Most campaigns fail for one simple reason: they speak to everyone and resonate with no one. Targeting is the difference between a campaign that burns budget and one that builds momentum.
Here’s why precision wins, and how to apply it without overcomplicating your stack.
1. Relevance beats reach
Overview: Broad targeting gets impressions. Relevant targeting gets action.
What to do: Define your primary audience in one sentence: who they are, what they want, and why now.
2. Pain beats persona
Overview: People don’t buy because they match a persona. They buy because a problem feels urgent.
What to do: Target around intent signals and pain points, not age brackets and job titles alone.
3. Message-market fit is targeting
Overview: The same ad can perform wildly differently depending on the slice of the market you show it to.
What to do: Test two to three focused segments and let the data tell you where the message lands.
4. Targeting saves creative
Overview: Great creative loses power when it’s shown to the wrong people.
What to do: Build one strong concept, then tailor the copy and angle per segment instead of reinventing the entire campaign.
5. Efficiency is the real win
Overview: The tighter the targeting, the faster you learn and the cheaper you scale.
What to do: Track a single metric per stage (CTR, CVR, CAC) and use it to decide what to scale.
If your marketing feels noisy, don’t just buy more ads. Fix your targeting. That’s where the growth is hiding.
