In Kira’s article “In a World Full of Choices, Your Business Needs Social Media,” she talks about some of the advantages of advertising on social media. One of the biggest advantages social media offers is in-depth, precise targeting like no other medium. You have the ability to pinpoint an incredibly specific audience both when choosing a social platform and when exploring the options in each platform. This advanced targeting ensures that you’re not wasting your message on the wrong audience, giving you the best value for your dollar. Here are five tips for targeting your potential customers through social channels.

  1. To Each Group Their Own Channel – In Max’s article, “Networking Within a Network” he breaks down the various social media platforms by which demographics tend to use them most. Contrary to popular belief, 50-65+ is the fastest growing age group in terms of social media use, however, they aren’t necessarily on all of the same channels as the younger groups. Snapchat, Instagram and Tumblr tend to be dominated by 16-24 year olds. It’s important to select the right platforms to reach your audience.
  2. Acute Demographics – Demographics such as age, gender and location have always been used to target consumers in traditional media. These are also used in social media but to a much further and more versatile extent. With social media, you can target consumers based on ultra-specific demographics such as profession, where they went to high school/college, where they have lived previously and much more. Think about where your customers are and what they do because with social media you can really narrow it down.
  3. Acute Psychographics – Another big advantage of advertising with social media is the ability to target based on psychographic information. You can pinpoint your audience based on their interests, pages they follow, musical preferences, political/religious views and more. This has been a real game-changer and allows for more accurate targetability than ever before. Think about who your customers are and what they’re into.
  4. Behavioral History – In addition to targeting based on incredibly detailed demographic and psychographic information, social media also allows you to target based on purchasing history, search patterns and any other past online behaviors. It may sound a little creepy from a personal standpoint, but for businesses looking to get the most out of their marketing dollars, this information is incredibly valuable.
  5. Finding the Lookalikes – Online and social media targeting is getting so advanced you can essentially just tell platforms to find new customers based on your existing customers by creating a lookalike audience. It’s typically based on people that currently like your social pages, visit your website or interact with you online in some way. You can then target your ads to people that are similar to those in you lookalike audience. The level of targetability currently available online is unprecedented.

With all the new ways to target your audience, it can get a little overwhelming. If your business could use some help taking advantage of the precision targeting available with social media, give us a call at 701-478-1111 and ask to speak with a Marketing Advisor or visit absolutemg.com/contact.