
• Pinterest – This one is made up almost entirely of a female audience looking for inspiration. The US is the predominant market share, with Germany a distinct second. Canada is 5^th on the list, so it is a strong option for social media marketing in Canada if your target is women with buying power.

Want a hand?

If you’re struggling to nail your audience persona or know exactly who it is but don’t know where to turn, our team of experts will be happy to help. We’ve helped countless businesses find and grow their audience, whatever their sector, so get in touch today for a free consultation.

Cyber PR Army Solutions Inc.. Understand where you want to be, and we’ll help you get there.