The Importance of Knowing Your Demographic
In 2021, businesses of any scale and kind use the internet to reach their potential customers and increase sales. If you’re here because you’re about to craft a digital marketing plan or have already created one but aren’t seeing the expected results, you’re on the right track. The internet is where most of your prospects are, so it’s a great place to promote your products. However, the internet is also a pretty crowded place, so you need to find a way to market your products to those who need them; otherwise, your marketing efforts will not bring desired outcomes.
To reach the right audience who are likely to convert to paying customers, you’ll need to define who are the people who need your products. Knowing your demographic is essential for creating a successful digital marketing plan, and here’s everything you need to know.
Knowing Your Audience is Crucial for Content Marketing
Content marketing is an essential part of digital marketing, and if it’s not already there, you should include it in your marketing plan for numerous reasons, including:
- High-quality content is the foundation of SEO.
- It helps to target more keywords and appear in more queries.
- It builds the trustworthiness of your company.
- Publishing content helps keep your website fresh.
- Content helps build relationships with prospects.
Most online experiences start with a search engine like Google, where people type keywords such as ‘how to use CBD,’ ‘how to get a better night’s sleep,’ ‘how to create a workout routine,’ etc.
The content you create allows you to reach prospects looking for information related to your products, which will help you convert them to customers.
Because you produce content for your prospective clients, it’s essential to understand who they are. Defining your audience is crucial in content marketing, as it will determine which topics you address, what type of content you create, and where you publish it. Content marketing isn’t limited to written text but can combine graphics, pictures, videos, podcasts, and eBooks. Some age groups like more text-based content, while others prefer video or images over text. When you understand who your audience comprises, you’ll know what type of content to produce. Moreover, knowing your target demographics will allow you to create more helpful content because you’ll know who will read, view, or watch it.
Creating targeted content is cost-efficient and allows you to create the content your intended customers need; therefore, you can gain more customers.
Different Age Groups Use Different Social Media Channels
Social media platforms have become an inevitable part of digital marketing. Using social media channels increases the chances of reaching more potential customers and is a great place to build relationships with them. Besides, it’s a great place to share the content you’ve created for your audience. However, it’s crucial to know your demographic so you choose the right platform to publish your content.
Determining who your audience is will allow you to create a successful social media marketing plan. Different generations use different platforms, and here’s a quick breakdown of who is using which social media channel.
First, let’s look at Baby Boomers. According to statistics, in 2020, baby boomers are most active on Facebook, with YouTube the second favorite channel. Only 32 percent of U.S. Boomer and Senior respondents stated that they used photo-sharing app Instagram, compared to 51 percent of the general online population., Besides, 1 in 3 boomers uses YouTube to learn about a product or service. So, if you want to target boomers, then Facebook and YouTube are the platforms where you can reach them.
Of Generation X, the demographic group after Baby Boomers, 95% of them use Facebook, and 64.7 percent consider it a favorite platform. Online users between 35- and 49-years old watch about 169 minutes of online video. This average is the second-highest among all age groups, so YouTube is where to reach Gen Xers after Facebook.
Millennials are famous for being obsessed with technology and social media. Nearly 100% of them use the internet, and their favorite online activities are social media and online shopping. Overall, 88% of Millennials have a Facebook account, and 77% use the platform regularly. The second most popular social media channel among millennials is Instagram with, 70% daily users. YouTube is the third most used social platform among millennials, with 66% using it daily.
The youngest generation – Generation Z, is most active on Instagram. Only 34% of young age users are active on Facebook daily. Generation Z is reported to be spending close to six hours a day on social media since the pandemic began. TikTok is the second most popular social platform for Gen Z after Instagram, with Snapchat in third. Visual content is taking over among the younger generation, so the best way to reach them is by creating visual content and publishing them on networks like YouTube and Instagram.
Knowing Demographics is Crucial for Advertising
Demographics are crucial for running successful online advertising campaigns and making your marketing efforts more effective. Targeting a specific group of people will make your ad campaigns cost-effective, and you’ll know the right people will see your ad, so you don’t invest time, energy, and money in advertising your products to people who don’t need them.
Facebook Ads is a powerful tool to promote your business and products online. It enables you to find prospective clients even if they haven’t interacted with your business by creating the targeted audience for your ads. The primary way of running a successful Facebook ad is by knowing your prospects’ demographics. The detailed targeting section in the Facebook Ads Manager allows you to add information about demographics, interests, or behaviors.
Here you can reach people based on employment, household, and lifestyle details, including:
- Education level
- Income
- Life events
- Date of birth
- Friends
- Relationship status
- Employers, industries, job titles
Suppose you sell anti-aging products. The ads you run online target users between 13-65 years old. Estimated 1,300 – 2,400 people will see your ad. Your target age group is 45-65, which is included in your ads’ targeted age group, but you will not know how many users out of 1300-2400 will be between the ages of 45 and 65 – it could be anywhere from 0 to 2400. It means that a great deal of your ad budget may go on showing your product to users who don’t need them. Will such a campaign be cost-effective? Certainly, not. That’s why it’s crucial to know who your target audience is so you can successfully promote your products and drive desired results.
Like age groups, other aspects of demographics may play an essential role in determining who your prospects are. Hence, it’s always crucial to use demographics data in your marketing campaigns. Knowing whether a person is married, single, divorced, employed, or unemployed is essential to understand as it can affect their purchasing decisions.
Targeted Marketing Can Increase Conversions
Knowing your clients and demographics helps you focus on the marketing efforts that will work for your business and help you reach more prospects. Sometimes you may invest energy, resources, time, and money into marketing tactics that you think should work but don’t drive results. Many businesses fail to create a successful digital marketing plan due to insufficient data on the demographics. With more than 4.66 billion active internet users, it may seem like an excellent place to connect with your audience. However, your content or ads may get lost in a sea of information. They might not reach your prospects at all. When you promote your products to the targeted audience through online marketing, you make a worthwhile investment, increase conversions, and help your business grow.
To recap, knowing your demographics can help:
- Create relevant content
- Choose the right platforms to connect with your audience.
- Create successful advertising campaigns.,
- Increase conversions.
Demographics are undoubtedly essential to understand how your prospective customers search for information and products online. Knowledge about demographics will help you find those who need your products, make you more successful, and increase sales.