We all know that the secret to running an effective marketing campaign is targeting the right audience with the right message. But who is your target audience and what should that message be? You may assume you know, but remember what they say about assuming… Well assume no more. I’m here to tell you that there are data-driven, free ways to gain deep insight into your audience’s demographics, interests and lifestyle using tools your business is likely already utilizing: Google AdWords & Facebook.
Let’s start with AdWords. Once you implement your remarketing and conversion tags, there will be two default lists created within your Audiences section. To access this, go to the Shared Library (left hand rail) and click “View” under Audiences.
Here, you will see a list for “All Visitors” and “All Converters” (as well as any other audiences you have previously created). Once these audiences grow large enough, clicking these lists will give you the following:
- In-Market Details: What this audience is actively researching or comparing products and services for across the Google Display Network (keep in mind the relevance bar which compares the given audience vs. the average internet population).
- Affinity Details: TV-style audiences (based on browsing behavior) analyzing overall interests, passions & lifestyle.
- Device Details: Which devices this audience mostly use.
- Location Details: Where this audience is generally located.
- Demographic Details: The average age, gender & parental status of the audience.
Next is Facebook’s Audience Insights. This tool can be found by clicking the hamburger menu at the top left corner of your Facebook business account. Under plan, click Audience Insights.
Simply select an audience to start. Audiences can be in the form of a custom audience (email upload), people connected to your Facebook page, or simply create your own audience starting with the overall Facebook population then honing in on the group you’re interested in. (Pro Tip: we recommend looking at an email list of converters for the most valuable insights).
Once you select your audience of interest, the tool will show how your audience segment compares to the total population of people on Facebook by using blue (your audience) and grey bar graphs (people on Facebook). Note: the minimum audience size that Facebook can use is 1,000 people.
So how can you use this all of this data to your advantage? Both insights tools allow you to gain a deeper understanding of your customer segments. This invaluable data allows you to make fact-based decisions that can dictate your creative messaging, targeting, campaign optimizations or even your overall marketing strategy. So go ahead and get to know your audience a little better today!
