Who do you want sitting in that empty chair? Sitting down in your restaurant? Or browsing around your online store? Anyone? Everyone?

The simple truth: you can’t market your business or organization effectively unless you know exactly who your audience is — on social media or anywhere else.

A note before we dive in: “everyone” is not a target audience! You can have more than one target audience in mind, but it’s important to really hone in on what makes each group tick. Read on to find out why…

Why Knowing Your Audience Matters

Knowing your audience matters because if you don’t know who your audience is, you won’t know what to say, what to do, or how to position your product, experience, service or offering in a way that will resonate with them in a meaningful way.

The best way to ensure your message resonates? Speak to your audience’s “pain points” — the issues they struggle with, that maybe even keep them up at night, or hold them back from succeeding in some way — and let them know exactly how your business or organization solves them.

“Pain Point” Examples and Solutions

Let’s say you’re a garden centre: maybe one of your ideal customer’s pain points is that they want to have a beautiful yard but have no idea how to make it happen. Your business addresses this pain point because you provide both the tools (plants, soils, mulches, etc.) and the know-how to help them create the outdoor space of their dreams.

Or perhaps you’re a nonprofit animal rescue and one of your audience’s pain points is that they care deeply about animal welfare but feel powerless to make an impact. Your organization addresses this pain point by giving them a tangible way to make a difference in an animal’s life.

Key Questions to Identify Your Target Audience

Here are some questions to help you hone in on your target audience and their pain points today:

  1. Consider your dream customer: Who are they? Where do they live? What services/products do they buy from you? How often do they come back?
  2. Think about their life: What life stage are they at? Are they just out of school or newly retired? Single professionals or parents with young children? What’s an average day like for them? 
  3. Lastly, think about their pain points: What frustrates them, keeps them up at night or holds them back from living their best life — and how does your business/organization help? 

The Bottom Line

Knowing who your audience is isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely essential to your success. Need help honing in? Send us a message and we can figure it out together.