How to Maximize Audience Targeting: The Dos and Don'ts

Before you begin marketing your company, product, or service, it’s best to do a little research on the audience you intend to target. Who are they? What do they like? What can you offer them? These are all important questions to ask yourself before releasing any marketing materials. Marketing is about selling a product or service and in order for anyone to buy what you're selling; you need to know who your potential customers are and what will catch their attention. The right audience targeting strategies can have a great impact on your marketing success. If done correctly, it will help drive more traffic and conversions from your marketing efforts. But if not done correctly, it could have the exact opposite effect. So read on to discover the dos and don'ts of targeting audiences for successful marketing results from Content-1.

What Does Audience Targeting Mean?

With audience targeting, you select which groups of people you want to see your advertisement. This is done by choosing keywords that these specific groups of people are using to search for products or services. So, if you are targeting people who are searching for running shoes, you want those people to see your ad. If you are targeting people who are searching for basketball shoes, you don't want those people to see your ad. When you are choosing keywords, you want to be as specific as possible. For example, if you are selling running shoes, you might want to use the keywords “running shoes”. However, if you are selling cross-training shoes, you might want to use the keywords “cross training shoes”.

Don’t: Using broad keywords that everyone is targeting.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when targeting audiences is using broad keywords that many people are targeting. If you are trying to reach a large number of people, that’s great! It means you can reach more people and grow your business as a result. But if you are trying to reach everyone, you likely won’t be reaching many people at all. When it comes to audience targeting, the more specific you get, the better. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go super niche. However, you need to make sure you are targeting people that are genuinely interested in your products or services. Broad keywords are like fishing in a large pond. You’re going to catch a lot of different species but not necessarily the ones you’re after. By targeting a smaller, more specific pond, you’ll be able to reel in the fish that are actually interested in what you have to offer.

Do: Find the exact words your audience is using.

Another mistake that many companies make when attempting to target audiences is using keywords that are too broad. While less-specific keywords will help you reach more people, they will also result in fewer clicks and conversions. When targeting specific audiences, it’s important to find the keywords that they’re actually using to help reduce the amount of competition for your ads. There are a variety of different tools and websites that can help you find keywords for your advertisements. One of the most popular tools for this is Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner. This tool can help you discover the most popular keywords people are using, how much they’re spending on their ads, and how many clicks and conversions they’re receiving, or of course you can always work with the pros at Content-1 to help you plan your keywords as part of your overall strategy.

Do: Research and find the words your ideal customers are using.

As mentioned above, it’s important to find keywords that your customers are actually using. However, it’s also important to find keywords that your ideal customers are using. What does that mean? Well, let’s say you sell running shoes and you’re trying to reach marathon runners. You need to find out what those people are searching for. It’s likely they’re not searching for “running shoes”, they’re searching for “marathon training shoes” or something similar. The more specific your keywords are, the better. When your potential customers see your ads, they want to click on them. If they don’t click on your ad, it’s because they don’t find your ad appealing.

Don’t: Pick random keywords with little to no research behind them.

It’s important to understand that there are no quick, easy fixes when it comes to targeting audiences with keywords. If you begin targeting random keywords with little to no research behind them, your ads will likely perform poorly. This could result in reduced ad spend and lowered conversions. If you don’t know what your customers are searching for, how can you expect to generate conversions? You can’t! Choosing keywords that are trending, rather than ones that your customers are searching for, can lead to poor ad performance. This is because you’re likely to encounter a lot of competition for those keywords. When multiple companies are targeting the same keywords, it results in what’s called ad price wars. This means that companies are competing with one another to lower their ad price.

Do: Find niche ad groups with lots of search volume.

When choosing keywords, it’s important to find keywords that have a lot of searches per month. Why? Because the more searches per month a keyword has, the more potential customers there are using that keyword. You want to find keywords that have a lot of searches per month because they are likely to generate more conversions for your business. When targeting keywords with high search volume, it’s important to make sure you’re choosing the right ones. It’s also important to make sure that your ad is unique, enticing, and relevant to the keyword. If your ad is relevant and enticing, it’s more likely to appear at the top of the search results.

Don’t: Forget to constantly track and adjust based on data, not hunches or assumptions.

When it comes to successful targeting, it’s important to not only start with the right keywords, but also to constantly track and adjust based on the data. If your ad campaigns are generating a lot of clicks, but few conversions, it’s important to reevaluate your keywords based on the data. Maybe your keywords are too broad and aren’t converting because your audience isn’t seeing your ad. This is why it’s important to not just pick random keywords, but also to constantly track and adjust based on the data. If your ad campaigns are generating few clicks, but generating high conversions, it’s important to not get rid of those keywords. Instead, you need to find a way to make those keywords work harder. The data is telling you something and you have to figure out what that is.

Conclusion

Audience targeting is a critical part of any successful marketing strategy. If done incorrectly, it can lead to low engagement and few conversions. However, if done correctly, it can significantly increase the reach of your ad campaigns, engagement with your brand, and number of conversions. The most important thing to remember when targeting audiences is to be specific. This means choosing keywords that your customers are actually using, not just keywords that you think they should be using. By following these dos and don'ts, you can be sure that your audience targeting is on the right track for success. With the assistance of Content-1 Digital Advertising we can help you navigate the sometimes-intimidating world of audience targeting. Contact us today to schedule a meeting to discuss your goals and how we can work to meet and exceed them.

How to get the most out of Boosted Posts on Facebook

With Facebook’s updated algorithms, it’s become increasingly difficult for businesses to market on Facebook without using paid options. Unprompted organic content is very unlikely to be seen by anyone, including by the people who follow your page. Facebook has developed a number of paid options to help businesses succeed with their marketing on Facebook.

Chances are, if you’ve used Facebook, you’ve seen the “boost post” option. By paying the fee to boost the post, you’ll make your business’s posts appear higher on the feeds of consumers. Boosting posts is a very effective social media strategy for Facebook, especially for smaller businesses. Here are some tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your strategy.

Have a Goal in Mind

First, you’ll have to figure out exactly what you want to promote about your business. Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Would you like to see an increase in brand engagement, such as shares, comments, or likes? Do you have a certain event or sales promotion coming up? Since you’re paying, it’s best to be strategic. Boosted posts should always be intentional and never run-of-the-mill. Having a specific end goal in mind will make sure your efforts are well spent.

Be as Specific as Possible

The post should also be structured around the audience you want to target. Facebook allows you to target the following areas:

• ·Audience

• People in your local area

• Location

• Age

• Gender

• Interest

Tailoring your content to who you’re targeting is key in order to run a successful boosted post. The information, messaging, and content should not only be relevant to your goals, but to the people who are set to see the post as well.

Use High-Quality Content

A boosted post may be the first thing many users see from your brand. It’s important to make a good first impression. If you have an established Facebook page, look back to see what posts typically perform the best, and, most importantly, which ones don’t. The content you feature in the post should be well written and any image or media you use should be of high quality.

Consider if Boosting your Post is the Best Option

Facebook offers several different ways to promote and advertise. While boosting a post is easy and is a guaranteed way for your marketing to gain traction, you should make sure it’s the right move to meet your specific goal at the time. If you’re trying to increase page likes for example, Facebook has a “Promote your Page” feature as well.

Contact Us

… Or let the team at Content-1 take care of it for you. At Content-1, we’re experts in helping small businesses start their digital marketing journeys. Contact Content-1 today to get started.

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How to Get More Clients Via Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing has become one of the most popular ways to reach prospective customers in recent years. There are many different social media platforms, each with its own target audience and unique challenges when it comes to marketing your business or brand. As a small business owner or marketer, you probably have limited time and resources to invest in various social media platforms and strategies. Here are some useful tips on how you can market your business or brand via social media and get more clients as a result.

Write Great Content

One of the most important parts of social media marketing is creating great content. People visit social media for entertainment and education, and you can use this to your advantage. The best way to create content that will generate engagement is by researching topics that are trending or relevant to your industry. Once you have some topics in mind, simply write them up in a way that is useful or entertaining. Another way to create great content is by using influencers in your industry to create content. You can pay social media influencers to create posts that link back to your site that will likely generate a lot of engagement. Using influencers to create content not only helps you create engaging content in a short amount of time—but also helps you build a relationship with these influencers that can lead to future opportunities.

Host Promotional Events

Hosting promotional events has become a popular strategy for marketing businesses and products on social media. These events can be anything from a live stream to a live Q&A session with your audience. When hosting promotional events, it’s important to create a hashtag that is related to your business. By including this hashtag in your event title, you ensure that those who are following you on social media have the opportunity to engage with your event. By encouraging your audience to use this hashtag, you can create an environment that is both interactive and engaging. Another way to encourage engagement during your event is by offering a prize for the best social media posts that include your hashtag. Hosting live events not only allows you to engage with your audience and boost your presence on social media—but also creates a memorable experience for those who tune in.

Develop a Solid Marketing Strategy

The best way to ensure that your social media marketing strategy is successful is by developing a solid strategy. Before you start posting content on any of your social media accounts, you need to have a plan in place that outlines your goals and how you intend to achieve them. In addition to outlining your goals, it also pays to outline your budget when creating a social media marketing strategy. You may not have the financial resources to create and promote a campaign on every social media platform. By outlining your goals, budget, and which platforms you intend to use, you can create a social media marketing strategy that is both effective and efficient. Another important aspect of developing a solid social media marketing strategy is understanding the different types of social media users. There are three main types of social media users: Those who are actively looking for products or services, those who are interested but not ready to commit, and those who have no interest in your business. It’s important to recognize these different types of users so that you can tailor your social media posts accordingly.

Grow Your Audience Before Launching Marketing Campaigns

This may seem like a bit of a strange tip, but it’s an important one. Before launching any type of marketing campaign, you should first focus on growing your audience. Growing your audience not only ensures that your campaigns will be successful—but also ensures that you have an audience to engage with in the first place. Now, growing your audience doesn’t mean that you should spam people and hope they engage with you. It simply means that you should focus on creating engaging content that encourages your target audience to follow you and engage with your posts. Another way to grow your audience is to create and leverage brand advocates. Brand advocates are those who are truly passionate about your business and are more than happy to share their thoughts and opinions with the world. By creating brand advocates, you not only grow your audience but also create a loyal following that is more than happy to engage with your content and promote your brand for you.

Utilize Video Marketing

This is another marketing tactic that is slowly growing in popularity among businesses and marketers. While social media posts with visuals are more than likely to get more engagement than those without, video marketing is a different story. Studies show that people are 2 times more likely to purchase a product or service when they are shown a video as opposed to a post with only images. The good news is that video marketing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can create simple videos on your phone and then upload them to social media. Another great way to utilize video marketing is by creating video content for your website. Not only does video content help you better tell your brand story, but it is also something that most websites don’t have. Utilizing video marketing may seem like a lot of work, but it’s a great way to stand out from the crowd and bring more people to your brand.

Conclusion

Social media marketing is an incredibly popular strategy for bringing new customers to businesses and brands, and it’s likely to become even more popular in the coming years. The best way to ensure that your social media marketing campaigns are successful is to work with the professional marketing resources you need to ensure your strategy, creative and execution provide you with the success you deserve. When you’re ready to get serious about social media marketing, contact Content-1 to attract, engage and grow your social media audience.