Why companies are worried about targeting audiences
As AI continues transforming SEO and social media, targeting and segmenting audiences using psychographic profiles will be critical. Yet, ethical issues remain.
The past few years have seen the emergence of AI chatbots and an explosion in the use of data. What was once the preserve of academic institutions, laboratories, and bookmakers is now everywhere. You can even analyse and buy shares in cows! What next, penguins? Therefore, it is no surprise data is sparking many discussions from boardrooms to political institutions.
However, for every good news story, there is controversy. Start-ups are building platforms that understand us better than our mothers and are gaining plaudits for effectively targeting audiences and revolutionising the online digital ecosystem.
Consequently, targeting audiences using psychographic profiles has become more accessible. Over the next few years, we can expect more AI tools to emerge, changing the way digital marketing works.
However, such technologies have also generated scandals, from the alleged hijacking of election campaigns to growing mistrust of marketing with social media. Therefore, companies must ask themselves how to use data when targeting audiences.
Targeting audiences in the 2020s makes marketing segmentation in 2012 look prehistoric
2012 felt like an innocent time. The type of period grandma fondly recalls. Doors remained unlocked, people trusted politicians, and data was the language of nerds. At the time, it appeared sci-fi that President Obama had hired a data company to run 500 A/B tests to fuel his campaign’s fundraising strategy and target his audience.
Fast-forward six years, and sci-fi became mainstream after the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the press after President Trump’s election. Cambridge Analytica allegedly harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent.
Consequently, they were able to build strategic digital marketing content campaigns and influence the outcome of controversial elections from Trump to Brexit by targeting audiences.
The type of data Cambridge Analytica used to micro-target its audience was especially interesting. The company boasted that it had collected 5000 data points on every US voter through a third-party Facebook personality test app.
Subsequently, they applied “psychographic” analytics to their dataset. In other words, they uncovered people’s inner thoughts and influenced their emotions and, ultimately, voting decisions.
You know things are bad when even Amnesty International calls you out on your behaviour!
The way forward: Targeting audiences using psychographic profiles
Naturally, questions of ethics arise. Taking data without people’s knowledge to build psychographic profiles is unacceptable. Similarly, manipulating people with false information when targeting audiences to fit an agenda is not okay.
Yet, failing to use data and target audiences using psychographic profiles would be negligent. Not only will your ability to be visible online, but failure to use psychographic profiles to target your audience will impact your bottom line.
For example, Instagram’s algorithms prioritise accounts that have understood how to build a niche. That niche predates understanding who your users are and what they believe. That’s the only way you will truly get more views and, ultimately, followers.
With the rise of fake influencers and shady tactics, many ethical organisations and individuals have started to shy away from using social media. Yet, this exacerbates the issue further.
Imagine the impact it could have on human health. Unscrupulous organisations do whatever it takes to be seen online, while ethical organisations remain invisible. As a result, we risk another Cambridge Analytica scandal going unseen and promoting advice that risks the health of millions. Indeed, research shows only 15% of accounts are responsible for 40% of fake news.
Using data analytics when targeting audiences is more important than ever
As the graphs below show, the search terms “data analytics” and “search engine optimisation” have continued to rise rapidly over the last few years. Data is going nowhere, and competition to be seen online is only increasing.
Moreover, the coming decade will see the online ecosystem become more complex. The rise of AI tools like Google AI Overviews and Answer Engines is driving online marketing towards personalisation. To be visible in such tools, organisations must understand how to leverage multichannel strategies whilst building topical authority through entities.
This all points to a future where targeting audiences using psychographic profiles is critical. However, the situation is further muddied by the rapid advancement in AI tools. Interest in using AI for online search has skyrocketed by 4800%, driving a chasm between those who understand digital marketing and those who do not.
Moreover, AI has driven an increased level of mistrust. AI tools like ChatGPT have been criticised for their errors, while the accuracy of search giant Google continues to be debated. As a result, people are looking for honest, ethical brands to share information they can relate to. Therefore, targeting is more important than ever.
Use an ethical marketing partner when targeting audiences through psychographic profiles
The message is clear: don’t fear data. Embrace it. Targeting audiences is critical. However, if you decide to outsource your targeting strategy, ensure you pick the right partner.
With advancements in AI, it’s more important than ever to identify a partner who understands the future of online marketing. Moreover, it should be a digital marketing agency that shares your mission and understands the ethics of driving a happier, healthier, and more passionate world.
I’m now off to investigate data in Penguins—does anyone know where I can invest in them?
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