Why Targeting on Social Media Is Your Go-to Right Now

The 21st century brought around a very efficient type of audience-scouting, also known as targeting. Social media targeting helps brands reach their target audiences, communicate relevant information and, in doing so, hopefully, turn that same audience into customers. Although there’s no guarantee that that audience will, in fact, become customers, it’s definitely easier to conduct successful brand advertising with an ideal customer right in front of you.

Modern-day marketers enjoy plenty of benefits of social media targeting, and one in particular – social media platforms are treasure troves of consumer data, allowing them to zone in on their market and build suitable strategies. With that, come better relationships with the consumers, quality tactic placement and, hopefully, positive ROI, long-term.

Is Social Media Targeting Complicated?

It’s not, but it does take a lot of work and careful strategizing. Once you learn how social media targeting works, it’ll be easier to display posts and adverts to specific audiences with an effective outcome.

For the most part, targeting is available for social media adverts; however, recently, we’ve seen a lot of basic targeting options for organic posts as well, offered by networks like Facebook and such.

How to Target Effectively?

Your paid posts should be based on factors like your audience’s general interests, demographics, age, consumer behaviour and similar parameters. Naturally, and depending on one’s brand and liking, you can expand or narrow down the lists of parameters you find essential for your targeting filters.

Why Is Targeting so Powerful?

When you are advertising through print publications, television or billboards, chances are high that a broad audience is going to get in touch with your content. Naturally, not all of these viewers are interested to see what you are offering, nor they are part of the advertiser’s market. This is where social media comes in to the rescue! To eliminate “shooting blanks” advertising and actually choose people that’ll see your content, social media helps filter through the customers that’ll be likely to purchase your product. Does this benefit come for free? Absolutely not.

Every brand has to pay in order to get useful data on their audience, but it pays off! Giving money for social media targeting is probably one of the most effective things you can do; what you invest goes straight into filtering consumers that are interested in your brand, and therefore you automatically increase the chance of having your service/product sold.

Another benefit of social media targeting is that your posts and stories no longer have to be generic. This time around, with the filtered audience before you, you know exactly who you are talking to, what they’d be interested to know, and how to go communicate your future goals with them.

Say you want to put up a web story related to the latest service you are introducing in your palette of offers. Would you rather let loose and design something cool, exuberant and engaging or go with a plain piece of visual content to appeal to the wider audience that may not even be interested? Exactly.

Factors to Include Into Targeting the Ideal Audiences

In today’s day and age, social platforms are the new life, and there’s something for everyone out there. Depending on which social platform you choose, there are different types of specifics you should pay attention to and use everything that particular social media platform is offering. In terms of targeting, these are the principal factors to include:

Geotargeting

This type of targeting is helping you filter your customers by region, country, city, metro area, zip code or postal code.

Demographics

Although not every social network allows for basic demographic targeting like age and gender, some will – and if these specifics appear crucial to your targeting and your business, then stick to the platforms that help you out. Also, some platforms allow targeting based on income, education level, relationship status, and ethnic affinity, so explore that option, too.

Language

If you are looking to tie your brand to a specific language, social media targeting will help you do just that. There’s also the option of combining geotargeting with a language to reach customers speaking a specific language in a particular country.

Interests

Choosing customers by their interests is crucial for your brand building! Wasting time and money on scouting people that may not click with your product/service at all is not only frustrating but budget-denting also. So, pick carefully!

Keywords

For networks like Instagram and Twitter, and any other platform that uses keywords, keyword targeting means reaching the audience that uses specific keywords. On platforms like Pinterest, keyword targeting is done based on the words people use in searches.

Operating Systems, Devices and Network Operators

Believe it or not, but the type of device your potential consumer uses plays a role in customer targeting. Also, targeting can focus on consumers using Android, iOS, or any other operating system.

Before embarking on this social-media-targeting adventure, take note that targeting options vary from country to country as well as from platform to platform. It’s always best to consult with an expert, especially if you are a new entrepreneur with little or any experience in this area. While Storifyme can help with building your web stories for the best visual brand marketing, there are experts who can help with social media targeting, too.

The Future of Social Media Targeting

As social media platforms are constantly evolving, every social media trend is evolving alongside - targeting options included. The more advanced the platform(s) you choose are, the more advertising and targeting options you’ll have. The vital thing to do is understand your targets and goals, build a strategy for your product placement, then choose the platform that fits your ideas best.

‍