Are You Targeting the Wrong Audience? How to Find Your Ideal Customer

Finding your target audience is vital for your brand’s success. Not all attention is equal. You need real people who will buy from you, return to you, and advocate for you.

That means getting clear on who your ideal customer is without boxing yourself into a corner. You don’t want to alienate potential buyers, but you also can’t afford to waste time or ad spend on browsers who will never become paying customers.

If you’re trying to figure out why you’re not getting the results you want, keep reading. Ahead, our digital marketing team shares some expert strategies to help you identify your target audience and tips on how to pivot if you’ve been barking up the wrong tree.

How to Find Your Target Audience

Let’s dive into practical, proven strategies for how to find your target audience and connect with the customers who matter most.

Conduct market research.

Finding your target audience starts with data. Before you can define your target customer, you need to understand the landscape you’re operating in. Look at industry trends, run surveys, and dig into demographic and psychographic data.

Research helps you identify potential customers and spot gaps in the market that your competitors may be missing. No guesswork here. It’s about gathering the facts so you can move forward with confidence.

Create buyer personas.

If you want your message to resonate, you need to know who you’re talking to. Creating detailed buyer personas allows you to tailor content, ads, and products to the people most likely to convert.

These profiles include everything from age, education, and income to lifestyle, buying habits, and pain points. The more specific, the better. Personas help you define your target customer and speak directly to their needs, which is critical for successful audience targeting.

Listen to social media.

Your customers are already telling you what they want—you just have to listen. Monitor social platforms for recurring questions, frustrations, and conversations related to your industry.

Comments, reviews, hashtags, and even competitor posts can reveal what matters most to your target customer. Use this intel to refine your messaging, adjust your offers, and meet people where they are. Finding your target audience becomes easier when you tune into their world.

Find clever ways to get feedback.

Don’t underestimate the power of direct input. Run giveaways that ask participants to answer a few questions. Sell on platforms like Etsy or eBay to test the waters and see who’s actually buying.

These methods help you gather insights while simultaneously getting your product into customers’ hands. The feedback you receive can guide you to identify potential customers and make smarter decisions around product development, positioning, and audience targeting.

See what (successful) brands are doing.

There’s no shame in keeping tabs on the industry. In fact, it’s a tried-and-tested strategy. See who like-minded brands are targeting, what kind of content they’re creating, and how people are responding. Which of their posts get the most engagement? What offers seem to be working?

Studying your industry can give you a shortcut to understanding your own target audience—and help you avoid making mistakes they’ve already worked through.

Use SEO tools to glean insights.

People’s search behavior can tell you a lot. Look at what keywords are driving traffic to your site and which search queries are bringing in new visitors. These phrases reflect what your target customer is actively seeking.

Tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush can also surface related questions and search intent, which gives you a deeper look at customer motivations. That’s gold when you’re trying to identify potential customers and sharpen your content strategy. If you’re not sure how to use or make the most of these tools, get expert help.

Test and iterate constantly.

Finding your target audience isn’t a one-and-done exercise. It’s an ongoing process. As trends shift and your business grows, your target customer may evolve too. A/B test your messaging, try new platforms, and pay attention to what works.

The more you test, the better you get at audience targeting, and the faster you’ll grow. Don’t be afraid to pivot when the data points you in a new direction.

Leverage your existing customer base.

If you’ve already made some sales, dig into those customers. Who are they, and what do they have in common? Interview them, track their journey, and use what you learn to define your target customer moving forward.

These insights can reveal patterns that help you identify potential customers you haven’t reached yet. Your current audience is one of your most valuable tools in how to find your target audience, so use the information wisely.

How to Change Who You’re Targeting

Ok, so you’ve been targeting the wrong audience, or your targeting isn’t as fine-tuned as it could or should be. Now what? First, know that it happens more often than you think, and it’s fixable.

Misfires in audience targeting are usually the result of outdated assumptions, limited data, or trying to be everything to everyone. The key is recognizing it early and being willing to shift your strategy based on what you’ve learned.

Here are some steps to take:

• Review the data. Look at who’s actually engaging with your brand versus who you thought you were speaking to. Check your analytics across platforms—social, email, website traffic, and ad performance. Who’s clicking, buying, and sticking around? These insights will help you identify potential customers who are already showing interest, even if you weren’t targeting them intentionally.
• Rework your buyer personas. Maybe your original personas were too broad, or maybe you’ve outgrown them. It’s time to update those profiles with fresh data, clearer pain points, and more refined details. Go beyond demographics—dig into motivations, challenges, and behaviors. This is your chance to define your target customer with precision and intention.
• Reevaluate your messaging. If you’ve been speaking to the wrong people, your tone, visuals, and value propositions may all need a refresh. Ask yourself if this content is still relevant to the audience you want to reach. If not, adjust your copy and creative to speak directly to your ideal buyer’s needs and goals.
• Test everything. Start small with A/B testing across ad campaigns, landing pages, and email sequences. Shift your targeting criteria slowly and monitor the impact. This controlled approach will help you make smart adjustments without losing momentum.

Here are more actionable tips to pivot your targeting effectively:

• Run surveys or interviews with existing customers who align with your ideal audience.
• Use lookalike audiences based on high-value customers—not just followers or leads.
• Pause underperforming campaigns and reallocate budget to new test segments.
• Try new platforms or channels that better align with your revised target audience.
• Focus on intent-driven keywords and search queries to attract users who are ready to buy.

Don’t look at refining your approach as a setback. The more clearly you understand how to find your target audience, the faster you can connect with the right people and the more impact your marketing will have.

Is Your Audience Targeting Working?

It’s not always obvious whether your audience targeting is on point. You might be seeing some engagement, maybe even a few conversions—but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve nailed it.

It’s tempting to look at what competitors are doing and assume you’re in the same lane. But every brand is different, and what works for someone else might not work for you. The real question is: are your efforts attracting the right people?

Here’s are some indicators your target audience needs a second look:

• You’re getting clicks, but no conversions.
• Your followers don’t engage with your content.
• You have high bounce rates on your site.
• Your ad spend isn’t generating ROI.
• Customers often say your product isn’t what they expected.
• You’re constantly tweaking your messaging with no real improvement.
• You’re attracting price shoppers, not loyal customers.
• Your customer base feels inconsistent or random.

If any of these red flags are showing up, it’s time to reevaluate. Effective audience targeting should bring clarity, consistency, and results.

Socialfly Can Help Find Your Target Audience

Struggling to find your target audience or feeling like your current strategy isn’t cutting it? Our team can help. Whether you’re starting from scratch or ready to pivot, we can help you define your target customer and reconnect with the audience that drives real growth.

It starts with a digital marketing strategy consultation. We take the time to understand your business, your goals, and where things might be falling short. From there, we build a custom plan with a social-forward approach that puts your brand in front of the people who matter most.

Here’s a quick look at how we help:

• Audit your current audience targeting and digital presence.
• Create detailed, data-driven buyer personas.
• Analyze competitors and market trends.
• Align messaging across social, paid ads, and influencer campaigns.
• Optimize content for engagement and conversion.

Finding your target audience doesn’t have to be guesswork. With Socialfly in your corner, you get strategic, creative support that turns insight into action and browsers into buyers. Ready to get started? Get in touch.