The target market concept is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign. A target market is the target readership or audience of a printed, web-based, or television advertisement specifically targeted to reach that target audience. 

The concept is used in all areas of marketing and promotions. 

It is equally important, however, when it comes to online marketing. 

Target markets can include anyone, anywhere, and should include everyone interested in what you have to offer.

This brings us to the next topic in our series: target marketing analysis. 

When developing a marketing campaign, there is a lot at stake, including your company’s reputation, the quality of your product, and, ultimately, your business.

Therefore, you must have all bases covered. 

This includes determining your target market.

For online marketing purposes, your target audience can be loosely defined as the group of people who might be interested in your products or services but who haven’t yet fully gotten to know you and your firm online.

For example, let’s say you are a dental business and looking to target middle-aged men who are financially sound. 

You would then create a website or blog focused on your particular field of expertise, explain what you do, and add some content geared toward men interested in dental care. 

However, if you were to broaden your target market to include financially sound women, you would use a different set of words and a different set of content to get the message across.

Another way to increase the reach of your marketing message is to understand who your target market is and then use your knowledge to focus your message on this group of people. 

Who is the target market for this product or service? 

Where do they reside, how likely they are to purchase your product or service, their educational level, what type of income they bring in each month, etc.

To find your target audience:

1. Use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to research keywords relevant to your industry and search term frequency in Google.
2. Plug this into a Google Forms template to create an introductory survey.
3. Have an incentive for your visitors to participate in this survey, such as a coupon or freebie, in addition to their name and email address. The more attractive the content, the more likely your visitors will complete the survey and provide you with their information.

Once you have the information from these participants, you can contact them through email, telephone, and snail-mail.

One great idea for targeting your audience is to provide your visitors with information about specific industry experts in your industry. 

These experts may not be online, but you can still find them by using “sitemaps,” Google maps with directions. 

Place a map on your website pointing to a particular niche and include a link to their webpage. 

This gives visitors a reason to know more about the expert and something to click on to learn more.

Another way to find your target audience on social media marketing is to find forums related to your industry relevant to your business. 

Look for conversations going on about your company. 

Follow any conversations that you find intriguing and engage with the people in the thread. 

Sometimes you can even post a question or invite them to a webinar to build your relationship with your customer base. 

Many times these people will become loyal customers because of the value you add to their lives.