Who Are You Actually Talking To?
Welcome back! Last time we set a goal for your social media. Maybe it was more weekday orders, or more enquiries from local offices. A goal is great. But here's the next question. Who has to act for that goal to happen?
If your answer is "everyone", I get it. Most of us feel that way at first. The trouble is that a post written for everyone tends to land with no one. Picture shouting across a busy market. Now picture tapping one person on the shoulder and saying their name. The second one gets noticed, doesn't it?
So today we'll build a simple customer profile. It's one page that describes the person you most want to reach. That covers who they are, where they spend time online, what they care about and what stops them buying. Every choice you make in later lessons will aim at this person.
Meet Our Example: Crumb & Co
Let's use a small high-street bakery called Crumb & Co. Its goal from last lesson is more pre-orders for celebration cakes.
Who orders those cakes? The owner, Priya, thinks for a minute. It's mostly parents in their thirties and forties, ordering for a child's birthday, living within a few miles. Quite a few of them work full time. They often order at the last minute.
Notice what Priya did there. She didn't invent anyone. She started with real people who already buy from her. That's the best place for you to start too.
Step One: Write Down What You Already Know
Think of your three or four favourite customers. These are the ones you'd happily clone. What do they have in common?
Jot down the basics first. Roughly how old are they? Where do they live or work? What's going on in their life when they need you? For a freelance bookkeeper, that might be "sole traders in their first two years, panicking in January about their tax return."
Then ask where they spend time online. You don't need perfect data yet. Have customers mentioned seeing you on Instagram? Do they message you on Facebook? Did they find you through Google? Write down what you've noticed.
Priya's notes say her cake customers mention Facebook local groups and Instagram, and that many found her on Google Maps.
Step Two: Problems, Questions and Reasons to Buy
Now for the most useful part. What's your customer trying to sort out?
For Priya's parents, the problem is "I need a lovely cake for Saturday and I've got no time." Their questions sound like this: Can you do it by Friday? Do you do nut-free? How much for twenty people? Can I collect early?
Then the reasons to buy from you, not from the supermarket. For Crumb & Co, it's a personalised design, a local business they trust, and allergy options done properly.
And don't skip the flip side. What stops them buying? Maybe they assume a custom cake is too expensive. Maybe they don't know you need only three days' notice. Maybe ordering feels like a hassle because you only take orders by phone. These barriers matter as much as the reasons to buy, because your posts can knock them down.
Here's a tip. Write the questions in your customer's own words, not marketing speak. "Is it nut-free?" beats "allergen-conscious options."
Step Three: Check It Against Real Evidence
So far, your profile is your best guess. Guesses are a fine start, but they can be wrong. So let's test it.
Where's the evidence? It's closer than you think.
Customer conversations. Next time someone orders, ask, "How did you hear about us?" and "What nearly stopped you ordering?" Write down their answers.
Reviews. Read your Google and Facebook reviews and look for repeated words. If five reviews say "so easy to order", that's a reason to buy. If two say "wish I'd known sooner", that's a barrier.
Enquiries. Scroll back through your emails and messages. Which questions keep coming up? Those are the questions on your profile.
Your platform insights. If you have a verified Google Business Profile, its performance section shows the search terms people used to find you. On Instagram, once a professional account has at least 100 followers, insights show things like your followers' top locations and age ranges. Your Facebook Page insights in Meta Business Suite give you a similar breakdown of age, gender and location.
What if the evidence disagrees with you? Good! That's the point. Priya assumed her customers were mostly parents. Then her messages showed lots of office managers ordering leaving-do cakes. So she added a note to her profile. The evidence wins, and you update the page.
Your Task: A One-Page Profile
Over to you. Grab a single sheet, paper or digital, and fill in these headings for your ideal customer:
- Who they are (age range, location, life situation)
- Where they spend time online
- What they care about
- Their main problems and questions, in their words
- Their reasons to buy from you
- What stops them buying
- Evidence: where each point came from
Keep it to one page. If it won't fit, you're probably describing two different customers. That's fine, but choose your main one for now.
Pin it somewhere you'll see it. You'll lean on it soon, when we choose your platforms.
Key Takeaways
- A post aimed at everyone usually reaches no one, so describe one ideal customer.
- Start from real customers you already have, not imagined ones.
- Capture their problems, questions and reasons to buy, in their own words.
- Barriers matter too. Write down what stops people buying.
- Test your profile against conversations, reviews, enquiries and platform insights, and update it when the evidence disagrees.