I’m currently a senior at the University of Georgia, which means I’m among the people who furiously rush to any meeting or social event held by a company recruiter. One of the things I’m doing is creating a list of companies I want to target. I have the list broken down into categories: agencies, corporations, small business. And even into sublists: Agencies – Public Relations, Integrated Marketing, Branding. Once I made the list, I started analyzing each company — what they do, the culture, who I can get in touch with to learn more.

Social media can be pretty similar to the list I made. You always need to know who you’re targeting. Don’t target everyone; pick a small list and cater to them well. It can be by age range (18-24, 25-34), sex (male, female), occupation (student, banker, mom), etc. Use demographics most relevant to your goals. Understand the culture of your target audience. If you aren’t sure what your target audience is like, ask someone you know who is similar.

After this whole process is complete, find where your audience interacts on social media. With one of my clients, I find that the primary audience, a bit more mature in age, prefers to engage on Facebook. As a result, I make sure my posts on Facebook are a bit more straightforward and informative. I still target a younger demographic but find that they are more interactive on Instagram. My posts are usually a bit shorter and include pictures.

Creating your list of audiences is important. This list should be a filter which every post goes through before it’s off to the masses.