Marketers are always accountable to justify the spent on the marketing budget and attribute results to the various marketing channels. Which was not always an easy task to undertake before the internet entered our lives.
Since then, it has advanced to such an extent that you can measure its’ performance, how every cent is well or badly spent and generally assess the ROI of your investment.
Therefore, digital marketing agencies in Cyprus can help put your customer at the forefront by audience targeting. OK, in case you are not clear of what this means, then read on:
Let’s go back to basics to explain everything.
Target marketing
What is targeting in digital marketing? According to an article posted by Fondalo “Digital marketing targeting is a formalized method that identifies and then intentionally aims created content, connections and the use of platforms toward a specific demographic, psychographic and/or geographic audience, their needs and concerns.”
Simply put, you need to undertake the following steps:
- Identify you target audience – You can be very specific including ages, demographics, even specific regions you wish to target. And for certain platforms like LinkedIn, you can even narrow it down to specific job titles or even job functions you wish to attract and send your message across. The more advanced marketers are familiar with creating personas which are fictional people whose demographics, age, occupation even hobbies and interests would fit your ideal client
- The you need to decide digitally where you can find these audiences. Social media? If yes, which ones subject to the age groups and demographics you have defined in the first step. On the web, in news-portals or other niche portals and so on.
- Then, you will need to tailor your content subject to the channels you wish to distribute your messaging.
Obviously, the above steps imply that you know your target audiences very well. If not, you need to get to know them or decide which target audiences/segments you wish to target. In other words, if you are not sure who you are targeting it’s a bit like shooting in the dark. Which means you won’t be able to reach them effectively. And invariably you won’t be able to measure your efforts effectively either.
Example of Personas
Persona A:
- Maria is a hairdresser in her 30’s
- She loves fashion
- middle income
- Always posting on her social media
- Loves fashion blogs.
Can definitely be found on Facebook, Instagram and fashion websites / online magazine.
Persona B:
- Michael is the CEO of a fintech company in his late 40’s
- Uses the latest i-phone
- Always on the move and connected on all devices
- High net-worth individual.
Can definitely be targeted via SEO with appropriate keywords on LinkedIn and a carefully targeted PPC campaign.
Identifying your target audience
Even if you have identified or think you know your target audiences, you should not merely rely on your gut feeling and / or intuition. You should undertake considerable research. And if you have undertaken any campaigns in the past you should rely on past historical data and insights given by the various platforms. Which audience segments performed better, on which channels, zoom more on the highest performing segments of your audiences etc. An experienced digital marketing agency can assist you with the former.
Deciding on the appropriate channels
Well, you have come this far. Now you have to decide via which channels you will disseminate your message. See some statistics from a recent article on SproutSocial, regarding demographics on the most popular social media:
Facebook demographics
After 15 years of operation, Facebook is still one of the most used social media platforms in the US. Facebook ranks second in platform usage after YouTube. According to Pew Research, 69% of US adults use Facebook.
Picture source: “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020, by SproutSocial”
For those who do use Facebook, 74% visit the site at least once a day. In terms of daily usage, this number is higher than Instagram’s and Snapchat’s own daily users.
Picture source: “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020, by SproutSocial”
Facebook age & gender demographics
Except for those aged 65 and older, the majority of Americans in different age groups use Facebook. However, it’s important to note that usage among teens has dropped in favor of YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. The network also leans more towards women with 75% of women and 63% of men using the platform.
The breakdown of demographics by age include:
- 51% of 13–17 year’s old use Facebook
- 76% of 18–24 year’s old use Facebook
- 84% of 25–20 year’s old use Facebook
- 79% of 30–49 year’s old use Facebook
- 68% of 50–64 year’s old use Facebook
- 46% of 65+ year’s old use Facebook.
Instagram demographics
While Instagram continues to rise in popularity, its daily login is still second to Facebook. Sixty-three per cent of Instagram user’s login at least daily while 74% of Facebook users login at least daily. These two patterns have been relatively unchanged since 2018.
Picture source: “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020, by SproutSocial”
Instagram age & gender demographics
According to Statista, 35% of US teens rate Instagram as their favourite social network, second only to Snapchat. In terms of gender, 43% of women use Instagram while 31% of men use it.
The breakdown of demographics by age include:
- 75% of 18–24 year’s old use Instagram
- 57% of 25–20 year’s old use Instagram
- 47% of 30–49 year’s old use Instagram
- 23% of 50–64 year’s old use Instagram
- 8% of 65+ year’s old use Instagram.
Twitter demographics
Usage of Twitter among US adults is lower compared to other networks according to Pew’s report. In the US, 22% of adults use Twitter. Twitter’s format is ideal for timely content, meaning the platform continues to be popular for news and customer service.
Picture source: “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020, by SproutSocial”
Twitter age & gender demographics
The gender breakdown for Twitter users among US adults shows that 24% of men use Twitter while 21% of women use the platform. Within the platform on an international basis, the breakdown is 66% men and 34% women.
The breakdown of demographics by age include:
- 44% of 18–24 year’s old use Twitter
- 31% of 25–20 year’s old use Twitter
- 26% of 30–49 year’s old use Twitter
- 17% of 50–64 year’s old use Twitter
- 7% of 65+ year’s old use Twitter.
Twitter location demographics
Most Twitter users are outside the US. With a total of 330 million global monthly users, 262 million are outside the US. It’s often used for breaking news from around the world.
Twitter education demographics
- 13% of those with high school education or less use Twitter
- 24% of those with some college education use Twitter
- 32% of those with more than college education use Twitter
LinkedIn demographics
LinkedIn demographics favor those with professional careers. Perhaps reflecting the busy schedules of this more niche audience, daily usage is less frequent than Facebook and Instagram. Only 9% of US users visit LinkedIn more than once a day. Twelve per cent visit daily and 23% visit several times a week.
Picture source: “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2020, by SproutSocial”
LinkedIn age & gender demographics
The percentage of men and women using LinkedIn is relatively similar. As a primarily professional networking social media platform, it makes sense that the platform would reflect the current workforce. In the US, 29% of adult men and 24% of adult women use LinkedIn.
The breakdown of demographics by age include:
- 17% of 18–24-year’s-old use LinkedIn
- 44% of 25–20 year’s old use LinkedIn
- 37% of 30–49 year’s old use LinkedIn
- 24% of 50–64 year’s old use LinkedIn
- 11% of 65+-year-old use LinkedIn.
LinkedIn education demographics
- 9% of those with high school education or less use LinkedIn
- 26% of those with some college education use LinkedIn
- 51% of those with more than college education use LinkedIn.
LinkedIn income demographics
- 10% of those making less than $30k use LinkedIn
- 26% of those making $30k–74,999 use LinkedIn
- 49% of those making more than $75k use LinkedIn.
Of course, you can undertake further research and obtain more details on the geo-location of the audiences and generally more information. The above recent numbers are an indication of what follows in other countries. And we can safely say that there is a similar pattern on our island too, which can help you embark in your digital marketing strategies in Cyprus and not only.
Importance of your content & right messaging
Now that you know whom you wish to target and have decided which are the appropriate channels you need to prepare the appropriate content too, use the right language and the right tone of voice as per the identified personas. If your target audience is highly sophisticated and you are trying to sell something very specific and very technical you can speak his / her jargon. In the persona example above, the messaging targeting Maria will be very different from that targeting Michael.
Remember to create messages that will catch their attention in a few sections. Yes! You only have a few seconds as your message is competing with a million other messages that the average consumer is bombarded with on a daily basis. But as a guide, if you address through your messaging what keeps them up at night; and offer a solution that addresses their needs and wants, well that’s a winning formula.
Marketing strategy
Now combine all the above and the ways you will reach your target audience be it:
- Paid media – PPC & social media advertising
- Social media marketing
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Website content
- Campaigns
All the above constitute your marketing strategy. Which should be led by:
- Your target audience
- Your previous data and insights received from previous run campaigns.
Paid Media Targeting:
The good news is that with social media or even PPC campaigns, the targeting tools are so advanced that you can be very specific and focused. So, it boils down to really knowing whom you wish to target and then you can easily put your customers in the forefront.
And trust me, your campaigns and marketing efforts need to be led by your target audiences so that they can be a lot more effective ensuring that you will attract, retain and convert traffic to customers. On the other hand, if you do not apply correct targeting then why waste your money? Top digital agencies and digital marketing agencies in Cyprus can help you out, so don’t worry if the above sounds like rocket science to you.
