subject: Audience Targeting [print this page] Paid ads come in all different shapes and sizes, but the one thing that they all have in common is the fact that these ads tend to upset your viewing audience if they are not done correctly. For example, have you ever read through an article in which there were highlighted text links? The catch is that those text links aren't linked to anything else within the website. Rather, they are paid ads that help to generate revenue based on the number of times that a person clicks on the link.
Nothing is worse for a reader than to be fooled into clicking on an advertisement that leads them nowhere- or at least nowhere that they want to be. The same can be said of other types of pop up ads in which as soon as a reader lands on a web page, the first thing that happens is they are bombarded by pop up ads. Some ads scroll across the screen while other ads simply appear. In some cases, the ads are difficult to get rid of due to the clever placement of the 'close' option for the box; and by that point, you have pretty much already lost a valued reader- one which could have led to a possible sale.
If you want to target your audience, visit the sites that they hang out on and study the trends. Studying the trends is not terribly difficult. Rather, its when you have to implement what you have learned into real practice that the challenges come to light. For example, you may discover that your target audience likes to listen to a certain kind of music. If you are an owner of a small nightclub/dance club, you may want to create a marketing campaign that targets that particular demographic. Most younger people are attached to their cell phones. Therefore, you may want to create a marketing campaign in which you offer free admission into the nightclub via mobile media or via a Twitter account. Perhaps, set up a contest in which the first five people to get at least five friends to go with them to your club will earn free admission for the night. In some cases, it's good to think outside of the box.
One other way to target your audience is through blog posts that you write up. For example, you may write about topics that touch on certain things that happened inside of your club or upcoming events, shows, or even pictures of people from past clubbing experiences. Have a menu? Tie your menu into your blog and link back to your website. You can also link your blog posts to your Twitter feed, etc. The possibilities are endless. The main point is to keep the conversation going so that you create a buzz about what it is you are doing with your site, etc.
