Why It’s Time to Prioritize Your Target Audience
Keep your target audience at the center of every conversation from beginning to end.
What is a target audience?
Marketing budgets are tight enough for many small to medium businesses. Every dollar needs to count and knowing the target audience is the first successful step in maximizing that return.
WHAT IS A TARGET AUDIENCE?
The definition’s in the name. It’s the audience or people you’re trying to target. A target audience can be broken down in infinite ways whether it’s age, geography, gender, education, income, interests. The best businesses know their target audience in and out. They create “marketing personas” or personalities to embody the ideal member of that target audience.
Here’s “Jared the Filmmaker” Persona:
- Male, Age 22
- Lives in Dallas, TX
- Bachelor’s Degree — Media Arts
- Earns $40,000
- Use mobile more than desktop
- Visits BH Photo, Adorama, Lensrentals, and Cinema5D.com
- Loves Quentin Tarantino and Roger Deakins
Can you answer these questions?
Where does he shop?
How does he shop?
How does he consume photos and videos?
WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW MY TARGET AUDIENCE?
Answer: Knowing your target audience affects everything. Once you know it, you can’t unsee it.
I am in no way saying that finding and understanding your target audience is easy or something that can take an hour or two. But once you know them, literally (and I’m using “literally” in the correct way) every decision stems from it.
KEEP YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE AT THE CENTER OF EVERY CONVERSATION.
Let’s take my wheelhouse of video production. Every question can be better answered by knowing the target audience.
- What is the story?
- How will this video be played? What format? Mobile? TV Commercial?
- Is this going on social media? Which platforms?
- How should we shoot the video? Fast-paced?
- What kind of music?
- What style of editing should the video have? Quick cuts? Long takes?
How would you answers these if you were targeting a 55 year old CEO living in Arlington, Virginia?
Now, imagine answering these questions if your target audience was Jared the Filmmaker?
The video’s are completely different.
Originally published at https://www.jordanpanderson.com
