In Q2 and Q3 of 2015, eMarketer reported that the primary challenge faced by 14% of small businesses was attracting customers, targeting business opportunities and finding new business. In September 2015, they also reported that 60% of small businesses planned to start doing more marketing. But, deciding to make an investment in your marketing strategy is only half the battle. You need to know who you’re targeting and where to aim your tactics to achieve strong results. And that means you need to know these tips on audience targeting for small businesses.
Building your marketing strategy begins with finding your target audience. Once you know who it is that you’re talking to, you can unleash the power of some incredible targeting techniques that will help you to get the most bang for your marketing buck.
1. What is audience targeting for small businesses?
Audience targeting ensures that your message reaches the right people in the right places at the right times — so none of your investment goes to waste. Using data about your target audience and aligning it with data about similar audiences on other platforms, we can help you to reach the perfect audience virtually anywhere on the web. Consider this:
- Your product is a mobile app, so we know that your target audience is most likely to use a mobile device.
- Your marketing strategy includes promoting your app on Facebook. Because we know your audience, we can choose to target your advertising at only those users on mobile devices.
- The result: every ad impression (and dollar spent) reaches only the audience that most closely relates to the type of person that would use your product. Ultimately, the targeting boosts reach, conversions and efficiency in your marketing spend.
2. Where do I get the data?
For the best results in targeting, ensure that you collect “first generation” data. First generation data is information that you’ve collected on your own websites, apps and networks about your audience. This can be done through surveys, newsletter sign ups or simply by watching the analytics data related to your website or social networks. Watch our 5 for Five video course on finding your target audience for more tips about how to gather audience data.
Some services will offer you the opportunity to purchase data about audiences. This is considered third-party data and is rarely as accurate or effective as information you’ve gathered on your own. If you do need someone else to gather your information for you, consider working with a team like MARKETMOX for a target audience consult. We’ll help you to gather first-generation data and seamlessly put it to work as part of your marketing strategy.
3. How do I use the data?
Once you know your audience, the next step is to aim your message in their direction. How you implement your targeting strategy can vary depending on the platform. Each tool you use for engaging with your audience likely has its own system for how to target users in its community. Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming — we’re not here to make it sound like it’s all a piece of cake. This is where turning to a marketing pro can really help to optimize your time and ensure your marketing efforts are as efficient as possible.
While the platforms and how you use them are varied, the information you use for targeting is actually very consistent. There are 5 basic silos for how you will target your audience:
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Contextual Targeting
Reach your ideal audience based on their interests in related content online. Learn More
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Demographic Targeting
Leverage known data about your audience including gender, age, location, income, education and more to find them online. Learn More
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Behavioral Targeting
Reach your target by leveraging behavioral trends like most frequent engagement, shopping actions and more. Learn More
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Geotargeting
Connect with your target audience by using their current location to create relevance. Learn More
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Retargeting
Reengage previous visitors that have interacted with your site or product. Learn More
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4. Isn’t that a little creepy?
Not at all. Audience targeting is a fundamental piece of your marketing puzzle. If you’re concerned about the detail with which you’re able to target customers, take a look at your platform’s privacy policy. The Internet has some pretty solid compliance standards around the acquisition, use and ownership of customer data, and organizations like Google, Facebook, Twitter and beyond know the value of keeping it secure. In most cases, they do a great job to protect users while also helping you to provide them with the most relevant content possible.
And really, that’s exactly what you’re doing. By leveraging audience targeting tools, you can deliver your content, ads, offers and more to the the people that will find it most relevant. That keeps your audience happy and engaged, and the platforms you advertise on will love that. It’s a win-win-win for the platform, your audience and your brand.
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