Even though Google is the grand leader of internet search engines, this does not mean the platform is without flaws. Many advertisers have been asking Google for more and better segmentation options for years to have a better control over the impacts of their ads, after all, a good segmentation can help us lower the competition on search. Google has heard us and this year, which many consider as the Year of Audiences, they launched new segmentation options that will help us reach our target audience, no doubt.

What we need to know

Up to now, Google allowed you to make groups by: age, gender, familiar status and family income. Now, they are including: marital status, home status (own or rent), education, and whether you have babies, toddlers, kids or teenagers.

This tool will be especially useful to find users with different needs because of this variables. Also, Google made it clear that even if we have more segmentation options, that doesn’t mean we should completely ignore different groups which could lead to losing a big chunk of the market. The best practice, clearly, is to make segmentation based on data and not just gut feeling, otherwise we risk fallin on wrong stereotypes.

A window closes a door opens

Along the year we’ve seen many changes in the segmentation tools of many platforms like Facebook or Instagram. First we have to wonder, why this change?, which seems to have come gradually through the platforms, it also feels very sudden. The answer is very simple: competition. Digital marketing has reached its peak and the competition between brands has been tough, with little options for segmentation and a market that’s already heavily saturated by the big-name brands, it leaves very little space for smaller brands to shine. With more segmentation options it is much simpler to find the right niche for brands that are closer to the ground.

In the name of the brand, I claim you “niche”

So, how can we make the best use of this option? Fundamentally, as we already talked about, we must find our target market; for example, if we have a skateboard brand, it’s more probable that they are purchased by the male sector, between middle and high school, single and without kids than a sector with advanced studies, married and with a baby. With this in mind we can think about the next step: experience, when you know exactly who you are talking to, it’s easier to create a message that caters to that public, and not only that, but with a more personal message for that particular segment, we give them a sense of belonging that can lead them to become a loyal advocate for our brand. Finally, we can learn a lot about our brand by looking at the behavior of each of these audiences with it, while a married man with children is highly probable to watch a kids movie, newly weds are more likely to watch a horror movie. We can also look at other more unsuspected audiences. A musical would logically be of the female audience liking, but it could also become a smashing hit for LGBTTI.

sources

Google adds new demographic targets

What we need to know

A window closes a door opens

In the name of the brand, I claim you “niche”