How To Create Content That Speaks To Your Target Audience
Are you struggling to create content that speaks to your target audience? Creating content that speaks to your audience can be a difficult task, especially if you're not sure what they want. That's why it's essential to get to know them. In this post, we'll walk through some tips for learning more about your audience and creating content that matters to them.
Table of Contents
There are so many ways to create content. And with the advent of social media, you can reach a potentially vast audience. But how do you know if your content is resonating with your target audience? One way is to look at the engagement rate on Instagram. Those who share and like your posts are giving you feedback about what they find interesting or compelling. Another way is to ask specific questions in a poll on Stories where people can give their honest opinions without having any concerns about hurting feelings or saying the wrong thing in front of others because online they feel anonymous.Getting to know your audience
You need to know your audience. It's not enough to know their demographic; you have to understand what motivates your audience, what problems they're facing, and how you can help solve them. You might think that some of these things are obvious, but I'll give you a few examples of how people make mistakes:
I once worked with a client who had a blog about dating advice for women. The first time we spoke, she told me, "all women love shoes," which was true but not exactly helpful—and certainly not specific enough for us to create content around!
As another example, when working with an accountancy firm, it became clear after speaking with them that their target clients were small business owners who wanted tax advice rather than just someone capable of doing their taxes. Knowing this insight allowed us to create content that spoke directly to these business owners instead of talking about accountancy in general (which would have been too broad).
You should also consider who is communicating with your company and why? This might be customers or potential customers but could also be employees or suppliers from whom information needs extracting from time to time (i.e., there may be information available on Twitter).
Focus on the Goals of Your Audience
It's essential to understand the goals of your audience. What do they need? What do they want? What are they looking for? You should know all of this and more:
Know what their priorities are.
Know what their challenges are.
Know what their wants and needs are.
Understand their preferences in language, style, and tone.
This is an essential step because there's no point in creating content that doesn't speak to the interests and needs of your target audience—and if it doesn't talk to them now, it won't ever!
Knowing what is essential to your audience
Knowing what's important to your audience and why they want to read your content is vital.
There are many ways you can go about doing this:
Ask them. This is the simplest way, and it can be very effective. Just ask them! It doesn't take much time or effort but can yield great results.
Survey them on social media. Tools like TypeForm make it easy to conduct market research for anyone with an internet connection to get started surveying their customers or prospects in just a few minutes worth of work. Using TypeForm, you can share the link in an Instagram Story using the Link Sticker, within your weekly newsletter, or wherever your audience might be hanging out. You'll probably learn some unexpected things about how people think about your business that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise—and if you don't know where else these insights might come from, they could be invaluable when deciding which direction(s) to take with future content creation efforts!
Speaking their language
The best way to make your content resonate with people is by using words they would use. This also uses a similar tone; for example, if you are an acupuncturist and you're writing for an audience who makes their health a priority and understands the power of natural healing, don't write in an academic style!
The same goes for metaphors and analogies: if you can find ways to explain familiar and relatable things, people will be more likely to understand what it is you want them to know or do when they read your piece of content.
When you speak their language, you are creating opportunities to make meaningful connections with your potential patients. You can use social media platforms like Instagram or your blog to spread awareness about natural healing through acupuncture. Connecting on this level helps create a brand that would gravitate patients toward your practice.
Being consistent in your messaging
One of the best ways to stay on message is by repeating yourself. You don't have to do this with exact words, but you can use a similar structure, tone, imagery, and aesthetics. This helps your audience understand what you're trying to say, which makes it easier for them to trust you as an authority on the topic. If they see similar phrases repeated throughout your content, they'll be more likely to believe that what you're saying is true.
Create content that matters to them
The first step in creating content matters is focusing on your audience.
Do you know who they are?
Do you know what they want to learn?
What are their interests, and how can you help them?
What do they need from you (or from anyone else who might be willing to share the same message)?
If the answers to these questions aren't clear, take some time to find them out. There's no point in creating content that gets lost in translation; if there's no point of connection between yourself and your target audience, it will never feel like it was worth putting in all that effort—and then where would we be?
Conclusion
In other words, the secret to creating content that speaks to your target audience is knowing who they are and what they want. It's about understanding their needs and interests so that you can build a connection with them through your content. This will help them feel like they know you and get excited about learning more from you!
If you struggle with how to do so, you don’t need to go through this journey alone. Consider hiring us to help you with your social media and content strategy. Creating a sound and effective marketing plan for your business' content and social media strategy requires a lot of work! The entire process could take a considerable amount of your time and resources if not done right.
At Cravebale Social, we are focused on helping passion-driven businesses worldwide. We focus on helping you reach more people and create a community, especially those in dire need of your product and services.
We can create and implement a customized marketing approach by analyzing market data, checking out your industry competitors, and understanding the essential goals and KPIs you have for your practice. Contact us today!
This article was first published in March 2020 and updated by our editors in September 2022.