When we talk about digital marketing, social media and any type of advertising, most people will refer to the term “target audience”. This term serves to identify a specific group of individuals or demographic that a product, message, or form of content is designed to reach and appeal to.
The idea of narrowing your “target audience” into subcategories will likely already be familiar. And you’ll probably logically come to the conclusion that your ad content should be tailored to each of these audiences. But when it comes to your social media marketing, there are 3 key audiences that we think you should be thinking about:
- A prospecting audience
- A retargeting audience
- A lookalike audience
A prospecting audience
Of these 3 audiences, a “prospecting audience” is probably the one you’re most likely to think about. This is your cold data audience, meaning a group of individuals who have not yet been converted into customers but are considered potential leads or prospects. Businesses often engage in prospecting to identify and connect with individuals who show potential for interest in their products or services due to existing interests or demographic data.
So, for example, someone targeting millennial dog owners would look to create a prospecting audience of dog owners with an age range of late 20s to early 40s.
A retargeting audience
A “retargeting audience” refers to a group of individuals who have previously interacted with a business or its content online but haven’t completed a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up, or completing a form. In the context of social media marketing, retargeting involves showing specific ads to these individuals as they continue to browse social media platforms.
Re-engaging with users who have shown interest, but haven’t taken the desired action, allows businesses to remind them about their products and services with tailored content. These users are often more likely to convert as they are further down their user journey and have already interacted with the brand, so it’s important to get back in front of them. Moreover, consistent exposure through retargeting reinforces brand recall. Even if users didn’t convert during their initial visit, seeing the brand again on social media can build familiarity and trust over time. Another reason to consider retargeting is that it’s often a more cost-effective audience because ad spend is directed toward a more qualified audience, so it’s definitely an audience you don’t want to miss out on.
A lookalike audience
Finally, a “lookalike audience” in the realm of social media advertising refers to a group of users who share similar characteristics to an existing customer base. Social media platforms utilise algorithms to analyse data such as demographics, interests, and online behaviours to identify these similarities. They find social media accounts that, in data terms, look like your existing audience/customers.
By targeting a lookalike audience, businesses can expand their reach to new potential customers who are likely to be interested in their products or services. This strategy is advantageous for businesses as it allows them to effectively allocate their advertising budget towards individuals who have a higher probability of engaging with their content or making a purchase.
These audiences are identified through the platforms’ ad manager tools and require an input of existing data.
In summary, this nuanced approach, targeting 3 distinct audiences, ensures you have a comprehensive and effective outreach strategy for your social media marketing. It’s important to remember that some of these audiences take time to build up, therefore they should be layered into your strategy as and when suitable.
At Capsule Marketing we live and breathe social media advertising, so we can support you with designing and delivering campaigns that reach these 3 key audiences. For more information on how we can do this, please get in touch.
