With the rise of SIRI and semantic SEO, question-driven communications are more important than ever. The challenge for bloggers and marketers is twofold - to learn which questions target audiences are asking, and to answer those questions in a way that will stand out and show expertise.

1. Begging the Question
Targeting content to user goals
Alicia Lewis - Content Specialist - Bozboz
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2. ✓ Target your content
○ Deliver your message to those who need to hear it
✓ Establish empathy
○ Build your brand around the communities that use it
✓ Speak the right language
○ Position your company as an expert in the field
✓ Inject personality
○ Use an appealing tone of voice
✓ Build trust
○ Offer quality information & answer the right questions
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Begging the Question | Why target content?

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How to establish a target audience

4. ✓ Create a broad idea of who you’re talking to
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Begging the Question | How to establish a target audience
● Begin with general ideas of who the target audience members are,
what they do, and where they’re from.
○ E.g. a Brighton-based rock festival may appeal to young music
fans from London and East Sussex
○ E.g. an up-market Italian restaurant may appeal to an audience of
middle-aged professionals
● N.B. Don’t forget to speak with clients before making any
assumptions. The brand’s unique selling point could change the key
demographic drastically.

5. ✓ Pad out your persona with statistically-based specifics
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Begging the Question | How to establish a target audience
● Use tools such as YouGov Profiles to find out information about your
key demographics based on competitors.
○ E.g. People in the YouGov database who enjoy ‘Download Festival’
tend to be male, aged 25-39, interested in gaming and beer, and
have been described as geeky and alternative.
○ E.g. People who like ‘Carluccio's’ are commonly female cat owners
working in media or real estate who enjoy going to the theatre
and watching the Great British Bake Off.
● N.B. These results can’t speak for all of a brand’s fans - only those
most likely to take YouGov surveys - but they can give a general feel
for the type of person you’re appealing to.

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How to Identify User Goals

7. ✓ Find out what questions your audience is asking
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Begging the Question | How to Identify User Goals
● Basic research via Google autocomplete
○ E.g. “Are music festivals…” results in “Are music festivals worth it?”
“Are music festivals safe?” and “Are music festivals Satanic?”
○ E.g. “Can Italian food…” results in “Can Italian food be healthy?”,
“Can Italian food be gluten-free” and “Can Italian food induce
labour?”
● Some of these questions would make brilliant blog topics or question-
led social posts. Others not so much, but they do give a wider idea of
concerns and questions around your subject.

8. ✓ Find out what questions your audience is asking
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Begging the Question | How to Identify User Goals
● Use Answer the Public or FAQ Fox for a deeper and broader view
○ E.g. “Rock Festivals” results in 50 questions including “What to
wear for rock festivals” and “How to survive a rock festival”
○ E.g. “Italian Food” results in 114 questions including “What are
Italian food customs?” and “How has Italian food influenced
Britain?”
● This is where blog topics in particular begin to unfold, as you can be
confident that your content is answering genuine questions and
adding extra value to your brand identity.

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How to Assume the Right Tone

10. ✓ Identify the language that your target audience uses
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Begging the Question | How to Assume the Right Tone
● Research competitors’ social media pages to see what language your
target audience use to identify their goals.
○ E.g. A scroll through the #downloadfestival hashtag shows that
typical fans use full sentences, a casual yet enthusiastic tone, and
rock-related gifs when discussing the festival.
○ E.g. Tweets discussing #carluccios use full sentences and proper
grammar, frequently based around business lunches and coffee
meetings, as well as discussions about cooking and Italian culture.
● N.B. Speaking your audience’s language is instrumental to them
seeing you as more than a corporation. Don’t be afraid to give a brand
a human face.

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How to Bring it All Together

12. ✓ Craft expert answers
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Begging the Question | How to Bring it All Together
● Once you know who you’re talking to, what they’re asking and what
social language they speak, you can craft content around them.
● This will both blend in with the information they choose to see and
STAND OUT by offering answers that your audience really want.
○ E.g. Fancy something different this weekend? Here are five
reasons to choose a local music festival over another takeaway in
front of the X Box...
○ E.g. How has Italian food influenced British culture? From the
ultimate street food to haute cuisine, we examine the unique
place that quality Italian food holds in our hearts - and stomachs!

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In Conclusion...

14. ✓ Build a persona for each of your target audiences
○ Include location, gender, age, job, interests
✓ Identify each persona’s goals in relation to your product
○ Find out what questions are going through their minds
✓ Learn to speak each persona’s language
○ Use the right tone of voice across communications
✓ Craft expert answers
✓ Invite feedback - the more questions your readers ask, the
more material you have for your next piece of content!
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Begging the Question | In Conclusion

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