It is obvious that even the most carefully prepared advertising campaign will not have the desired effect if it reaches the wrong audience, i.e. those who are not interested in the offer. Wrong target group selection is not only an easy way to lack of results, but also to... wasting the budget allocated to the campaign. How can you avoid this? The answer is targeting, the basis of an effective marketing strategy. Read the article and find out how not to waste your resources.
What is targeting?
Targeting is, in simplest terms - definition of target group (from target - targeting). It involves the optimal selection of the target audience for an advertising message. They are to be those who are most interested in the content in question and are most likely to become customers of the company. They have specific characteristics and meet certain criteria.
One of the most common marketing mistakes is to define too broad an audience, or worse, to skip this step altogether! This leads to a situation where advertisers' budgets are "burned" and they are thus exposed to losses. In contrast, with a precisely planned campaign and a defined target, it is possible to acquire a large number of customers with relatively little money. How do you go about this? Read in the following paragraphs.
Targeting - what should be kept in mind?
The first targeting step may seem obvious and unnecessary. However, it is crucial to running an effective campaign. What is it? The advertiser himself must acknowledge that his offer has a specific target group - it is by no means universal and should not be directed "to everyone" (i.e. to no one in fact). What good is a message to hundreds of thousands of people if only a small percentage of them are at all interested in the product or service? Exactly. Once we have this awareness, it is time to get down to the nitty-gritty of defining the target audience.
When identifying an audience, there are many criteria to consider. However, these will vary depending on the business model. If you are dealing with an individual customer, criteria such as: age, gender, interests, location, income or family status. For a business client, on the other hand, consider: the position; the industry in which it operates; the size of the company and its reach. Identifying these types of criteria enables you to connect the needs of the recipient with what the company offers.
Knowing who your potential customers are will focus you on how to tailor your messages to them. Colloquially speaking, in order to target accurately, you need to get under the skin of your audience, take on their perspective and think about their needs. This poses a major challenge for advertisers and marketers. They are close to their brands and do not understand that the target customer may not know much (if anything) about them and the benefits they can provide. In this situation we are dealing with a so-called the curse of knowledge. It is a cognitive bent in that once we have some knowledge or experience, we cannot remember what it was like not to have it. We are unable to put ourselves in the place of the 'layman'. In marketing, understanding the mechanism of the 'knowledge curse' is very important so that, through your communications, you do not exclude from your audience those who do not yet have the knowledge that we already have.
Types of targeting
There are several targeting methods, which differ in the criteria taken into account. There is no single correct answer to the question of which form is most effective. It should be selected according to the type of business conducted. It is also worth testing different solutions and selecting the one that yields the best results.
Behavioural targeting
Behavioural targeting also known as audience targeting is the segmentation of users mainly according to their interests and behaviour on the website. The main criterion for the selection of advertising is the user's preferences, which are largely determined by cookies. Users are segmented by, for example, searches on the website, products purchased or links clicked. Behavioural targeting also includes tactics such as retargeting. It can be used to display an advertisement for the offer being viewed to the visitor after they have left the site.
Contextual targeting
This type of targeting makes it possible to reach people who are interested in a particular topic. Advertising is broadcast when a web user visits portals related to a particular industry, keyword or field.. Advertising messages tailored to the content of the page increase the chance that the recipient will take an interest in them. Example? A person is interested in travel and visits blog dedicated to this topic. It is more likely to be interested in a displayed advertisement for hiking equipment than if it were displayed to a completely random Internet user.
Demographic and geographical targeting
Demographic targeting consists of targeting of advertising to users selected on the basis of data such as age, gender or education. How is this data collected? On the basis of information provided by users themselves - by registering with various services or applications. Geographic targeting, on the other hand, makes it possible to display of advertising to people who are in the area. This could be the city, region or area in which the service is provided.
Hyper-targeting - targeting squared?
One other type of targeting is worth mentioning. This is hyper-targeting (also known as micro-targeting), which uses social media. Users post a wealth of detailed information on their social media profiles. This makes it possible to target messages that not only match the lifestyle or status (material or social) of the audience, but also use the same language they speak! This increases the chance of arousing their curiosity, activation and interaction.
Tailor-made advertising - executive summary
Targeting is a process that benefits both advertisers and web users. The former can optimise their expenditure on advertising campaigns, while the latter are exposed to messages that are genuinely likely to be of interest to them. Remember, however, that identifying an audience and choosing a method to reach them is only the beginning of the journey. Each campaign should be analysed in terms of the reactions it has received. With the results obtained, future activities can be optimised to be even more effective.
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