How to use conversation to reach the right target groups

May 27, 2022

In PR, as in life, there’s little use in talking to people if they don’t want to hear you, which is why it’s so important to correctly identify your target groups, or audiences.

Making sure you’re addressing the right people is a sure-fire way to increase the success of a PR or marketing campaign, and identifying them should be one of the very first jobs of any strategy.

But how do you find them, where do you reach them and what do you say to them once you’ve identified them? It’s all about striking up a conversation…

What is a target audience?

Your target audience is the people you want to invest in your brand, by using your services or buying your products, and they’re also the most likely to do so.

As a simple example, a nappy brand’s target audience would be parents, not retirees, while a butcher’s would definitely not be vegetarians.

But nowadays, especially with the advent of digital marketing, we can delve a lot deeper to find out the demographic of your target audiences, as well as all sorts of useful information about their likes and dislikes, and their habits.

How to find your target groups

Research, research, research.

A good place to start is with your existing customers – and your competitors’ audiences too. Use online platforms, such as Google Analytics, to find out more about them and discover not only who they are but how they like to be communicated with.

By doing this, you can then meet them where – and when – they are, whether that be on Facebook in the early evening or your website first thing in the morning.

Another way to identify your target audience is by thinking about what you offer, and really drilling down into what sort of people need it. Taking the nappy example from earlier: yes, you’re aiming at parents, but parents of 12-year-olds aren’t going to be interested. So where will you find parents of babies? Scrolling the internet in the middle of the night and on parenting websites and forums.

How to start a conversation

Once you’ve found your target audience, it’s time to strike up a conversation – digitally, at least.

What we’re talking about here is increasing engagement and building a two-way relationship with your customers – both existing and potential.

Social media provides a great way to do this. If someone follows you, it’s a pretty good indicator that they’re interested in what you’re offering. Once they’re there, you can keep them more engaged by providing them with shareable or interactive content, such as quizzes and polls.

If you’re strategic, you can even use these quizzes and polls to find out more about them, which will then help you target them more effectively – and so it continues.

If you’d like to take to someone about starting a conversation with your target audience, we love to talk! Throw us a bone on 01325 486666 or email info@harveyandhugo.com for more details.