A target audience is the people you’re trying to reach with a certain offering, message or campaign. This can be a broad group of people, like “the public,” or it could be a specific group of people—like “people who live on a certain street in Stockholm.”

Your Target Audience doesn’t have to be your customers. Not all communication efforts are meant to sell. Sometimes you want to spread knowledge or just inform. If you see customers and target audience as the same, you narrow down your options of how to spread your message and impact. 

Why does it matter to know your target audience? It matters because knowing your target audience helps you determine how to communicate with them. If you don’t know who you are trying to reach are and how they think, how can you effectively communicate with them? If you don’t know what kind of content will resonate with them, how can you make sure that content is produced? 

If you don’t have an image of yourself as an expert in your field and an easy way for others to get in touch with that expert knowledge, how can you expect that target audience to form a relationships with you?