A targetologist is a specialist in setting up targeted advertising on social networks. After all, social networks have long ceased to be a platform for communication – it is also a tool that helps to conduct and expand business. Let’s talk about the profession of a targetologist.
Today, there are several ways to promote goods and services on social networks. You can just write a post on your personal page, but only friends and subscribers will see it. You can order advertising in several groups or publics, which will significantly increase coverage due to someone else’s audience. However, all this cannot be compared with targeted advertising, which, like a good shooter, hits not in the eyebrow, but in the eye.
Who is targetologist?
A targetologist is a specialist in setting up targeted advertising on social networks. The word “target” is translated from English as “goal”, so targeted advertising is advertising that is tuned to a specific target audience.
Determining the target audience is one of the main tasks of the targetologist. A professional targetologist should be able to communicate with the customer, analyze the offers of competitors and independently determine the portrait of the target audience, its interests and “pains”. There can be many criteria for selection: gender, age, geolocation, interests, education, profession, and others. The more accurately the portrait of the target audience is drawn up, the more likely it is that a potential client will see the advertisement.
Targetologists set up advertising in advertising accounts of social networks. But it’s not enough just to select criteria and pay for advertising – the targetologist develops a whole promotion strategy: creates creatives, that is, ads, makes several test runs and monitors indicators through web analytics systems, analyzing the received material. If the results of the targetologist are not satisfactory, the strategy has to be adjusted so as not to “drain the budget”. The targetologist constantly reports on his work to the customer, draws up reports.
Specializations
A targetologist is a narrow-profile specialist in social media promotion, however, there is also a narrower specialization: some targetologists work with only one social network and its advertising account. This is a fairly common occurrence among freelancers, while a full-time specialist is more likely to be required to work with different platforms.
Pros of working as a targetologist
The following advantages of the profession of a targetologist can be distinguished:
Fast learning. This profession can be mastered quite quickly both independently and in special courses.
Demand. The need for specialists in this field is constantly growing, as more and more entrepreneurs want to develop their business using online tools.
Work with any type of business. A targetologist can advertise any company, regardless of what products or services it offers.
Ability to work remotely. If desired and proper self-organization, a targetologist can work from any corner of the planet, he only needs a computer, the Internet and knowledge.
Managing multiple projects at once. The number of projects that a targetologist can deal with at the same time depends on his experience, time and desire to work. Of course, at the initial stage, managing several projects at once can be difficult, but everything comes with experience.
High income. The income of a targetologist is influenced by the experience, quantity, volume and cost of projects being implemented. You can run 5 projects per month worth 5,000 rubles each and get 25,000 as a result, or you can run 5 projects of 50,000 rubles each and get 250,000.
Creative work. It may seem that the profession of a targetologist is more related to technical aspects. In fact, there is a place for creativity in it, especially when solving launch problems and creating creatives. The targetologist is experimenting, testing hypotheses, looking for the best solutions to attract traffic.
Disadvantages of working as a targetologist
The profession of a targetologist has fewer disadvantages than advantages, but they still exist:
Work for feedback. The first few projects to gain experience and portfolio will most likely have to be done for free in exchange for feedback.
Competition. Although this profession is quite new, the competition is already very high, especially on freelance exchanges. Dumping often occurs due to competition on the exchanges, which negatively affects income.
Constant development. Nothing stands still, and social networks now – especially. It is important to constantly develop and hone skills in order to keep up with the times.
Where to get the education of a targetologist?
At the moment, there is no training for the profession of a targetologist in universities. Considering that its study does not take 4 years, such a program is unlikely to appear.
How to become a targetologist? Firstly, you can learn it yourself: there are many free materials on the Internet. Experts often share their experiences on blogs, groups, and forums.
Secondly, you can take training in online courses on targeting. Courses can be free or paid. Usually they last 1-3 months, but there are also longer ones. There are general courses that deal with different advertising cabinets, and narrowly focused ones, for example, teaching how to work only on Vkontakte. The cost of the courses varies, so everyone will find an option to their liking.
Demand on tergetologists
The profession of a targetologist is now in great demand in the labor market. There are many specialists, but the demand for high-level professionals with an excellent portfolio still exceeds the supply. Good targetologists are necessary for any business, but the information business and the educational industry need them the most.
Employment and career
You can start your career by freelancing. At the initial stage, freelance targetologists often look for clients among friends, acquaintances and on stock exchanges, building up a portfolio and reputation. Also, the creators and curators of courses sometimes help students who have completed paid courses with excellent results find orders.
A novice targetologist can also be hired by the company as a junior targetologist, and then, when he gains experience and knowledge, he can be promoted to the position of a middle or senior specialist.
Prospects for the future
Now the profession of a targetologist is in demand, most likely it will be so in the future, because advertising in social networks will not disappear. However, social networks themselves are developing, the developers of advertising cabinets are trying to optimize all processes, make them much easier and more understandable for ordinary users. Therefore, it is believed that in the future a successful targetologist will have to study and develop other skills in more depth, such as copywriting and storytelling skills, working with various design and animation programs to create creatives.