Are you worried about whether your ads are reaching the right people?

In the sea of distractions that make up our modern world, it’s easy for even well-crafted ads to get lost in the noise. Unless they’re being seen by the right people, that is.

To see the greatest return on your investment, you need to use targeted marketing strategies to get your ads in front of your desired audience.

Below are five key strategies to ensure your advertising reaches the right audience, whether through digital platforms or trusted community publications like Coffee News.

Here are 5 Tips for Reaching Your Target Audience

1.   Get Clear on Your Target Audience Demographics

The first step is knowing what market demographics make up your target audience.

These can be broad characteristics, such as age, gender or location, or more detailed characteristics, such as a person’s job title or interests.

Start by imagining your ideal customer:

• How old are they? 
• Where do they live?
• What are their daily habits?
• Where do they spend time in the community?
• What do they like to do? 

These questions reveal important market demographics which can help you place your ads where they’ll have the most impact.

We’re not preaching, we walk this talk too. We study our audience constantly.

With over 1 million readers across Alberta, we see young professionals enjoying Coffee News over morning coffee, intergenerational families reading it together over breakfast, and community members of all ages engaging with our contests, horoscopes, and local stories every week.

Having trouble getting started? Google Analytics is a useful tool you can use to track traffic on your website. You’ll be able to see the demographic data for your current customers, so you can target people similar to them.

2.   Place Ads Where Your Target Audience is Most Active

Once you know your target audience demographics, your next step is figuring out where your target audience naturally spends time. These are the places where you’ll want to put your ads.

For example:

Want to reach trendy Gen Z?
Sure, Instagram or Tik Tok matter, but so do local events, pop-up markets, and campus hotspots. Consider ads on the podcasts they listen to or in non-digital communities they trust.

Looking to connect with tight-knit families?
Advertise where they gather daily—like family-friendly cafés, community centers, or kid-focused businesses. You can also reach them through local radio, bulletin boards, or print ads in places where parents take a breather.

3.   Address Their Concerns in Your Marketing

People don’t want ads—they want solutions. 

Grab someone’s attention with your ads by presenting a solution to a problem they’ve been having.

Think about how your product or service helps your customers, or what common questions or concerns they express in their interactions with you.

Now, use that information to craft catchy headlines and ad messaging that addresses their concerns.

Show, don’t tell. Show your target audience how your company can help them.

Instead of simply listing what you offer, try this:

Generic Ad: “We offer home cleaning services.” 

Customer-Focused Ad: “Too busy to clean? We’ll handle the mess so you can enjoy your home stress-free.” 

Take a look at one of our clients, Nobody Cleans Like Mom:

Customer-Focused Message: “We clean your home like it’s our own.”

Many homeowners feel uneasy about letting strangers into their space. Nobody Cleans Like Mom puts themselves in their customers’ shoes, reassuring them with a message that speaks to trust, care, and attention to detail.

4.   Use Audience Targeting in Placing Ads

Many digital platforms, like Google or Meta, give you the ability to target ads to specific demographics. Here, you can narrow in on people by location, age group, interests, and even job titles—which is especially useful for niche products or services.

But audience targeting isn’t just a digital game. Print advertising can be just as strategic—when done right.

When it comes to audience targeting, Coffee News takes a geo-targeted, community-first approach. We target audiences where local businesses exist. Ads appear where people live, shop, and spend time in their communities. Readers see the same businesses consistently, reinforcing brand recognition. Plus, messages aren’t lost in a scroll—they’re surrounded by lighthearted, sought-after content that invites reader engagement.

5.   Work with Influencers

Trust is everything in marketing. People are more likely to support a business when they hear about it from a trusted source—whether that’s a friend, a favourite creator, or a beloved local gem.

Partnering with influencers is a great way to spread awareness of your brand. Influencers are seen as authentic and trustworthy, so their endorsement will carry more weight than a regular advertisement.

Partnering with the right influencer will also help you reach your target audience. They have already curated an audience of people who are interested in their specific area of expertise, whether it’s makeup tutorials, cooking recipes or woodworking tips.

But influence isn’t just found on social media. Community-driven platforms like Coffee News have been building trust for decades.

Influence also comes in many forms:

• A TikTok creator might introduce your product to thousands in a single post.
• A local community leader might recommend your business at an event.
• A trusted publication like Coffee News might showcase your business in front of engaged, real-world readers—week after week.

There are all kinds of influencers out there, so you should be able to find one that makes content that’s relevant to your products or the things that interest your target audience.

Try reaching out to influencers and sending them some free samples of your product that they can try out and review. Also think beyond the digital sphere. Where do people turn for trusted recommendations in your industry or community?

Build Trust with Local, Community-Focused Advertising

Want to connect with real customers in your community?

For over 35 years, Coffee News has helped small businesses grow with affordable, community-focused advertising that works—by placing ads where people naturally pause and engage.

And we know this because we ask.

To better support our advertisers, we recently conducted audience surveys to understand who’s reading Coffee News and why they love it.

Here’s what we found:

More people are craving a fun break from their screens—choosing print, over digital noise.

Coffee News is more than just a publication—it’s an experience. Readers enjoy it over breakfast, a coffee break, while waiting for takeout, or even as a way to spend quality time with family.

Print ads in Coffee News aren’t just seen—they’re enjoyed, absorbed, and remembered via our popular Coffee News Guy Adventure reader contest.

With over 4,000+ local hotspots across Alberta—reaching an audience of over 1 million readers, we ensure your brand stays top-of-mind, not lost in a scroll.

📞 Call 780-220-6397 today (or request a quote) to learn how Coffee News can help your business get noticed—by the right people, in the right places, at the right time.