Know Your Audience

Here at Hancock Creative we’re ALWAYS banging on about audiences.

We’re a bit like a broken record in that respect. But, there’s a very good reason for this: it really does pay to know who’s following your social media.

It’s only when you know who you’re speaking to that you’ll be able to create truly engaging content. And, when you create engaging content, you’ll start achieving your goals – whether that’s more volunteers, more donations, or simply making your organisation a household name.

See what we mean about it paying off?

The interesting part about social media is that you may have many audiences. Most organisations have at least two or three significant groups that they’re speaking to – whether that be West Australian mothers aged 35-44 or Indonesian school teachers aged 25-34.

Why is this information important? Well, that’s simple: you need to know who you’re speaking to. When you write a post, you have a message that you need to convey. How can you convey it effectively if you don’t know who you’re talking to?

Think about it like this: you’re you, right? And you have your own vision, and values, and voice, yes? But – you speak slightly differently to different people. For instance, the way you speak to your best friend isn’t the same as the way you speak to your grandma. You’re still you; you’ve just tweaked your voice to suit the situation.

Social media is exactly the same! Your organisation has a clear voice, vision and values, but it needs to address its audiences appropriately. You’ll know when you’ve hit the nail on the head, because your community will start talking back to you – commenting on posts, tagging their friends, sharing on their own pages.

If your organisation has a few different audiences, you might worry that you’ll be ostracising one group by speaking specifically to another. That’s where content planning comes in – make sure that your mix of posts is such that everyone is accounted for.

So, how do you know who you’re talking to? While Twitter and Instagram both offer audience insights, it’s Facebook that really digs deep into the people on your page. What are you waiting for? Head to www.facebook.com/ads/audience-insights and get to know your audience!