Struggling to reach the right people with your content? Learn how to identify your target audience and tailor content that resonates—backed by actionable examples.
We live in a world where content is king. People know this, so as a result, content is everywhere.
But relevant content? That’s more rare.
If your content isn’t landing, it’s not because people don’t care—it’s because you haven’t yet caught the attention of those who do.
This article will show you how to identify your target audience with precision, and then craft content that feels like it was made just for them.
Whether you’re a founder, a coach, or running a service business, read until the very end because this is for you.
Step 1: Understand the Real Purpose of Audience Targeting
Audience targeting is about “intensifying” your targeting.
When you try to talk to everyone, you end up talking to no one. But when you speak directly to a specific group’s deepest frustrations and desires their ears perk up because they feel seen.
So how do you find these people and actually understand what they care about?
Step 2: Build a Detailed Audience Avatar (That Goes Deeper Than Demographics)
A lot of people stop at age, income, and gender. That’s only surface-level targeting. What you really want is to look at the psychographics of your target audience —their values, fears, motivations, habits, and beliefs.
Here’s a simple framework for demographics and psychographics to consider:
1. Demographics
- Age range
- Location
- Occupation & income
- Platforms they spend time on
- Software they use
2. Psychographics
- What are they frustrated with right now?
- What transformation are they really craving?
- What beliefs do they already hold that I can align with or challenge?
- What kind of language do they naturally use when talking about their problem?
Example:
Let’s say you’re a fitness coach. Demographics alone might give you “35-year-old males in metropolitan cities.” But deeper research (from Google, statistics, and your current client base) might reveal:
- They’re busy professionals who hate the gym but want to get fit for longevity and mental clarity.
- They scroll YouTube at night for fitness tips they rarely apply themselves.
- They value discipline but need to be held accountable to be better at it.
- They’re skeptical and practical. They like cold hard facts rather than things that “sound nice”
Now you’re not just guessing. You know how to speak their language and offer something real. Your content performs even better because you’re speaking directly to the psychology of your ideal buyers.
Step 3: Use Data to Validate Your Assumptions
Don’t just build an avatar based on who you think they are. Use tools and feedback to back it up.
Here are some ways to gather intel:
- Current/Past Best Clients – Look at the best clients you tend to work with. What were their drives, motivations, and beliefs?
- Google Analytics – If you get a decent amount of traffic, understand where they come from, what content performs best, and how long people stay.
- LinkedIn Responses – If you’re doing outbound LinkedIn message campaigns, who responds the most? What messages do they respond to and why might that be?
- Meta Ads Manager – Use audience insights to see what interests and behaviors correlate with your most engaged users.
- Facebook Groups, Reddit & Quora – These are goldmines for raw, unfiltered audience conversations. Search your niche and look for recurring pain points or phrases.
- Polls & DMs – Ask your audience directly what they’re struggling with. You’ll be shocked by the clarity it brings. LinkedIn and Facebook Groups are great places for getting massive amounts of feedback.
Remember: 56% of consumers say they’re more loyal to brands who “get them.”
Getting this right = building trust before they ever hit your landing page.
Step 4: Align Content Format & Messaging to the Stage of Awareness
Once you know your audience, the next step is matching your content to where they’re at in their buyer journey.
We recommend using a simple version of Eugene Schwartz’s 5 Levels of Awareness:
- Unaware – They don’t know they have a problem. Solution: Use educational content to identify their problem and explain why it’s important.
- Problem-Aware – They know something’s wrong, but they don’t know the cause. Solution: Create pain-focused content that builds empathy, but explains what they could be doing wrong.
- Solution-Aware – They’re actively looking for ways to solve it. Solution: Compare options, provide frameworks, and teach concepts.
- Product-Aware – They know you, but need a reason to trust you. Solution: Share case studies, and testimonials, tell your story, and share personal insights.
- Most Aware – they’re ready to buy. Solution: Give them a compelling offer with urgency.
Here’s an example of a B2B LinkedIn coach using this framework for their content:
- Unaware content – “Why your LinkedIn profile might be costing you high-ticket leads”
- Problem-aware content – “Struggling to get inbound leads? It’s usually one of these 3 reasons.”
- Solution-aware content – “How I used 20-minute weekly content to build a $50k/month inbound engine”
- Product-aware content – “Here’s what happened when Jon used our 90-day LinkedIn System Build”
- Most-aware content – “Last chance to join this month’s client intake—2 spots left.”
Each piece has its place. When you pair this with proven demographics and psychographics, your content will reach a new level of success.
Step 5: Audit & Refine Based on Engagement
Here’s the truth most businesses forget:
If your content isn’t resonating, it’s not the algorithm—it’s your message. Tracking your engagement gives you the raw feedback you need to refine.
Key metrics to watch:
- Hook retention (For video, first 3 seconds on video or first line on text posts)
- Comments and saves (signals real value, not just likes )
- Click-through rate (CTR) on your video, links, or buttons
- Reply rate (for DMs and email sequences)
- View Duration (For videos – How long people watch your video)
Use the analytics on your social media platforms to get a clear picture of whether your content grabs your audience.
The most successful content creators are always testing and tweaking. The goal isn’t to be perfect–it’s to get progressively more accurate with every post. “Accuracy” means that your content resonates more and more (sometimes this will require you to make very niche posts).
Pro Tip: Mirror Their Language, Not Just Their Problem
If your audience says “I feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with social,” don’t just call it “digital fatigue.”
Instead, speak like them. Mirror their words–this creates instant resonance.
Instead of saying:
“Are you struggling with scaling your inbound systems?”
I’d say:
“You’re great at what you do—but the leads just aren’t consistent. You’ve tried content. You’ve tried cold DMs. But something’s missing…”
That kind of specificity builds subconscious trust.
Winning Content Comes From Perspective
Identifying your audience isn’t a static step–it’s a living one. People change, markets shift, and the best brands grow with their audience.
If you want content that converts, focus more on taking the perspective of your ideal customer.
Get excited about understanding your people. Know them better than they know themselves and show them they’re not alone.
That’s how you earn trust and create content that actually connects. That’s how we do things at The Allyson Group.
