[Infographic] The anatomy of a successful audience analysis

Audience analysis involves gathering, interpreting, and comprehending information about your target audience. Think of it as a detective mission, but instead of solving crimes, you're solving the mystery of who your audience is, their needs, preferences, and behaviours, and how they interact with a brand or an industry.

Conducting a target audience analysis helps you answer critical questions, like:

• Who constitutes my primary audience?
  Hint: It's not just your mom.
• How do they view a brand, and what are their expectations?
  Do they expect fireworks or just a friendly wave?
• What challenges or needs can a product or service solve for them?
  Because everyone needs a hero, and that's you!
• Through which channels and types of content can I most effectively reach and engage them?
  Spoiler: Carrier pigeons are out, social media is in.

Audience analysis goes beyond just collecting data. It's about diving deep into the motivations and factors driving your audience's behaviours. So you truly understand who your customers are, what they care about, and maybe even their favourite pizza topping.

What is audience analysis and why is it crucial for small agencies? 

For small agencies, understanding THE audience is like having a superpower. 

Laser-Focused Targeting: Audience analysis ensures your marketing efforts hit the mark every time.

Creating Resonant Content: Knowing what makes your audience tick allows you to create content that truly connects.

Effective Engagement: Insights into audience behaviors and preferences lead to stronger relationships and increased loyalty.

Higher ROI: By focusing efforts where they matter most, audience analysis maximizes your marketing spend.

Trend Anticipation: Knowing your audience means you can anticipate their needs and stay ahead of industry trends.

In essence, audience analysis transforms your marketing from guesswork to a strategic masterpiece, ensuring your small agency thrives in the competitive landscape. With all that being said, here are the steps to conduct a successful audience analysis so you can achieve laser-focused targeting, ensuring precise and effective marketing efforts that will have your clients loving you.

Step 1: Decide what dish you want to prepare

First, you need to define your objectives—think of it as deciding what dish you want to prepare. Are you preparing a delicate starter, a sweet and savoury main course or a fruity dessert? Knowing your culinary goal ensures you’re cooking with a purpose, not just randomly throwing ingredients into the pot. Well it’s the same for a successful audience analysis, do you want to: 

• Identify the best segments for action: distinctive, passive or active
• Generate efficient media planning for the whole PESO model
• Inspire content strategy that results in award-winning work
• Etc. 

Step 2: Find your essential ingredients

Next, it’s time to gather data—your essential ingredients. Collect insights from social media, surveys, and website analytics. This is like picking fresh veggies, herbs, and spices from the market. The more variety and quality you gather, the more flavorful and nuanced your final dish will be. 

It's sometimes hard to find your way through all the data that a small agency can collect. However, it's important that you know how to prioritise the data and give it importance. If I make the same connection with cooking, you know that your dish must at least contain a balance of starchy foods, proteins, vegetables, dairy products, etc. For a successful audience analysis, it's exactly the same thing, by collecting data from social listening, tracking pixels on your websites, market research and survey panels, SEO and, of course, your first parties.  

Chef's tip 🔥 to be able to perform this, you need to find a tool that meets with your existing toolset. 

Step 3: Organise and measure ingredients

Now, it’s time to segment the audience. This is where you organise and measure the quantities you need for your ingredients. Group your audience according to demographic, psychographic and behavioural criteria, just as you would prepare your ingredients before cooking - chopping the vegetables, measuring the spices and marinating the proteins. Each segment brings a unique flavour to your marketing recipe.

Step 4: Mix, stir-fry and simmer

Once the ingredients have been prepared, it's time to analyse and interpret the data. This stage is akin to mixing, stir-frying and simmering your ingredients to bring out the best flavours. Use your analysis tools to understand the data, discover patterns and create a rich and insightful understanding of your audience.

With Audiense you get a one stop shop for audience analysis tools, you can play between: 

• Audiense Insights & Affinio: provides you with the ability to understand segments of consumers worth targeting and unlock cultural insights that can improve connection, conversions, and customer experience.
• Soprism: gives you comprehensive data about your audiences by translating their online activities on Facebook and Instagram into a powerful source of insights.
• Tweet Binder: access to the X analytics tool used by top agencies and marketers around the world, tracking thousands of hashtags daily.
• Audiense Connect: an audience research tool that is dedicated to X and will help you better manage and understand the followers of your own and competitive accounts.
• Demand: developed in partnership with Audience Strategies, enables brands to track trends, understand the trajectory of demand, and gain insight into their social audience profile, which can be used to create audience centric targeted campaigns.

Step 5: Dress your dish with chef's finesse

Finally, apply your knowledge to your newly data-driven  strategy, just as you would when preparing your dish with the finesse of a chef. Implement your findings into your marketing strategies, ensuring that they are perfectly seasoned to match the tastes of your audience. Serve your campaigns hot and watch your audience devour them, for a feast of engagement and success.

Why you should take audience analysis seriously

Think of the benefits of audience analysis as a strand of DNA, where each benefit is intricately connected to the next, creating a powerful chain reaction that drives success. When a small agency begins to work with audience intelligence and analysis, the advantages don't just appear in isolation—they interweave, enhancing each other to produce remarkable results for both the agency and its customers.

When a small agency uses audience intelligence and analysis, the benefits are interconnected, enhancing each other. This holistic approach drives agency growth and ensures exceptional customer value, fostering loyalty and satisfaction. Both the agency and its clients thrive, creating a symbiotic relationship that propels everyone forward. What are the best tools for audience analysis? 

As a product marketing specialist at Audiense, my answer to this question is obviously not entirely objective! 👀🤣 As mentioned earlier in the article, at Audiense we have all the tools that enable small agencies to excel in the field of audience analysis/intelligence: Audiense Insights & Affinio, Soprism, Tweet Binder, Audiense Connect and Demand.

Other than Audiense’s, I’ll share with you some others that can be useful to add to your toolset: 

• Google Analytics: a powerful and widely-used tool that provides in-depth insights into website traffic, user behaviour, and audience demographics. It allows agencies to track how visitors interact with their site, which pages are most popular, and where users are coming from. This information is crucial for understanding your audience's online behaviour and preferences.
  🗝 Here are some of the key features: audience demographics and interests, user behaviour tracking, traffic sources, conversion tracking, customizable reports.
• Semrush: a comprehensive tool for SEO and digital marketing. It provides insights into keyword performance, competitor analysis, and audience behaviour on search engines. This tool helps agencies understand what their audience is searching for and how to optimise their content to meet those needs.
  🗝 Here are some of the key features: keyword research, competitor analysis, SEO audit, content analysis, traffic analytics. Read more about how Audiense & Semrush works together
• Pinterest Analytics: often underestimated, a valuable tool for understanding how your audience engages with your content on Pinterest. It provides insights into your audience's preferences, behaviours, and demographics, which can help small agencies optimise their Pinterest marketing strategies. You can also just check the research trends by countries and of a given period of time which can be useful for specific momentums. 
• Answer The Public: a free tool that visualises search questions and suggests autocomplete searches in an image called a search cloud. This tool helps you understand what questions your audience is asking and what they are curious about, which can inform content creation and SEO strategies.
  🗝 Here are some of the key features: question and query visualisation, topic and keyword suggestions, data export options.
• Facebook Audience Insights: While more commonly associated with paid campaigns, Facebook Audience Insights offers valuable free data for understanding your audience on the platform. It provides some demographic information and Facebook usage patterns.
  Chef's tip 🔥 Go a step further with data from Meta using Soprism, to profile the audiences discovered. 

The common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Conducting audience analysis is crucial for the success of any marketing strategy, but small agencies may encounter several pitfalls that can hinder their effectiveness. Here are the common pitfalls and ways to avoid them:

Overlooking data quality: Relying on outdated or inaccurate data can lead to misguided strategies. Ensure data is regularly updated, cross-verified from multiple sources, and invest in reliable tools for accurate audience insights.

Ignoring audience segments:  Focusing only on obvious segments can miss valuable niche insights. Analyze all potential segments, including smaller groups, using segmentation tools, and regularly update your audience analysis.

Failing to act on insights:  Gathering data without implementing findings wastes resources. Develop a clear action plan based on your analysis, communicate insights to all team members, and regularly review and adjust your approach.

Overwhelming your team with data:  Too much data without clear interpretation can paralyze decision-making. Focus on key metrics that impact your goals, use visualizations like charts and dashboards, and provide clear recommendations alongside data insights.

Misinterpreting data:  Incorrect conclusions can lead to ineffective strategies. Ensure team members are well-trained in data analysis and cross-check findings with qualitative data to confirm accuracy.

Neglecting to update analysis:  Audience preferences change over time, making outdated strategies ineffective. Schedule regular updates to your analysis to incorporate new data and trends, staying aligned with audience needs.

Not aligning insights with business goals: Data not aligned with business objectives can misguide strategies. Clearly define business goals and prioritize insights that directly impact objectives like conversion rates or engagement.

Ignoring competitive analysis:  Focusing only on your own audience without considering competitors can miss differentiation opportunities. Conduct competitive analysis to understand your market position, identify gaps, and refine your value proposition and strategies. Competitive insights can reveal new opportunities and help position your offerings effectively in the broader market context.Next, let’s look at real-world examples of audience analysis using Audiense’s tools.

Use case: Puma's strategic market analysis

Imagine landing a brand like Puma, a leader in the sneaker industry, with two clear objectives: to increase visibility and drive product innovation in the USA. Despite aligning with market trends, Puma trails behind competitors like Nike and Adidas. The USA presents a prime market to analyze opportunities and help Puma gain market share with our strategic approach  

Market opportunities for Puma in the US sneaker market:

• 64.6% of Puma fans are interested in sneakers, but only 26.8% of sneaker fans are interested in Puma, indicating significant growth potential.

Audience analysis:

After an initial socio-demographic and behavioural analysis of PUMA sneakers fans, the audience analysis concludes that Puma sneakers fans are:

• Demographics: Puma sneaker fans are primarily women aged 25-54, often parents, passionate about Latino culture, sports, beauty, fashion, style, and design.
• Lifestyle: They enjoy art and cooking, suggesting potential partnerships in these areas.
• Effective storytelling: This audience revolves around themes of modern achievement and epicurean interests. They value the convenience of the customer experience ("Easy to pay, easy to go") and are keen followers of promotional offers.
• Content Strategy: It’s best to Focus on North American and Latino cultures, emphasizing music, people, style, and food. Highlight themes of modern achievement and convenience.

Strategic partnerships:

Now that we have a better view of PUMA sneaker fans, the aim would be to increase visibility by establishing partnerships with the world of sport. 

• In Europe, Puma partners with football clubs, national football associations, players, handball associations, cricket players, ruby teams and some volleyball federations.

Across the Atlantic, three sports stand out in terms of interest: handball, soccer (football), and volleyball. Teams like Olympique de Marseille, Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, and Borussia Dortmund, along with players like Christian Pulisic, resonate with PUMA sneaker fans in the US though these clubs collectively represent only 2.33% of these fans. Interestingly, Manchester City and AC Milan do not hold relevance in the US market.

The challenge lies in existing deals with Adidas and the MLS that hinder Puma from expanding its football-related activities in the region.

So we're looking at other sports where the brand can gain market share and visibility in areas that aren't impossible to capture. Here are a couple of options based on the analysis:

• Shift focus to running, marathons, golf, surfing, and tennis to avoid conflicts with existing deals in football.

Now that the sports for Puma to engage with have been selected, it's crucial to focus on events. Take running and marathons, for example: apart from competitions with competitors already engaged like New York, Philadelphia, LA, Chicago, and Baltimore, Puma can certainly initiate discussions with events such as the Louisiana Marathon, Richmond Marathon, Atlanta Marathon, Long Island Marathon, and others.

With this approach, the last thing to check is the opportunity score between Puma sneaker fans and these marathons, in order to validate the choices and above all to prioritise the brand's commitment in terms of visibility. 

Without a doubt, the audience analysis data has driven this strategic partnership approach for Puma. The study, based on detailed audience behavior and interests analyzed through Audiense tools, revealed unexpected opportunities. Instead of focusing on Puma's established sectors in Europe, like soccer, the data suggested exploring other sports like running and partnering with smaller marathon organizations. This pivot allowed Puma to engage with a previously untapped audience and meet genuine interest.

Take action and thrive

In today’s competitive landscape, small agencies can’t rely on guesswork. Audience analysis is essential for crafting precise, impactful campaigns. By defining objectives, gathering diverse data, segmenting audiences, analyzing insights, and implementing data-driven strategies, agencies can achieve superior results.

Investing in tools like Audiense empowers agencies to unlock valuable insights, enhance engagement, and drive growth. The Puma use case demonstrates how strategic audience analysis reveals hidden opportunities and enables small agencies to compete with industry giants.

Embrace audience analysis to elevate your marketing from ordinary to extraordinary. Start leveraging the power of data today with Audiense to ensure your small agency thrives.

Ready to transform your marketing? Contact us now to get started!