How to define and focus on your target audience

Developing a sharp focus on the audience for your product or service is key to your long-term small business success.

By Anastasia Stefanuk

Though your product is amazing, it’s not enough to be sure people will buy it. Sometimes even the best products don’t find their traction right away, all because they were marketed in a wrong time, place, or way. Want to make sure you’re not burying a great idea by showing it to the wrong people? In this article, you’ll learn how to find your target audience.

Step 1. Do people need your product?

To be confident whatever you’re doing will find its crowd, make sure to research whether the idea is needed. Here are a few useful techniques:

Check the competition

Find out if other companies are doing the thing you have in mind. If there’s a huge company already addressing the need and appealing to a huge client base, you have to realize it’s going to be tremendously hard to beat this type of a competitor.

If you see no competition, it’s not a time for happiness either since your idea might just not be needed on the market.

[amazon_link asins=’B07D3NDRQ4′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’succeedingi0d-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5071dff0-f3cf-11e8-bb72-a1ffd7f59850′]Ask your followers directly

If you want to know if your crowd needs a new product, don’t be shy about asking your followers directly. The more you have – the better. Surveying your recent clients or your Facebook friends is enough to understand their needs.

Step 2. Get to know the audience better

Even if you know people will find the idea appealing, that doesn’t mean they’ll choose your product out of all others. To improve the quality of the product itself, you have to make sure it is relevant, and timely.

Let’s go through a few techniques of getting to know your target audience.

Just Google it

One of the easiest ways to find out more about your audience is via Google. Indeed, the search rankings are super helpful when you’re planning a product or service launch.

If you’re laying out the plan for your new product, google the topic you’re interested in. Take a look at the top results – that way you know what’s trending. Also, check similar search queries at the bottom of the page.

Go to Quora

If you want to know what your community is mentally invested in, which topics are the matter of discussion and what are the questions with no answer or problems to solve, another destination is Quora. Take a look at the list of questions related to your niche.

  • Is your audience mostly located in one or several countries?
  • What is the language of your audience and, if it’s not English, what is their level of English?
  • What is their education level?

These questions will help you tweak your product to make it more relevant. You’ll know what features are needed in the project and which positioning will be a winning strategy.

[amazon_link asins=’B071HCX4F3′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’succeedingi0d-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5e58d57f-f3cf-11e8-89c1-6703bb2a9324′]Use social media

These days, there isn’t an advice more obvious than to research what you’re interested in on social media. Let’s take a look at a list of ways to find out more about your target audience.

– Join a few niche-specific groups to see what people are discussing, asking, and feeling invested in at the moment.

– Surf on YouTube. On the platform, there’s a ton of videos on everything – ranging from those published by your competitors marketing a similar offer to those created by your potential clientele ranting about the problem.

– Check hashtags. Make monitoring Twitter a regular practice – you can check both on the hashtags related to your product as well as on these trending in the world.

Step 3. Think of the ways to attract the audience

It’s great to know your dream audience. Yet it’s no secret that some audiences are more expensive to reach than others. Make sure you know how to attract your audience and get these people to order your product, read your content, etc.

Use the help of someone they respect

Find out who is followed by your audience, contact these influencers, and ask them for endorsement. A few other ways include:

– Starting a YouTube channel and publish fun, dramatic, meaningful content that millennials can’t help but share.

– Sharing relevant tips and practices by starting a podcast and inviting opinion leaders.

Prove your expertise everywhere

It’s no secret we’re more likely to buy anything from a respected person who’s an expert in the field. To be perceived as an expert, you have to act like one as well. There are a lot of free ways to prove that you know what you’re talking about. Here’s how you can do it:

– Answer Quora questions and get your answers upvoted. If you’re doing well, you’ll eventually become a top writer on the topic. These people are known and quite respected in a particular niche.

 

– Comment on Facebook. There’s a ton of groups on Facebook for any purpose. There, you’ll find people encouraging discussions, seeking advice, etc. Brace yourself and start answering these questions.

 

– Speak at local events. Speaking at local events will create a community around you that’s easy to manage. It’s a precious opportunity, be sure to use it.

 

– Attract your followers

You can write meaningful content and share it via a blog, Youtube channel, or a podcast, get an endorsement from influencers.

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Anastasia Stefanuk is a passionate writer and a marketing manager at Mobilunity. The company provides professional staffing services, so she is always aware of technology news and wants to share her experience to help tech startups and companies to be up-to-date.

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