THINK

With social distancing, quarantines, and shelter-in-place orders a societal norm for a while, people don’t really have a place to go… except online. Now is a great time to ask yourself:
 
Am I effectively communicating with my target audience? Am I effectively communicating my updated delivery methods to my target audience? Who exactly are they? Am I using the right platforms and strategies to reach MY audience? By identifying and analyzing your target audience and where they spend their time, you can utilize this information to transform your marketing strategy and see real results.
 

The Basics: What is a Target Audience?

A target audience can be defined as that particular group of people that your business or product is aimed at reaching. These are the people who are most likely to buy your product or hire your service — they are pivotal to your entire business model.
 
You’ve had that ideal consumer on your mind since before you opened your doors.
 

The Challenge

One of the biggest challenges you may face in marketing is to figure out how to effectively reach and communicate with your target audience. To do this, you need to channel them. Be prepared to ask and answer questions — Where do they go for entertainment? How old are they? What do they do for a living?
 
By filling in the blanks, you can discover more about your ideal consumer and even learn about the most effective methods to reach them digitally.
 

The Decision

Your next decision — Where online would be the best place to reach them.
 
For example, social media should always be used. It can be the easiest and most effective way to reach your target audience, especially on a personal level. With so many platforms, it can be hard to decide which one to focus on and what kind of content you want to put out.
 
The power of creating valuable, engaging content is truly great. If you put out engaging, interesting content to an audience that has been looking to solve a problem or is attracted to your business model, you have the tools to build a lasting impression with benefits. From there, it’s all up to if or how you engage.
 
This decision will be made easiest when you keep your target audience in mind throughout your marketing strategy. It’s all about maximizing awareness. It’s not an efficient use of your time to focus on creating content to reach an audience who has no interest in your product or service.
 

The Marketing Sweet Spot

All the digital content you put out should be reflective of your brand and business standard. While keeping your target audience in mind throughout the brainstorming process, you will be able to authentically communicate and build awareness.
 
Unsure if the strategies you have in place now are up to par with today’s ever evolving marketing world? Now is as a good of a time as ever to conduct a full marketing audit to measure the effectiveness of your communication methods currently in place.
 
Once you identify your target audience, and begin putting out relevant and engaging content where they are actually going (ie, online), you have taken the first steps to effective communication.