How to target the right audience at the perfect time

Remember the Super Bowl 2025?

It was a big event, and everyone was talking about Kendrick's song Not Like Us, where he took a shot at Drake.

Many brands and celebrities joined in on the jokes, including Duolingo. They used a famous line from the song "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor" to promote their music course.

Duolingo made a clever twist and wrote: "Learn A minor in our music course #SuperBowl."

Guess what? The post went viral! Millions of people saw it, and Duolingo got a lot of attention.

Here's the good part:

They pulled off one of the most successful marketing wins of the year without spending a dollar on ads.

That's smart marketing. Duolingo knew when their audience was watching and made their move at the perfect time.

Now, that's how you target your audience.

So, if you struggle to reach your audience when it matters most, I have put together some tips to help you do just that. Keep reading to learn more.

Let's talk about timing

You've probably heard this a million times: "Know your target audience." But most people forget it's not just about who they are, but when to reach them.

Even if you have the best product or service, wrong timing can mean lost opportunities. And I know you don't want that.

Take Duolingo, for example. They didn't just randomly promote their music course. They did it at the perfect moment when millions of people were paying attention. Timing is everything. To truly connect with your audience, reach them when they're most likely to take action.

Here's why timing matters:

Relevance

Your content should align with your audience's current needs, interests, and behaviors. And timing helps ensure your message reaches them when they need it most.

Also, when you align your campaigns with industry trends, events, or seasonal needs, your message feels timely and impactful.

Social media and search engine algorithms favor fresh content. Posting when engagement is high increases visibility and keeps your content from getting buried.

Further reading on this topic: How social media helps achieve your SEO goals

Better ROI

People are more likely to interact with your content when they are active. Posting at the right time increases likes, shares, and comments. This will help your content reach a larger audience and, as a result, a better conversion opportunity.

When it comes to ROI, timing will help you leverage the following:

Buyer readiness: People move through different stages of the buyer journey. Engaging them when they're actively seeking solutions increases conversions.

Peak engagement windows: Audiences interact with content at specific times. Analyzing trends helps you catch them when they're most attentive.

Behavioral triggers: Actions like website visits, abandoned carts, etc., signal when to follow up.

Stronger brand trust and authority

When your content reaches people right when they need it, they see your brand as a reliable solution. This builds trust, credibility, and long-term loyalty. In the end, your audience keeps coming back for more.

Tips to target your audience at the right time

You know your goals and target audience. But reaching them at the perfect moment is what makes your marketing effective. So, start by understanding where they are, what they like, and when they're active.

Even the best content can go unnoticed if you post it in the wrong place at a bad time. That's why you need to do the following to target your audience better:

Choose where to post - find where your audience is active.
Find out what your audience likes - use polls and surveys.
Use the result to guide your content creation plan.
Review and update your strategy regularly.

Choose where to post:

Source: Datareportal

According to the data above, people visit different platforms for different reasons. Therefore, the platform you choose will depend on your audience and goal.

So ask yourself: Where does my target audience spend the most time?

For instance:

86% of Gen Z and younger millennials are highly engaged on TikTok and 91% on Instagram (Sproutsocial).
Professionals and B2B audiences spend more time on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).
Niche communities thrive on Reddit, Slack, Discord, and Facebook Groups.

Here's an example:

A SaaS company targeting marketing professionals will focus on LinkedIn and industry blogs. This is where their audience actively engages with professional content.

Find out what your audience likes

Once you know where your audience is, the next step is to learn the type of content they engage with the most.

Use polls, surveys, and engagement data to gather insights.

For polls and surveys, ask your audience questions like:

What type of content do they enjoy?
What challenges do they face?
When do they prefer you to post content?

Then, you can use their answers to analyze their needs, interests, and behavior. This will help you tailor your content for high-conversion opportunities.

For engagement data, Spotify does this well with its Spotify Wrapped campaign. First, it analyzes users' listening habits. Then, it personalizes content based on users' preferences to boost engagement.

Use the results to guide your content creation plan

Don't guess what works. Use data to guide your decisions for better results:

Create reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts if your audience wants short videos
If they (your audience) prefer reading, leverage blog posts, case studies, or LinkedIn articles.
Try quizzes, live sessions, interactive stories, etc., for interactive content.

For better marketing results, Duolingo uses interactive posts to engage its users. For instance, Duolingo announced that its mascot, "Duo the Owl", died recently. They pulled this stunt because some users didn't complete their lessons.

Source: X (Twitter)

This led to widespread interaction on social media platforms. Then, they made a post encouraging users to complete their lessons and start a new one. This shows Duolingo's dynamic content and engagement tactics.

Review and update your strategy regularly

What works today might not work in six months. So, always review your approach to ensure your marketing efforts remain effective.

Analyze your past content: which posts performed best or least?
Track your audience response and behavior: has anything changed?
Test different posting times: experiment with different time slots and measure engagement.

Further reading: 8 audience-driven tips for 2025

These tips will help you decide what to focus more on and what to drop.

Now, it's time to apply them.

I'd love to hear what works best for you. Was this insightful? Please share with your friends.

Reach out to Adejumoke, on LinkedIn, Facebook, or comment below to respond to her question!