5 Improved Ways to Find and Reach Your Target Audience on Instagram

The Gram is a significant tool for companies to increase brand awareness, but it’s also important to research and learn more about the target market of your business.
 

Businesses must identify their target audience to succeed with Instagram marketing. Understanding this is key to knowing how to market your product because without figuring out who potential customers are and where they hang out, you would be lost when it comes to reaching them.
 

First, ask yourself who the product or service you offer is for.

• What kinds of people can benefit from this offering?
• Who is currently in need of something like this?
• Where are these people situated?

These are vital questions that will define a brand’s audience. And if you're still struggling to identify yours, the best thing you can do is check out the followers of your competitors’ social media pages. This will tell you who to reach out to, making sure you tailor your content for certain targeted groups.
 

Now, let's highlight five ways to find and reach your audience on Instagram. Some of these will focus on how to find your target audience, while others will be based on reaching them.

1. Polls

We've talked about how to identify your target audience or find one by researching; now let's talk about finding them via user polls. You can run an Instagram poll or survey—or use some stickers—focused on the values of your company and the people you have as customers.
 

With the use of polls, brands can survey the needs and wants of a particular audience. Polls usually focus on discovering valuable information about the polled group, such as their knowledge base or what they would consider a valuable service.
 

By identifying if they are potential patrons or not, brands can quickly gauge the audience’s value and act accordingly. And it can be as simple as a restaurant asking on their story, “After a sunny day, which would you rather eat - chicken or fish?”
 

If the eatery is looking to bring out chicken products, it knows that poll/survey respondents who choose fish cannot be target customers (at least not without significant convincing).
 

So, essentially, polls are a great way to find out what customers want and provide powerful insights that help in making better, more focused decisions. They can also be useful when looking for potential new markets and target audiences.

2. Hashtags

Instagram embraces hashtags for increased brand awareness, and they’re key to finding and engaging a target audience. If you use them well, people who may have an interest in the topic or subject can find out about your brand and interact with it.
 

For a fitness company, as an example, there are hashtags peculiar to the industry that help locate the right people - like #workout or #jogging.
 

When you implement these keywords, you can attract people who may be interested in your product as they visit the hashtag pages. Likewise, you can keep track of where these individuals are located, cross-referencing them with other important data points.
 

That's why it's important to use hashtags specific to your niche - they help you reach the people interested in that topic. They also work well with your Story posts on the Gram, allowing for a much wider audience.

3. Geotags

This cheeky way of engaging the desired audience is extremely effective! A location tag is just a keyword or phrase that identifies where you’re talking about or posting from.
 

You can use location tags to include a specific spot somewhere in the world right in your post. This means your posts won't just be visible to people who follow you, but also people who are near this location - perfect for business promotions!
 

Through the placement of a geotag, it becomes very easy for your content to reach the desired viewers as long as you’ve identified what type of demographics will be most interested in viewing it.
 

Geotags are included in the marketing strategy applied by brands at the top of their game that are constantly looking for ways to increase their exposure.
 

Now, imagine using super-relevant geotags along with the same caliber of hashtags. The possible reach of your post can be huge - which is fantastic, right?
 

Note: In the future, we’ll provide an in-depth guide on leveraging geotags for not just Instagram but other possible platforms. Stay tuned here.

4. Influencers

You might have had bad experiences with influencers or you might not want to work with them, but it's undeniable that they are an excellent way to connect with an audience on Instagram—whether you're looking to target a younger or older demographic.
 

With their love for the craft, expertise, and ongoing work, you’ll find that these creators have amassed a solid following - one that is waiting to be harvested by the right brand. But before working with any influencer, it's worth noting that they align well with your niche or industry.
 

Influencers are also known for having high follower loyalty, making them a perfect target audience for any company. Consumers are more likely to trust and purchase the products or services they’re promoting, so companies must partner with influencers as a way of reaching their target audience.
 

It’s wise to use the right hashtags to look for creators and marketers in a specific industry. Once you have found influencers that align with your goals, it’s prudent to reach out with an enticing proposal for partnership.

5. Ads

Instagram Ads are specific to the demographics of your choice, meaning the content will be tailored to their needs. This is great for engaging people on Instagram and can be effective in driving traffic to your social media channels.
 

This is the reason it has become an essential tool in the content marketer’s arsenal. All you need to do is provide Instagram with the details on your target audience and set up a campaign.
 

ICYMI: One important thing to note is that this feature is not accessible to personal accounts.

Key takeaways

Brands always have the same goal in mind, which is to engage their desired audience continually. It can sometimes be a challenge for them to achieve this goal, but all the above steps work together to help brands find and connect with their targeted viewers on Instagram.