If you manage social media for a brand, you probably have A LOT of content to share. There are products to promote, blogs to amplify, campaigns to launch. And there’s always a post that doesn’t feel quite right – but it needs to go out anyway. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there. 

With so much activity going on, it can sometimes be hard to know, or prove, what’s actually going to resonate with your audiences. Algorithms reward accounts that drive high engagement, so if your content isn’t landing, your results will be poor. That means understanding exactly what your audience wants to hear, not just what your brand wants to say, is vital.

How do you go about gaining that insight? Here are five key questions we ask at the start of any audience research project. 

‍

1. Who are they?

This one is fairly obvious. Before you dive into the psychographics, you need to understand the basics: audiences’ gender split, age range, popular locations, marital status, etc. This will help inform how many personas you need; for most clients we develop three to five, depending on how wide the range of their demographics (and psychographics) is.

How to find this data: a mixture of sales data, market research (we work with Statista), and paid social results. Remember, some of your audience may not be engaging with you on social yet – particularly if they’re a new target. 

‍

2. What do they need and care about?

Audiences only engage with content that they have a genuine connection to. A campaign that aligns with their values, a partnership that reflects their interests, or education that answers their challenges. To be relevant, we need to understand what they want to see on social.

How to find this data: surveys, focus groups and social listening will always reveal interesting opinions and behaviours that you can weave into your strategy. 

‍

3. What is their purchasing behaviour?

This is the one that makes your team’s ears prick up. To achieve your ultimate business goal - conversion and sales - you need to know what’s going to drive that behaviour. Your social strategy shouldn’t be fully centred around this (awareness should also be a primary goal) but finding out how to encourage users through that journey is key. 

How to find this data: surveys, website results, sales data, paid social results, and market research. 

‍

4. How do they use social media? 

Your social media strategy isn’t going to be successful if you’re not showing up where your audience hangs out. Find out the channels they lurk on the most, the channels they’re most likely to take action on, the influencers they love, and where they’re already engaging with your brand. And identify your content and campaigns that have resonated - look at engagement (particularly shares and saves) and conversation in comments. 

Understanding how your audience speaks and interacts with each other, and with brands, is also crucial. Adopting that tone will show that your brand gets it, and makes it easier to play in their space. 

How to find this data: social listening, competitor reviews and your own performance data. Surveys and focus groups - particularly creative crits - can be invaluable here too. 

‍

5. What do they want from my brand?

Finally, perhaps the most humbling one. Finding out what your audience wants to (and doesn’t want to) see from you is invaluable. It’s likely that you’re prioritising things they really don’t care about, and forgetting some of the things they do. For example, you could be leaning heavily into entertainment, when they actually want education and information. Your brand is never going to fulfill its potential on social if you don’t do this.

How to find this data: surveys and focus groups.

‍

Taking the plunge

While these questions will unearth some incredible insight, it’ll still only be the tip of the iceberg. That’s where we come in! Our specialists at Battenhall love diving deep into what audiences want - and need - from our clients, and then bringing our insights to life with personas. 

‍

Keen to find out more? Email our team – hello@battenhall.com – to speak with one of our experts.