Are you unsure of the best ways to find your target audience on Instagram?
One of the most daunting tasks in marketing is finding the perfect target audience on Instagram because:
- There are thousands upon thousands of accounts to follow; and
- It’s difficult to know which ones are going to help you find your specific audience
In this blog post, we give you nine genius hacks for finding your target audience on Instagram, which can make your marketing so much easier.
Why Is it Important to Find Your Target Audience on Instagram?
Instagram is a great platform to use for connecting with potential customers and learning about their needs and wants.
By finding your target audience, you can:
- Create content that resonates with your target market
- Tap into an expansive pool of users who are interested in what you offer; and
- Increase your ROI (return on investment) by converting the right users to customers
Instagram is a relatively inexpensive social media marketing platform you can use to target potential customers — which is a good option for businesses looking to market online.
Inspire and Engage
At Pretty-Impressive, each client is unique. Which is why we create strategies tailored to the needs of each company. Reach out and we’ll help you get your brand exactly where it needs to be — ahead of the rest.
How to Get the Right Audience on Instagram: 9 Creative Ways
Instagram is a visual medium where you can connect with potential customers and show what products and/or services you offer.
With about one billion monthly active users, there is no shortage of potential customers to reach.
But how do you ensure that you are targeting the right people on Instagram?
Keep reading for nine creative ways that you can use to start finding users that are interested in your business.
1. Leverage Email Lists To Create A “Look-Alike” Audience
Did you know you can reach new people who may be interested in your business by targeting those with similar characteristics to your current customers?
You can create an effective Instagram ad campaign by targeting a “look-alike” audience using your email list through Facebook — known as Meta — the company that owns Instagram.
Targeting your look-alike audience includes the following steps:
- Create an ad campaign on Facebook.
- Upload your email list as a target audience.
- Use demographic data from your email list to create custom Facebook ads that appeal to your target audience.
Tip: Consider excluding certain groups of people from seeing your ads, including people who have:
- Unsubscribed from your email list in the past; or
- Never shown an interest in your brand or similar brands
- Set targeting parameters to achieve the desired results (i.e., your budget and desired outcomes).
- Create engaging content that will likely inspire your look-alike audience to take action.
- Monitor your results and make adjustments as needed.
This automated marketing technique can make it easier for you to:
- Reach more people with the right message
- Increase your chances of success on Instagram marketing; and
- Save time and money by targeting your ideal customer base with precision
Need help with finding your look-alike audience?
Pretty-Impressive can help you craft the right ad content with our Facebook ads service.
If you’re looking to increase ROI with Facebook ads, schedule your free strategy session with Pretty-Impressive today.
2. Utilize Self-Identifying Marketing Strategies
You can use Instagram to target users with self-identifying marketing strategies.
For example, if you are a local electrician in Houston, you could use Instagram ads to target specific demographics of people, such as those who:
- Live in the Houston area
- Are interested in home improvement; or
- Have recently purchased a home
Using a self-identifying marketing strategy like this is a great way to reach potential customers who might be interested in your business.
Additionally, using retargeting ads allows you to continue reaching your target market even after they have seen your ad or clicked on it.
3. Audit Your Instagram Followers
By looking at who is already following you on Instagram and what types of content they are consuming, you can develop a better understanding of:
- Who your audience is; and
- What they want from you
You can review Instagram Insights to find out information about the users that are following you on Instagram.
This information can include:
- Gender
- Age ranges
- User trends
- Top users’ locations; and
- Engagement patterns
After observing these powerful insights, you can create more engaged followers that can lead to more sales.
4. Collect Data From Demographic Surveys
A demographic survey is a set of questions that you ask your followers to answer to better understand their buying habits.
Questions could include asking users:
- Where do they live?
- What are their income levels?
- What types of products and services are they interested in?
- How often do they shop for these products and services?
By gathering this valuable data, you can create targeted content that will appeal to your target marketbecause you will better understand what …
- Needs
- Aspirations
- Values; and
- Challenges
… are most pressing for your followers and customers.
5. Utilize Social Listening Tools
Instagram is a great way to connect with potential customers and learn about what they want.
By using social listening tools, such as …
- Hootsuite
- Buffer; and
- BuzzSumo
… you can get insights into what your followers and customers think about your business and brand.
Some data points to pay attention to through social listening include:
- Identifying which posts are resonating the most with your audience
- Observing which hashtags are being used the most; and
- Determining what content is driving the most engagement
This marketing tactic can help you to:
- Create content that is more relevant to your target market
- Have constructive discussions with your followers
- Follow trends that are relevant in your industry
- Build a loyal following of potential customers; and
- Drive more engagement
The more engaged you are with users and other brands on Instagram, the more likely you can gain authority in your niche.
6. Leverage Your Competitors’ Audiences
Since Instagram is such a popular platform, it can be difficult to determine who your target market is.
However, by analyzing your competitors’ accounts, you can learn a great deal about who might be interested in what you offer.
For example, if you are in the fitness industry, you can:
- Look at accounts that are related to fitness (e.g., running clubs, CrossFit gyms)
- Observe which of their posts have been the most successful; and
- See which of their posts have received the most likes and comments
By leveraging your competitors’ audiences, you can better understand the needs of this target audience and create products or solutions that appeal to them
7. Use Location Tags
Instagram allows you to add location tags to your photos, which can help target your audience.
For example, if you own a gym that offers classes in multiple locations, adding location tags to your photos can help you target potential customers who are near one of your locations.
By targeting potential customers who are located near one of your locations, you can:
- Increase the chances that users will see your post
- Create a more personal connection with your potential customers; and
- Generate more leads from users who live nearby or are regularly in the area
To make this feature work for your business, you need to use it consistently to boost the visibility of your posts in your local market.
8. Leverage Niche Hashtags
Another way to find your target market is to leverage niche hashtags, which can help organize and categorize users’ search ability on Instagram’s platform.
For example, if you own a car dealership, you might use the following hashtags to reach people who are interested in purchasing a car:
- #CarBuyingTips
- #CarFinancingOptions; and
- #BestCarGurus
Keep in mind that every niche and industry has unique hashtags that are relevant and/or trending.
By researching and using the right hashtags in your Instagram post captions and comments, you can increase your reach to users who are ideal for your audience.
9. Create Audience Personas
Another hack you can use to find your best Instagram target audience is by creating audience personas, which are fictional representations of your target market.
Some tips for creating audience personas on Instagram include considering:
- What are their values?
- What are their fears?
- What are their interests?
- What are their dreams and goals?; and
- How do they spend their free time?
By creating idealized personas based on customer research and data, you’ll be able to:
- Better understand their needs and interests
- Make sure your content applies to them; and
- Convert more followers to customers
That is impressive marketing, right.
Now that you know how to target your market on Instagram, you have two choices:
- You can do it yourself; or
- You can hire us at Pretty-Impressive
If you want to ensure that you gain the greatest ROI, leave it to the professionals at Pretty-Impressive to do it for you.
Inspire and Engage
At Pretty-Impressive, each client is unique. Which is why we create strategies tailored to the needs of each company. Reach out and we’ll help you get your brand exactly where it needs to be — ahead of the rest.
Find Your Target Market Audience on Instagram and Increase Your ROI With Pretty-Impressive
Before setting your goal, you need to make sure it is relevant for both your business and the market.
For instance, say your business relies heavily on in-person consultations. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, setting a goal to have 20% more in-person consultations from web leads would not have been relevant for your market aor your business
Before setting your goal you need to do some good market research. Learn what matters to your target audience.
What drives them right now?
What are their concerns?
What are their needs?
Where are they in the buying process? If you keep losing people during the closing phase, you should take a closer look there and see what might not be working for them.
If your goal is not relevant to your market, it is destined to fail.
Establish a Goal Timeframe
Decide when you want to reach the goal. Make sure your timeframe gives enough time for your team to work on reaching the goal without burning out.
But make sure it is short enough that you can still reach the goal without forgetting about it.
A solid timetable helps you keep your focus and remain committed to getting the results you are working toward.
Analyze and Evaluate Goals
Just because you are in the middle of working toward a goal doesn’t mean you cannot still pivot.
Keep an eye on your goal and how well you are staying on track. If something is clearly not working, it might be time to reevaluate and see if there is a better solution.
Remember, the purpose of your goal is to strengthen the overall structure of your company, not to check another box.
Crush Your Inbound Marketing Goals With Pretty-Impressive
At the end of the day, no matter how hard you are working, sometimes you just need a team of experts to have your back. Inbound marketing is a complex world that can be tough to navigate.
Pretty-Impressive is here to alleviate the pressure and help you crush your inbound marketing goals.When our expertise and your ambition team up, incredible things happen.
If you’re tired of watching discouraging data roll in month after month after month, it’s time to take action and master your inbound marketing campaign. With Pretty-Impressive, you can do just that.
Schedule your completely free, no commitment, 30-minute strategy session now and start changing your company for the better today.
