You might think you know your audience well, but there could remain many aspects of them you have failed to address with precision.

For example, why are these people drawn to your company? What problems do members of this audience tend to encounter particularly often? What loves and fears do these people have?

If it has just dawned on you that you only really know your brand’s audience on a superficial level, here are several ways you can change that.

Meet your customers where they are 

Though sending out surveys to clients would be an obvious step to take in an attempt to solicit feedback from them, the data you amass in this way might not be entirely reliable.

After all, the people who are most likely to receive and respond to surveys like this from your brand are also likely to have already forged a strong connection with it. It can therefore be a better idea for you to meet these people where they naturally gather.

Use social listening software 

Entrepreneur advises: “Use social listening software in combination with targeted social lists to zero in on what your customers are saying online.”

This software is not only good for helping you to ascertain what trending topics they tend to follow most enthusiastically. Through engaging in social listening, you can also assess how these people interact with your particular brand.

One notable social listening platform is Pulsar, which offers detailed advice on how you can research your target audience.

Encourage the creation of user-generated content  

On whatever social media channels your target audience use, you could launch campaigns inviting people to create their own content in response to a brief set by your brand.

The content in question is known as user-generated content (UGC), and can provide you with an enlightening insight into what makes your customers tick.

Remember to promote each UGC campaign with a specific hashtag so that you can find the content itself in an especially time-efficient manner.

Post personal responses to customer reviews 

Of course, there are many different places online where customers can post reviews — such as of your particular brand’s products or services. 

Some of the online outlets where these reviews are published might also give you the opportunity to reply directly to each review of what your own company has done for the reviewer.

According to statistics shared by the Digital Marketing Institute, 9 out of 10 consumers turn to reviews to decide whether or not to buy from a local company, while 59% use Google for finding and reading reviews. 

Host an event 

This strategy can have multiple benefits for your brand, including sparking excitement among members of your audience and enabling you to meet and chat with them face to face.

You could find that, in this kind of environment, a customer often lets their guard down — and, as a result, is more honest about their pain points than would be the case were the customer to interact with your brand solely online.