Creating social media content for your small business based on a hunch is no longer beneficial. With such intense competition, it has become essential to keep track of your social media audience’s needs, what content appeals to them, and more.
According to 2020 stats, almost 3.6 billion people worldwide use social media which is expected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025. We can’t imagine our lives without it, and that is how social media has taken control of the buying journey by changing the way we shop online. Understanding your social media audience targeting is the key to creating content that resonates and drives engagement.
And that’s what we’re going to focus on in this quick guide on how to do social media audience research for small businesses.
What is a Target Audience?
A targeted social media audience is a group of people that may be your company’s potential buyers. Such types of social media audiences are not a random collection of people but are carefully defined based on various factors such as demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and interests.
Target audience analysis becomes the first and most crucial part of your social media marketing plan. And within the plan, you share various details of your buyer’s persona.
You can use tools like UX Pressia to visualize your audience and create a buyer persona. This buyer persona helps identify the type of content that’ll resonate with your potential buyers.
But before you start paying for online tools, go through our step by step instructions and practice manual methods of target audience identification.
4 Steps for Social Media Audience Research
Step 1: Gather Demographic Data from Social Platforms
The first step in understanding your social media audience is to collect demographic data from various social platforms for better social media audience targeting.
Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can provide valuable insights into the age, gender, location, and interests of your followers. Use the built-in analytics tools of these platforms or consider third-party social media analytics tools for more in-depth data.
Step 2: Determine Networks for Social Media Audience Research
Not all social media platforms are equal, and different audiences prefer different platforms. To conduct effective social media audience research, find out where your audience is most active, use tools like Keyhole to analyze popular hashtags, and track trending campaigns. This can help focus your efforts on platforms where your social media audience is most active.
Step 3: Analyze Competitor Content Strategy
Your competitors have likely put in a lot of effort to build their social media presence through diligent social media audience research and effective social media audience targeting.
They’ve found followers interested in products or services similar to yours, tested various content types, and even connected with industry influencers.
You can benefit from their work by using platforms like BuzzSumo to analyze their content strategy. This can provide insights into what resonates with your target audience and guide your content creation.
Step 4: Validate Your Findings with Surveys
The last step is to verify your social media audience research with your own data. Surveys are an effective way to ensure your ideal customer profile is accurate.
Create surveys that ask questions related to your social media audience targeting preferences, pain points, and interests. You can use tools like Survey Monkey or Google Forms to gather responses. Analyze the survey results to confirm or refine your understanding of your social media audience.
In a Nutshell
Understanding what a target audience is crucial for successful marketing. It helps you create content that people like and engage with. Here are some key takeaways from the blog:
- Researching your social media audience is essential for effective content marketing.
- Gather demographic data from platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Determine the preferred social network using tools like Keyhole.
- Analyze your competitors’ content strategy using BuzzSumo.com for valuable insights.
- Validate your findings with surveys to ensure your ideal customer profile is accurate.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry! Advertyzed is here to assist you. Just tell us your social media goals, what you need, and any challenges you face.
You can also schedule a call with us, and we’ll work together to make your social media audience research easier and more effective. For more details you can visit our social media marketing page.