In my last post we talked about how to prepare for your first targeting experiment. Today we're going to talk about creating the content that will go into your targeted posts. You probably have a good understanding of your product or service, but how you explain it to your target audiences should change depending on which group you're talking to. Each of them will care about your product or service for different reasons, and you'll want to make sure you understand those reasons and that your message changes to reflect that understanding as you target each of your key demographics.
Step 1: Know Who You're Targeting, Adjust Your Message Accordingly
As you begin to craft your copy, the text portion of your post, you'll want to keep in mind who your target audience is. The basic idea behind your message will always be the same, but the way you present it to your audience has to change depending on who they are. One size does not fit all.
Here's an example:
Basic idea: "Our software makes your computer run faster."
Message for IT professionals: "Our software removes useless "junk" files, optimizes the registry, and performs other essential routine maintenance tasks to make sure your computer is always at its best!"
Message for boomers: "Don't buy a new computer! Our software helps your computer run just as fast as the day you bought it, breathing new life into old technology!"
Message for working parents: "Don't let your computer slow you down! Our software keeps your computer in top shape, so it can keep up with your busy schedule!"
Message for gamers: "Stay a step ahead of the competition with our software! Optimize your computer, optimize your game!"
The IT professionals have a good understanding of what a product should be doing in order to make a PC run faster, so they are more likely to be interested in exactly what the software claims to be doing to make the computer run faster. Boomers may only use their PC's for browsing the web, and so appreciate software that can help them to get that basic function out of a computer they already own for longer than they could have used it otherwise. Working parents are busy people, nobody likes a slow computer making tasks take twice as long when they've got somewhere else to be. Gamers care about having the fastest system possible because it gives them an advantage over their competition.
Key Takeaway: Each of these target audiences cares that their computer is running fast, but it matters to each of them for a different reason. The underlying message always remains the same, but the targeted copy changes to reflect the pain points the product is addressing for each individual group you want to target.
Step 2: Select Appropriate Photos
Now that you've adjusted your message to suit each of your target audiences, it's time to find a photo for each of your targeted posts. Just like you adjusted your message, you'll want to customize your photo to suit the audience you're targeting. This is a lot more subjective, but I'll provide you with a couple of guidelines, continuing with some of the previous examples from step 1. There's a lot more you could do beyond these basic suggestions, but the lessons here will mostly be found in the "Don't" sections.
IT professionals
DO: Feature a photo of a professional at their computer, or perhaps a frustrated PC repair guy working on a PC.
Don't: Use a photo of a stereotypical nerd (unless your copy is also lighthearted and it's clearly a well-intended joke). People aren't stereotypes and rarely appreciate being represented as one.
Boomers
DO: Feature a photo of a boomer or boomer couple at the computer.
Don't: Use a photo of someone extremely young or very old. You want the demographic you're targeting to identity with your photo. Having a message for boomers with a picture of someone in their 20's doesn't make sense.
The key takeaway: The key point from this entire post is that you should adjust your message, both the copy and the creative, to match your target audience's interests and speak to the pain points your product or service solves for each demographic.
The basic idea behind your message must be presented in a unique way that appeals to your target audience. You can't just target any post at whomever you want, the whole benefit to targeting is that you can create content that will appeal to a segment and then have Facebook target those posts to that segment.
Over time you'll gain a better idea of what aspects of your targeted content are working well and how to improve with each post, netting better results as you go!
