Audience segmentation is important for paid social media success because it ensures that your message is reaching the right audience. Thousands of people can see your ad but it doesn’t mean anything if it’s not the thousands of people who would actually buy your product. When paying for real estate on a social media platform, you’re investing in your business. You don’t want wasted impressions because then you’re wasting money. The right people seeing your ad results in a much higher ROI.

Poppi’s Audience Segmentation

In The Marketing Campaign Playbook, Thony explains that segmentation is used to divide your broader target audience and it “allows you to tailor your marketing messages to each group more effectively.” Personalized marketing messages create relatability for the consumer and your brand will be better connected to your audience. 

Poppi is a popular soda alternative brand. I looked at Poppi’s brand and thought about a possible audience segment for them. Their general target audience seems to be women ages 18-24 and 25-34, who are interested in health and wellness. A good audience segment to use would be post-grad-aged women living in metropolitan areas who like to be active. 

Thony states that buyer personas are “fictional representations of your ideal customers.” The buyer persona I would create for Poppi is a 24-year-old named Taylor who moved to NYC for her first job post-grad. She likes to be active and utilizes the various workout classes that NYC has to offer. As Taylor has settled into post-grad life, she is making an effort to be health-conscious and create healthy habits for her adult life. She’s also interested in the sober-curious movement that is gaining popularity on social media. Poppi is the perfect product for Taylor because it’s better for you than regular soda and makes a great alternative to alcohol when used in a mocktail recipe or on its own.

Custom and Lookalike Audiences

A custom audience is when advertisers retarget existing users who previously interacted with the brand. Possible data sources for Poppi to look at to create a custom audience would be who visits their website, who has previously purchased Poppi, who is on their email list, and who interacts with Poppi on social media.

A lookalike audience is when advertisers target users who buy from their competitors and share the same persona as their desired audience. Poppi could create a lookalike audience by targeting consumers who buy from their popular competitors, such as Olipop and Culture Pop Soda. The characteristics of their source audience would be young people who are health conscious and enjoy soda alternatives. 

Real-World Example

A real-world example of a campaign that’s successful due to audience segmentation every year is Spotify Wrapped. As a Spotify user, I know the year is coming to an end when I start seeing content about Spotify Wrapped. Audience segmentation is used here because they are reaching their custom audiences by targeting those who use Spotify and interact with them on social media. I would also imagine they’re targeting lookalike audiences and reaching Apple Music users. Similarly, I’m a Spotify user who noticed a lot of ads for Apple Music’s Replay this past year. Apple Music Replay came a few years after Spotify Wrapped, and they’re definitely trying to win over Spotify users. I saw a lot of these ads as a result of Apple Music using a lookalike audience.