Target Audience

Good marketing does not attempt to reach all people; it’s targeted to connect with a few specific and defined audiences. As you create your marketing strategy, revise or write target audience descriptions, so they are concrete and clear.

“It’s important to identify your audience for every piece of content.” 

Defining Your Target Audience

Define your target audience’s demographic and psychographic characteristics as it relates to:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Occupation
  • Marital or family status
  • Gender
  • Ethnic background
  • Income level
  • Education level
  • Personality
  • Lifestyle
  • Behavior
  • Worldview
  • Attitudes
  • Values
  • Interests and hobbies

Then, take it one step further and create a few buyer personas (stories about fictional characters who are your ideal customers) based on the demographics.

Knowing specifics about what makes a great customer for your company is a great place to start when figuring out who your marketing efforts should be targeting. Ideal customer profiles usually include firmographic and demographic information like company size, industry, and common buyer titles. Knowing your customers allows you to communicate better with them, ultimately boosting retention rates and the opportunity for upsell and cross-sell.

While reworking your buyer personas, also focus on developing your buyer’s journey. Outline what your target customer is thinking during each of the following stages.

  • Awareness. What is your customer experiencing as they become aware of a problem they are having? What are their pain points?
  • Consideration. What is your customer doing while they are considering solutions for their problem?
  • Decision. How does your customer make the final decision before a purchase? What concerns, thoughts, and processes guide them?

Your content should not only attract new buyers, but also nurture current relationships you’ve already created. In order to address your customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey, it’s important to identify your audience for every piece of content. Is all of your content top-of-funnel, neglecting those who have already made contact but aren’t yet ready to purchase? Or, are you light on the content that might attract new buyers to your site? Evaluating these things will make it clear what should be on the top of list for content creation next year. If you need some guidance on creating a content plan, check out this 4-step content planning workbook.

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