Brand Positioning
Audience and customer separation
Separate creator engagement, product need and purchases. Research buyers beyond followers and measure their orders without treating traffic source as follower status.
A creator’s audience is a way to reach people, not a list of everyone who needs the product or will buy it. Keep three groups distinct: people who engage with the creator, people with a relevant product need, and people who purchase. One person may belong to all three.
Define the target market and segments
Business.gov.au defines a target market as the people you want to sell your products or services to. It warns that trying to sell to everyone makes focusing marketing efforts difficult.
Identifying and understanding potential customers helps you understand where customers are, their buying habits, their problems and pain points, and the best ways to reach them.
Segmentation splits that target market into smaller groups of customers based on their characteristics and buying habits.
Business.gov.au lists demographics such as age, gender, location, relationship status, children, education, job, income and language at home, as well as interests, values and buying habits.
Once segments are identified, define an ideal customer for each and write a short profile of who they are and what they care about.
Having a target customer does not mean others cannot buy the product. Business.gov.au says they are just not your main priority.
Match the evidence to the question
| Question | Useful evidence | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Does the creator’s content attract attention? | Views, comments, saves and replies | Engagement does not establish willingness to buy. |
| Does the product address a buyer’s need? | Interviews, observed use and objections from relevant people, including non-followers | A small, self-selected group cannot establish market-wide demand. |
| Do people choose to buy? | Eligible orders, cancellations, returns and purchase reasons | An order may be a one-off gesture of support. |
| Does the brand reach buyers beyond the audience? | Orders paired with information about buyers’ prior relationship to the creator | Traffic source alone cannot establish follower status. |
A warm comment may express goodwill. An order shows a purchase, but its reason may be unclear. A later purchase adds context only where the product’s normal buying cycle makes one plausible.
Business.gov.au advises checking for existing research before collecting new data. It suggests government data, industry and market reports, news articles, and trade and industry associations.
Key Metrics for Assessing Audience, Need and Purchase
- Engagement Signals
- Views, comments, saves, replies
- Purchase Indicators
- Eligible orders, cancellations, returns, purchase reasons
- Audience Status Clarity
- Self-reported followers, non-followers, unknown cases
- Recruitment Route Tracking
- Essential for distinguishing between follower and non-follower buyers
Describe the customer without the creator’s name
Start with the buying situation: what the person needs, what they use now, why they might switch, and what would make the offered price worthwhile.
Then explain the creator’s specific contribution, such as a design decision or a genuine demonstration. If the product cannot be described clearly without the creator’s identity, improve the product explanation before claiming wider demand.
This description helps select people to research. It is neither a sales forecast nor evidence that the product has been tested.
Hear from people beyond the following
A poll on the creator’s account reaches people already exposed to that account. Recruit some category-relevant participants through other routes, then ask whether they knew or followed the creator before the exercise.
Record the recruitment route and any uncertainty about their audience status.
Show a realistic product description, price and relevant terms. Ask about current behaviour and alternatives before introducing the creator connection.
Invite objections and, where practical, observe use of an available product or sample. Do not convert a small, non-random group’s responses into a population purchase rate.
Steps to Research Buyers Beyond the Creator’s Audience
- Step 1Recruit participants through non-creator channels (e.g., community forums, industry groups)
- Step 2Ask whether they knew or followed the creator before the research exercise
- Step 3Record recruitment route and uncertainty about audience status
- Step 4Present a realistic product description, price and terms without referencing the creator first
- Step 5Ask about current behaviour, alternatives, and invite objections
- Step 6Where possible, observe use of a sample product or prototype
Separate a census from a sample
The ABS defines a census as a study of every unit, everyone or everything, in a population. It is a complete enumeration, or a complete count.
A sample is a subset of units selected to represent all units in a population of interest, called a partial enumeration. Information from sampled units is used to estimate characteristics for the entire population of interest.
A sample must be robust in its design and large enough to provide a reliable representation of the whole population. In a random or probability sample, each unit has a chance of being selected, and this probability can be accurately determined.
Random sampling includes simple random, systematic and stratified sampling, and makes population estimates possible. Sampling can also be non-random.
The ABS says sample design should consider the level of accuracy required, cost and timing. It lists census advantages as a true measure of the population with no sampling error, benchmark data for future studies, and more detailed information about small sub-groups.
Disadvantages include difficulty enumerating all units within the available time, higher staff and monetary costs than a sample, and generally longer collection, processing and release.
A sample generally costs less than a census and can produce results in less time. If good sampling techniques are used, results can be very representative of the actual population.
However, data may not represent the total population, particularly where sample size is small, and samples are often not suitable for benchmark data because they are subject to sampling error.
Census vs Sample: Key Differences in Data Collection
- Definition
- Complete enumeration of every unit in a population
- Scope
- All units, everyone or everything in the population
- Cost
- Higher staff and monetary costs
- Time Required
- Longer collection, processing and release
- Accuracy
- No sampling error; provides benchmark data
- Use Case
- Ideal for detailed small sub-group analysis and national benchmarks
- Alternative
- Sample – subset selected to represent the whole population
- Advantage of Sample
- Lower cost, faster results with good technique
- Limitation of Sample
- Subject to sampling error; not suitable for benchmarking
Keep buying voluntary and measurement bounded
Explain what the product is, who it may suit and its meaningful limits. Do not frame purchase as proof of loyalty.
Product claims should reflect actual experience, and paid or gifted promotions should make the commercial relationship clear.
For measurement, begin with eligible orders and a consistent definition of a first-time customer.
Keep acquisition route separate from audience status: a search visitor may follow the creator, while a visitor from a creator post may never have followed them.
Report self-reported followers, self-reported non-followers and unknown cases separately.
Disclosure rules for creator promotions
The ACCC can require businesses to back up claims they make on social media. It can investigate and may take compliance or enforcement action over false or misleading claims in social media advertising.
The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes about misleading claims.
On 7 December 2023 the ACCC reported that of 118 social media influencers reviewed in its influencer sweep, 81 per cent made posts that raised concerns under the Australian Consumer Law for potentially misleading advertising.
The range went from 96 per cent of fashion influencers reviewed to 73 per cent of gaming and technology influencer posts. The sweep covered Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.
The most common issue was influencers not disclosing brand relationships in their posts. Another common issue was vague or confusing language to disclose advertising, such as 'sp' and 'spon' instead of 'sponsored'.
The ACCC said many influencers formatted posts to hide advertising disclosure or make it difficult for consumers to notice it.
The Australian Consumer Law’s prohibition on misleading or deceptive conduct applies to influencers engaging in trade or commerce, as well as brands and marketers using influencers to advertise online.
ACCC Acting Chair Catriona Lowe said influencers often cultivate an image of themselves as relatable and genuine, which can create an element of trust with their followers when it comes to recommendations.
She said the ACCC was concerned that influencers, brands and advertisers are taking advantage of consumers' trust through hidden advertising in social media posts by influencers.
Common Issues in Influencer Advertising (ACCC Findings)
- ProsInfluencers often build relatable, authentic connections with audiences
- Cons81% of 118 influencers reviewed had posts raising concerns under Australian Consumer Law
- ConsMost common issue: failure to disclose brand relationships clearly
- ConsUse of vague terms like 'sp' or 'spon' instead of 'sponsored'
- ConsAdvertising disclosures hidden or formatted to be difficult to notice
In this guide
- Distinguishing fan engagement from customer demandRead creator comments, product questions and early orders for what they actually show, without turning engagement into a sales forecast.
- Collecting product feedback from non-followersRecruit relevant people beyond a creator’s following, ask neutral product questions and record the limits of their feedback.
- Avoiding pressure on fans to support a purchaseMake a creator product invitation clear and voluntary. Check loyalty language, product claims, promotions and checkout details.
- Measuring customers acquired outside the creator's audienceDefine first-time customers, record prior follower status separately from traffic source and report self-reported non-followers with unknown cases.
