How to Target Market in the Social Media Space

Studies show women are far more likely to use social media than men, so marketers looking to reach a female demographic can find success through Facebook, Twitter and other social media. But how can you best go about it? Sheila Kloefkorn, president at KEO Marketing, has some important tips for anyone looking to use social media for targeted marketing.

Since a product or service rarely interests all demographics, the first thing to learn in marketing  is to identify your target market. Just like you’d never launch a traditional advertising campaign without considering who it’s going to target, the same goes for social media. Time and again, programs fail because the marketers didn’t fully identify and understand their target audiences.

The more you define your target market, the better chance you have of upping your social media ROI.  Start by asking yourself the basics:  Is your target market male or female? In what age group are they? Where do they live? What’s their income status? Do they have children? How do they spend their free time?

As you can see, this list can go on and on, so it’s important to determine the most significant characteristics of your target market and design your social media campaigns around them.  

The next step is to use the same social media outlets as your target market.  Here’s a rundown:

• By far, Facebook attracts the most users. It’s a good place to start your foray into social media. Businesses also can explore highly-targeted advertising opportunities.  
• Fewer people use Twitter, but the numbers still present worthy opportunities. The majority of Twitter users fall between the ages of 18 and 29. Twitter is great for announcements and quick messages.
• LinkedIn is widely considered the most business-oriented social network today. It’s an effective platform for promoting content and best practices, as well as for moderating discussions among followers.
• YouTube isn’t just for watching pet tricks and other silly things. It’s also a business tool to demonstrate expertise, share knowledge, market your products and connect with your target market.
• The above social media outlets represent the “Big Four.” However, others deserve consideration. The newest addition is Google+, which is similar to Facebook's “Like” button.  Other outlets include FourSquare, Flickr, e-newsletters, blogs and SlideShare.

Evaluating social media outlets to determine the best match for your target audience is a major step. Equally important, however, is deciding how you’ll use each social media platform. The following tips can help fine-tune your social media strategy:

• Identify your goals. Are you looking for qualified leads, creating brand awareness, connecting with partners, providing customer service or promoting SEO efforts?
• Listen. You’re not just there to get your message out. You’ll learn incredibly valuable marketing information if you’re focused on what people are saying.
• Develop meaningful content. Think about the volume of social media users. Every day, Facebook and Twitter see billions of posts. Millions of posts show up in blogs, video, podcasts and other outlets. You’ll get lost if you create content for the masses. If you address things of interest to your target audience, however, you may just break through the clutter.  
• Nobody wants to read or hear constant self-promotion. Social media is a communication tool, not a platform to tell everyone how great you are. It’s a place to engage in meaningful, back and forth communication.
• Don’t get thrown off by snarky remarks or negative feedback. You have a great opportunity to turn the naysayers around by being interested in what they have to say.
• If you market throughout the world, consider what social media outlets are popular with users in their native country. You’ll find other opportunities besides the Big Four.
• Analyze your results. Many tools exist to help you comb through your social marketing results. Proper analysis will help you tweak your campaigns.
• Don’t spam. Ever. Great content attracts. Poor content repels.

Social media marketing is an exciting component to add to your marketing mix.  Like all other marketing projects, you need to develop a sound plan outlining your goals, strategies and tactics.  Think about the “who,” “where” and “how” when developing your social media marketing plan and you’ll be on your way to creating fun and results-oriented marketing campaigns.

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KEO Marketing
www.keomarketing.com

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