In this post I’ll cover the single most important factor you must think with as a Facebook advertiser: finding your AUDIENCE.

And you’ll continue hearing me talk about this for ETERNITY. Why? Because ignorance of this factor alone is responsible for more failures, in any kind of marketing, than anything else. This is the indisputable CHAMP. Most of your advertising dollars, at the beginning of your Facebook advertising endeavor, will be spent finding an audience you can scale.

So a word of caution: Do NOT be romantic about your audience, your product, your ads or anything in between. After many years of experience in the industry, and from one of my mentors, Gary Vaynerchuck, I learned the following: The market is the market. You don’t make the market, the market exists and you have to discover what it likes and doesn’t like, the price it’s willing to pay and what it isn’t.

The market is the market. You don’t make the market, the market exists and you have to discover what it likes and doesn’t like, the price it’s willing to pay and what it isn’t.

The saying, “Numbers don’t lie,” is fully applicable to the Facebook advertising world. No matter how AMAZING your creative (ads) are, and no matter your opinion on the quality of your products… the market will decide if they accept it or reject it.

If you have a decent creative (images, pictures, videos, articles), then all you need to do is work hard to find the audience your product or service will provide value to, and whose pain points it will solve.

Defining your Ideal Customer:

Now let me define something else — a customer AVATAR:

A customer Avatar, also called a “Buyer Persona”, is a person who would potentially benefit from your products or services. This person has a specific demographic, income level and interests. There is a segment of the population that fits into this mold that you will be able to use to scale your ads once you find them.

To market a product or service properly, the first thing you must do is get clear on WHO your ideal customer (Avatar) is, where they are hanging out and what their challenges are.

There are several important areas that will help you understand who your Avatar is: Goals, Values, Pain Points and Objections:

What are their Goals?

Entertainment for the kids? To look more professional? Expand their business? Do a better or more efficient job of gardening? It could be many different things.

What are their Values?

Are they moral? Do they like helping others? Are they selfish? Are they conceited? Again, endless variations.

Challenges and Pain Points?

What areas are they looking for help on? What can they improve in their lives? What difficulties are they having, especially as it concerns your brand and what you offer?

For example: Mary feels her skin is aging fast, that she’s getting old. She’s very bothered by that. Whatever your product is — it must SOLVE some of these problems and you need to clarify that here.

What are their Objections?

This is very important. You will need to handle their objections along the way and — like anything else — this is a skill you will hone with time.

You must be able to answer these questions clearly: Why would my Avatar not buy my products? Are they too expensive? Have many previous bad purchases caused them to not believe in brands anymore? How does my Avatar know it will be effective, or if it’s a scam or an offer too good to be true?

There are many different objections an Avatar might have and it is essential you discover them in your research. You will use ALL the above information you discover to write your copy, create content, and so — deeply connect your Avatar with your brand.

Interests and Demographics:

There are two more points you will use to select your target audience (bucket of people) you will put your message in front of:

Interests:

What pages do they like? What products? What do they study? Where do they learn? Who do they follow? What brands are they interested in? High-end? Low-end?

Demographics:

What is their Age, sex, location, occupation, income level, and education? Are they married or single? Do they own a home or rent? The list goes on and on.

What to do now:

Well, did you get all that? Make sure you did, because it’s important.

Good. Now grab a piece of paper or open up a WORD document, and get to work. Dive into the world of finding your Avatar.

This is just a start. It’s by no means all of it, but you’re on the road. Along the way you’ll rinse and repeat this process several times, finding new Avatars you can use to test new audiences and so find new potential customers and followers — all with the help of the Facebook advertising monster!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!