Running an advertising campaign is no silver bullet that guarantees your efforts will result in more sales. Your messaging, timing and placement will determine most of your advertisement’s success. If you’re not seeing results from your current advertising efforts, it’s likely because you’re not reaching the right people or you’re not inspiring them to take action.

How do you reach the right people? Overthinking the answer to this question can be exhausting. We want to simplify this for! If you’re ready to refocus your advertising to better reach your target audience, here are the three most important things to consider first.

1. Define the “right” audience.

Just because your message is reaching the masses doesn’t mean it’s reaching the right audience. You should intimately know your target audience. Where do they live? How old are they? How do they consume media? From industry to industry, the answer to this question is vastly different. If you’re trying to reach millennials, but you’re advertising on a radio station whose demographic is 55 years and older, you’re not going to have much success.

Really think about who uses your product or service and who is the decision maker to purchase your product or service. If the answer isn’t clear, you should consider using a focus group to help you paint an accurate profile for your target market.

2. Think like your audience.

Once you clearly know who you are trying to target with your advertising, you next need to get inside their heads. Anticipate their needs, desires and problems. What are the biggest factors that compel them to take action? What are their biggest hesitations? In order for your advertising to really resonate with your target audience, you have to speak their language.

For example, a restaurant trying to appeal to families with young children would run a very different advertising campaign from a restaurant trying to attract couples who want a quiet and romantic night out. In order to reach the right people with your advertising, it’s so important to think like your audience.

3. Go where they go.

The final key point to remember is to go where your target audience goes. If they consume most of their media from their cell phones, it would be smart to invest in mobile advertising. If your target audience is of an older generation that hardly use computers, more traditional media like radio or television is your best bet.

As technology continues to advance, so will the ways in which you reach your target audience. Be mindful of new trends that could change the way you communicate with your customers. Also consider trends and technology that may adjust your target audience’s behavior, therefore changing the way they interact with your business.

Are you struggling to reach the right people with your current advertising campaign? If so, let’s have a conversation so we can help move you forward!