How to Use Audience Segmentation in Content Marketing
Creating unique content for a unique audience
Digital marketing is about reaching audiences and creating content that keeps them engaged. Sounds simple enough, right? Whether you're writing a new blog entry or trying to craft a killer Instagram post, you always have your customers and their unique needs in mind.
But here's the thing: Audiences are a lot more complex than just a single data point!
There's a colorful spectrum of people out there, and each one will respond differently to content strategies. The days of one-size-fits-all marketing are long gone. If you want to make a lasting impact, audience segmentation is vital.
It's about developing content for multiple personas, ensuring that each impression packs a serious punch!
With today's blog, we're going to give you a breakdown of what audience segmentation is and how it can benefit you. We'll also cover some standard models and provide market segmentation examples.
Buckle up because you're about to get some game-changing tips!
What is audience segmentation?
First things first: What is audience segmentation anyways?
To put it simply: Audience segmentation is the practice of dividing your target audience into groups based on shared similarities. How you define groups is crucial, and you have tons of flexibility based on your brand. We'll get into the unique customer segmentation models in a bit.
But for now, the thing you need to know is that segmentation, quite literally, segments your audience.
The concept of market segmentation has actually been around for a long time. Creating unique marketing material for different customer segments isn't new. However, it's more important now than ever before.
Thanks to globalization and the power of the Internet, customers have all the power. If your brand isn't speaking to them, a shopper can quickly move on to a competitor that does. With so much content to consume and enjoy, every marketing campaign counts.
Is market segmentation in content marketing really necessary?
To be blunt: Absolutely!
Here's an allegory to illustrate the point.
Let's say that your content is a tub of ice cream. Everyone loves ice cream, right? To bring in new shoppers to your business, you stand out on the curb and hand out some free scoops of vanilla ice cream.
While everyone who passes by will undoubtedly take notice of the free ice cream, not everyone is a fan of basic vanilla. Some people prefer chocolate, while others want some fruity strawberry.
Now, do you think you'll have more enter your shop if you offer just vanilla or a myriad of flavors?
Think of your content the same way! The goal is to engage as many people as you can. But everyone's preferences are different. While they all share a general interest in your brand (or ice cream), different marketing approaches (or flavors) will appeal to them in their buyer’s journey.
Make sense?
The success of audience segmentation isn't just speculation. There are many companies out there that use segmentation to great success. One study found that campaigns with unique content for different personas had a 14.31 percent higher open rate than non-segmented campaigns.
That's a pretty big difference!
The perks of segmenting your audience
Before we get into market segmentation examples and models, let's talk about some benefits. Creating unique personas and modeling content around them can seem a bit overkill at first. But, the payoff is well worth it in the end. Here are just some perks you can gain.
1. More effective marketing campaigns
This perk is, by far, the biggest reason you should consider creating content for multiple personas. The impact of your campaigns can be hit or miss when you try to reach all segments in one go. Sure, your messaging will resonate with some people. But to others? You might just come off as tone-deaf to your audience!
Audience segmentation lets you optimize your efforts and fine-tune your content to have the most impact. Ultimately, it can improve the quality–and the quantity–of your leads. . Who doesn't want that?
2. Insight into your target audience
Every brand can use a little more insight into their audience. But here's a unique perk that you don't get unless you take steps to segment your market. By digging into that more precise data, you can end up learning a lot more about your audience than you ever thought possible.
It often leads to a more customer-centric culture across the board. You start to truly understand what your audience wants and needs. That could affect everything you do moving forward. It may create a snowball effect for some, eventually influencing other departments and leading to unique products or services that were never on the table before.
3. A killer customer experience
Did you know that roughly 80 percent of shoppers are more likely to give a brand their business if they provide a personalized experience? While segments aren't for creating full-on customized messaging, it's a lot more focused than generic advertisements.
Ultimately, market segmentation creates a better experience all around. You know what your audience wants, so you can deliver something you know works.
4. More focused strategies
Audience segmentation can guide your marketing strategies moving forward. Once again, it all comes down to knowing the specifics about each segment. Learn how to reach segments more effectively, and you can spend your marketing dollars much more wisely.
5. Brand awareness and loyalty
Segmentation improves the way you engage customers. You know what they want, where to reach them, and understand the dynamics of the market landscape. Use all of that to your advantage!
Unique content keeps your audience hooked, leading to more awareness and loyalty in the long run.
Customer segmentation: who, what, where, and how?
Now you have a better understanding of segmentation and what it can do. Let's talk about different approaches!
The sky's the limit when it comes to how you identify segments. However, there are four core customer segmentation models you can follow. They answer some essential questions about your audience.
Demographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation is the most common there is. There's a good chance you already have this type of information about your audience available. It covers essential data points and doesn't dive too deep into character traits.
Demographic segmentation might include:
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Education
- Income level
Demographics can be helpful in some situations. Some good market segmentation examples include creating unique content for younger audeinces and separate content for older generations.
Psychographic segmentation
Psychographic segmentation is all about the "Why." Why are they attracted to your brand? What are some similarities people in this segment might share?
This model dives a bit deeper into character traits, including factors like:
- Hobbies
- Goals
- Lifestyles
- Values
Examples of this model in action might include having different content strategies for those who love spending time outdoors versus those who spend hours playing video games.
Behavioral segmentation
As the name would imply, this model is all about audience behavior. It revolves around the "How."
You might use the following factors for segmentation:
- Spending habits
- Purchasing habits
- Browsing behavior
- Known brand interactions
The best way to utilize this segmentation is to create focused content based on the likelihood of engagement. For example, you might have unique content for those who've already spent a lot on your brand. Meanwhile, you'll take a different strategy for those who only show general interest.
Geographic Segmentation
Finally, we have geographic segmentation. The concept here is pretty simple. It's about grouping your audience based on location. You can get as specific as you need, separating by country, state, city, and even postal code.
Over to you!
There you have it! Audience segmentation can get pretty complex. There are more ways to differentiate your viewers than the four we went over. But they're an excellent place to start.
Providing unique content can go a long way in touching your audience. It separates you from the robotic corporate-speak and shows a more down-to-earth side of marketing. Give it a try and see what you think!