Do you know how to research your target audience’s needs?

Research: it’s the first step before writing a single line of copy.

I know you know this, but knowing your target audience and their needs is critical for creating effective marketing campaigns — especially your copy.

I struggled with this part in the beginning, so I don’t blame you if you’re stumped at this first step. Understanding your audience, knowing who they are and what they want, isn't always easy. It requires research, analysis, and a deep recognition of your customers' pain points, motivations, and behaviors. So why don’t we explore some tips and strategies for researching your target audience and their needs, so you can begin to create copy that converts?

Surveys and questionnaires are a great tool.

Surveys and questionnaires are a great way to gather information about your target audience. You can use online tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to create and distribute surveys to your customers, but if you’ve got a LinkedIn account, get active and start using polls. Ask questions about their demographics, interests, and behaviors, as well as their needs and pain points. Be sure to keep your survey short and to the point, so you can increase the likelihood of participation.

Analyze, analyze, analyze.

If you’re like me and you overanalyze everything (oh yes — I’ve definitely had meetings after which I’ve been like, “What did that face mean?” But I digress) this will come naturally to you.

The analysis of customer data can provide valuable insights into your target audience's needs and behaviors. Using tools like Google Analytics or learning how to weild social media analytics to track customer behavior and engagement will help you find patterns and trends in your customers’ behavior, like what pages they visit on your website, what content they engage with, and what products or services they purchase. This data can help you identify your most profitable customer segments and tailor your marketing campaigns and copy accordingly.

Focus! Groups, I mean.

Focus groups and interviews are a more in-depth way to gather information about your target audience. They allow you to ask more detailed questions and get a deeper understanding of your customers' needs and motivations. You can conduct focus groups in-person or online, and you can recruit participants through social media, email, or other channels. Be sure to ask open-ended questions that allow participants to share their thoughts and opinions in their own words.

Are you listening?

I teach digital marketing at a local college, and we talk about social media listening all the time. Social media listening involves monitoring social media channels for mentions of your brand or industry, amplified by using tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to track mentions and engagement on social media. You can look for patterns in customer behavior, like what types of content they like or engage with, or even what types of questions they ask. Make great use of this information and create content that resonates with your audience and addresses their needs, using what you’ve learned and heard.

On your way to the forum?

Funny things do happen on the way to the forum — you’ll get wiser! Checking out online forums and communities will give you great results on information about your target audience. Be on the lookout for forums or communities that are relevant to your industry or product, and observe the conversations that are taking place. Pay attention to what questions people are asking, what problems they're trying to solve, and what frustrations they're expressing. All of this data can help you identify the pain points and needs of your target audience, and create content that addresses those needs.