How to determine who your UK target audience is.

Summary/Overview

Communication isn’t just about what you have to say – it’s about how you say it and who you say it to. As a business, you might have something to share, but if you can’t tailor your message to your target audience, it simply won’t connect.

There are so many factors to consider too. We always think about age or income, but what about location? Writing to someone in the UK will be different from communicating with those in America – and there’s a whole globe to consider.

Learning how to craft a message that lands and allows you to build strong customer relationships starts with understanding your target audience.

Read on and discover how to determine your target audience with Adobe Express.

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What is a target audience?

A target audience is the intended audience for a product, service, advert or message. It’s who you’re tailoring something to – whether that’s the tone of the message itself or the unique selling points of a product.

For example, if you sell bespoke bathrooms in the north of England, your audience may be affluent homeowners who live locally – probably ages 30 and up.

Target audiences are commonly categorised by the following factors – and it’s important to understand them:

• Location. Knowing your target audience’s location is important. Not only can you capitalise on location-centric trends (maybe a particular product is popular in the North but not the South) but you can make your marketing more relevant. For example, you could be a travel company from Brighton offering people the chance to “enjoy chips on the beach – without the seagulls”.
• Gender. Many brands are starting to break down gender barriers to think more inclusively. But it’s often been a traditional factor when identifying target audiences.
• Age. Defining the age of your audience is essential – not just in the product you’re selling but how you choose to talk about it too. Communicating with Gen Z is completely different to tailoring content to baby boomers and so are the channels you use.
• Income. By defining your target audience’s income range, you can focus more on the people who are likely to buy your product – rather than tailoring your messaging to those who wouldn’t be interested.
• Interests. You may determine your target audience based on their interests – gamers or cinema-enjoyers may respond well to memorabilia or themed goods, for example. This could be a factor that goes into local partnerships too. For example, as a coffee shop that focuses on retro culture, maybe you host local boardgame events. It could also influence your messaging – puns and references based on movies could really help you connect if that’s your audience.

Explore marketing materials for different target audiences.

Why do you need a target audience?

Knowing your target audience means knowing what content to create – it lets you picture the type of person you’re intending to share your message with. That means you have a defined target in mind and can make better marketing decisions. Think of it as visualising a goal to aim for.

You can’t sell to everyone – even the biggest brands in the world focus on tailoring themselves to specific audiences. This not only helps to create messaging that’s consistent with your brand, but it lets you attract the right people to your product. It also means you can tailor products and services that directly target your customers’ specific needs.

Without a target audience, your messaging can become mixed and customers may feel apathetic. You never want to leave them wondering, ‘who is this meant for?’.

How to determine your target audience.

In the early stages of your business plan, you’ll want to carefully consider who you’re taking to. To accurately determine your target audience, you can use a range of tools and tactics.

Here are some ideas:

1. Use social media analytics.

Social media analytics and insights can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to identifying data. Use tools to uncover metrics like audience demographics so you can better understand who is following and engaging with your social channels.

Not only can these tools help you discover your audience, they can also ensure you’re resonating with your target demographic too.

2. Research industry trends.

By researching trends in your market and industry, you can get a sense of newly emerging customer segments or any pivots in customer behaviours. This may help you narrow down your target audience or keep up with them as they change.

3. Conduct competitor and market analysis.

Competitor and market analysis is when you examine data from competitors – usually monitoring trends (and gaps) to help you identify your own target audience.

Not only can you compare your own product or prices against a competitor (maybe you’re positioning yourself as a more luxurious or high-quality company in comparison), but you can also get a sense of things like demographics for existing products.

This lets you make an informed decision from the start in everything you do – from branding to pricing and messaging.

4. Analyse website and campaign performance.

Learn about your existing customers by analysing your own website analytics or campaign performance. Did your messaging resonate? Who shared it? What was the demographic of people who clicked through? This can ensure your messaging is on brand. And if not, you can use the data to make changes to ensure you’re not missing any customers with similar traits to your existing ones.

5. Create a buyer persona.

Creating a buyer persona can be a great way to define and visualise your target audience.

Buyer personas are data-informed, fictional representations of your ideal customer. These personas include buying behaviours, interests and motivations. They’re almost like characters based on your previous research.

These personas don’t need to encompass one type of person – you may have several which serve as a segment of your primary target audience.

For example, let’s say your target demographic for a product is homeowners – you may further segment that market based on your research.

• You might find that a demographic prefers items such as integrated bars or interactive kitchen islands as they like to be social in their homes – so you could call these people event hosters.
• A different subsection may prefer products that add an air of luxury to their house – these could be prideful decorators.
• Then you have the people looking for products that help them set roots with their families – these could be family homemakers.

All are homeowners, but each have their own distinct buying habits and behaviours. You may find that you have a preference for one of those segments – but don’t necessarily want to miss out on the others.

Likewise, renters may be a category you’re not interested in as your products are focused around building a home. In that case, you may not direct your messaging towards them, but you don’t necessarily want to dissuade them.

Free social media samples for your UK audience.

Target audience examples for small businesses in the UK.

Your business will naturally steer you in a certain direction. Here are some examples of potential target audiences for small businesses in the UK:

1. Target audience for a café.

A café located on the high street in a trendy part of the town is positioned next to several game stores. It sells speciality blends and is a social and active space.

It defines its target market as young people aged 16 to 35 who are frequent buyers that may take an interest in the products or social events of the café.

This age group enjoys using the café as a space rather than just getting a coffee to go. They are savvy online users and are active on a range of platforms. They may be new to the workforce or students – or they could have a career under way, and might have a high disposable income.

2. Target audience for a beauty shop.

Now let’s take an organic beauty store in a more suburban location, only a short walk from the town centre.

It provides beauty, health and selfcare products with ingredients sourced from local companies. It offers delivery to customers and a walk-in store, as well as events and beauty sessions.

It defines its target audience as people aged 16 and up with an interest in beauty, selfcare and health. They also have a shared concern for sustainable, organic and animal-friendly products. They expect quality products that are ethical and are conscious consumers who enjoy a holistic approach to wellbeing.

3. Target audience for an online clothing shop.

Finally, let’s take an online retailer selling previously loved and vintage clothing. It has an online shopping service that uses a variety of channels and defines its target audience as internet-savvy shoppers aged 18-40.

The store targets consumers with trendy used clothing and defined styles through online marketing. The target audience do not mind spending money on previously loved clothing and are passionate about fashion and attire. They are likely willing to pay a premium on rare and interesting finds but may not care for fast or seasonal fashion.

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Useful things to know.

What are the four types of target audience?

There are several strategies that can be used when identifying your target audience, but the main four are demographic, geographic, behavioural and psychographic.

These focus on people-based differences, as well as location, shopping habits or online actions, and mental or emotional characteristics.

What are three tips for identifying your target audience?

There are a lot of great tips for identifying your target audience.

• First, do your research – use surveys and analytics tools, as well as competitor and market research, to make data-informed decisions.
• Analyse your own products, services and offerings too – understanding who might be interested starts with really studying what you’re offering.
• Finally, try to create a buyer persona. These are fictional customer profiles you can always refer back to when starting media campaigns or creating messaging.

How can I attract a target audience?

To attract a target audience, you should consider their behaviours and interests – then position your marketing around that. For example, if you’re targeting a younger demographic, you can use the latest TikTok trends and other up-and-coming social media channels to great effect.

Focus on what you can bring to your desired audience and meet them on channels they like to use with tailored advertisements.

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