How to identify the target audience on social networks in 30 minutes: a ready-made brief

What happens if you offer a good product to the wrong people? In 9 out of 10 cases, they won't buy anything. As you have already understood, it's not about the product but about the target audience, which is not always obvious. It is at this stage that entrepreneurs and specialists often make mistakes. 

However, before you taste the granite of science, pay attention:

Without knowledge of the target audience, you will not set up advertising, create a content strategy, or sell a product. Perhaps you will succeed, but within the framework of an exception, it is unlikely to be effective. That's why it's so important.

And now let's find out what questions are necessary to identify the target audience on social networks. Let's do it.

Gender, age, and geolocation of your future clients

This question must be answered because there are niches where the target is not at all obvious. How to find out gender, age, and geolocation:

1. Ask the client if you are a specialist.
2. Take a pen and a notebook and think about whether you are a business owner.
3. Use the services of statistics and analytics on social networks.

If you don't have a community yet or few members in it, you can analyze the nearest direct competitor with a similar product.

What types of your services does the audience need?

This question defines competitors. If you deliver pizza, your closest competitors are those who provide the same service, i.e., deliver pizza.

There are direct and indirect competitors

For example, donut delivery is an indirect competitor for pizza delivery since they compete only for the target audience that has not decided on the choice of a dish. If a person already knows that he needs pizza, this is your direct client. You are fighting only with direct competitors for this client.

There are niches with a small number of goods and services. In this case, the question of services reveals only direct competitors. In niches where there are many services, the question identifies all competitors, including indirect ones.

What other products or services is the client interested in?

This question reveals only indirect competitors if the previous one suddenly did not help. By the way, you can ask representatives of the target audience. For example, create a survey in the pizza delivery group: "What other dishes do you order?" Examples of answers: sushi, burgers, noodles, food from restaurants, and sweets.

Another example is the search for indirect competitors for a recording studio. We ask a question and get answers:

• Mixing vocals
• Mastering tracks
• Vocal courses
• Music Production
• Musical instruments
• Voice acting for commercials, games, and movies
• Record ads
• Recording podcasts
• Organization of concerts
• Promotion of artists.

We will not continue; we think the main point is clear: we have just received a list of audiences to which you can configure advertising during the test. Note that we have answered only three questions, but we already have a good base for work.

What audience exactly won't buy your service?

This question excludes a non-target audience. It is indispensable when you are selling a mass-consumption product that is needed by everyone.

Which audience should be excluded:

1. Possible negatives. For example, vegans are unlikely to be happy with burgers, and feminists will definitely not be thrilled with the training on "How to please a man if he is the King".
2. Bots and fans of freebies.
3. Competitors, their friends, relatives, and closest employees.
4. Those who are not the target audience for objective reasons.

How is the client profile filled in? In which sections does the audience demonstrate an interest in your activities?

This question gives an understanding of how to configure advertising since the customization options are quite wide. For example, you can show yourself to those who have indicated something in their status. Or he added thematic videos, wrote posts on a specific topic, or stored audiobooks in recordings.

There are a lot of targeting opportunities, so it is also important to know the client profile. However, not in every niche does the audience openly demonstrate an interest in the product and indicate this in the profile.

What or who can your future client be a fan of?

This question identifies opinion leaders in your niche or a direction that you can work with. It is not relevant everywhere. However, in some cases, it helps to build a promotion strategy on social networks. If there are opinion leaders in your niche, you can establish cooperation with them.
"Who can the pizza delivery audience be a fan of?" you ask. Well, as an option:

• The series "Game of Thrones"
• Marvel movies
• A cartoon about teenage mutant ninja turtles

Next, you run a test for these audiences and look at the result. Unfortunately, ads with movie characters are not always skipped, but you can show them in the community content.

In what situation will the client use your services?

This question is suitable for niches where most people are your potential customers. A flower shop, a barber shop, a cafe, and, of course, our favorite food delivery.

Let's imagine the situation:

A man will go to a flower shop to buy a bouquet for his wife's wedding anniversary. The wife will go to the hairdresser because it is necessary to surprise everyone with a stylish haircut on a friend's birthday. A friend rents a room in a cafe. And in the cafe, almost all the chefs quit because of the crisis, so I had to order half of the dishes by delivery. All these are client situations, of which there can be many.

Having answered this question, you will look at the advertising campaign from a different angle and, perhaps, come to unexpected discoveries.

What hobbies will the client use the services for?

This question splits the audience into segments in niches where the audience has different hobbies. For example, if you sell sportswear, what hobbies of your customers encourage you to buy clothes?

Running, football, fitness, martial arts, swimming, cycling, and triathlon. From here, you get the advertising message, "Are you playing football? Choose a uniform from us!" and all in that spirit.

What should a person have in order to be your client?

This question is needed exclusively in the niches of B2B, repair, or improvement of existing things. Examples:

1. What should a person have in order to order SMM services? Operating business. The audience can be segmented by type of business.
2. What should a person have in order to contact a car service? Car. The audience can be segmented by car brands.

What problems or tasks does your service solve?

This question divides the audience into segments in niches where one product solves several tasks. For example, a gym is about:

• Weight loss
• Weight gain
• Stamina pumping
• Preparation for competitions
• Circular training
• Martial arts training

Based on the answers, you find an audience for advertising a gym.

With these questions, you will be able to identify the audience for your project on social networks in 30 minutes. But we recommend that you try to sit over the brief for longer, at least a couple of hours.