Determining Audience Needs
Discovery
You should be curious about your audience. If you’re really serious about your obligation to the community, you should have a ton of questions. Especially when considering changes. Here are a few:
Why does your audience seek your content?
What are their expectations?
Demographically, who are these people?
Why are they loyal to your station, your content?
Where do they listen?
When do they listen?
The most important answers might come down to core values. Core values might lead you to asking the right questions and the answers you need about listener motivation. If your core values match theirs, you are in harmony with their expectations.
The Public Directors Program Directors Association (PRPD), with the help of research partners and CPB, came up with some answers. As the findings were being revealed, I heard grumblings from some that they were so over Core Values. “It’s time to move on to something else.” “Core values are so, yesterday.” That could be true. First ask, have you seen a significant erosion in audience numbers and listener support? Then ask, is it because the audience has shifted or the station has drifted from its core values? Knowing your audience is important. Making uninformed decisions can easily lead to being cast adrift in a sea of media.
I found advice about core values at Brandfolder. “There will be times in business when you have to make tough choices. But when you have core values that constantly remind you of what’s important to your business and to the people you’re serving, making the right decision becomes an effortless task. To top it off, you can live with those choices knowing that they’re informed by values that are aligned with your brand’s overarching mission and vision.”
“Core brand values matter because they influence how consumers view your brand, which is important considering that consumers are more likely to support a brand whose core values align with their own. The same is true for employees, as well. In fact, multiple studies show that shared core values have a significant impact on employee engagement.”
“And the clincher? Building your brand around your core values allows you to grow a business that you can be proud of and be passionate about. And because those core values reflect you and your company, it becomes much easier to stay true to yourself. And in an era where consumer trust is at an all-time low, it pays to have a core set of values that helps you maintain brand authenticity.” (Core Brand Values Examples: Why They Are Key to Differentiating Your Brand https://brandfolder.com/blog/core-brand-values-key-differentiators, James Winter, 2021)
Four Types of Audience
Before you get lost in the argument, “This is supposed to be for everybody,” You are not going to be able to appeal to everybody.
The 4 Types of Audience
Friendly. Your purpose: reinforcing their beliefs.
Apathetic. Your purpose is to first convince them that it matters for them.
Uninformed. Your requirement is to educate before you can begin to propose a course of action.
Hostile. Your purpose is to respect them and their viewpoint. (https://conorneill.com/2018/04/17/the-4-types-of-audience-for-your-speech/)
Your public media audience is made up of the Friendlies, and to a lesser extent, the Apathetics. Who’s in these two groups? Marketingingenutiy.com came up with this profile of the public radio audience.
GENDER
Research indicates that the number of men and women who listen to NPR is neatly equal
AGE
Today's public radio listeners come from all age groups. The largest portion of listeners skews 35+, reaching an audience of established listeners and viewers who are leaders in their personal and professional networks. About half are between 25 and 54 years old.
RACE
Historically, most public radio listeners at NPR News stations were white. But today’s NPR includes Latinx and Black listeners, and their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion continues to draw listeners from various ethnic backgrounds with relevant content that amplifies the voices of people of color.
PRX’s Latino USA, hosted by Maria Hinojosa, elevates the voices of historically marginalized communities through authentic storytelling. Snap Judgment, hosted by Glynn Washington delivers a raw, intimate, and musical brand of storytelling that dares listeners to see a sliver of the world through another's eyes.
INCOME
Public radio listeners typically fall into higher household income (HHI) categories and have for years. This is primarily related to the fact that households that listen to public media tend to have more formal education than non-public media households.
The median HHI of an NPR News listener is approximately $103,000 per year. More than 80 percent of listeners have an HHI over $50,000 per year, and almost 70 percent of listeners have an HHI over $75,000. This means public radio listeners generally have more spending power than general market radio listeners. They spend money on travel, books, fitness, and they own financial securities, signaling that they have disposable income.
POLITICAL ATTITUDES
Approximately 75 percent of listeners identify as voting, providing the perfect opportunity for sponsors to target politically active listeners, regardless of their political attitudes. Similarly, the diversity among political viewpoints provides opportunity for sponsors to connect with people of all political preferences, including liberal, middle-of-the-road and conservative listeners.
Some demographics are more prevalent among public radio listeners than others, but they all serve as an influential marketing audience for brand storytelling and building your brand reputation.
You Don’t Need to Reinvent the Wheel
The Wheel May Need Some Modifications
You can find the Core Values of Public Radio at the PRPD website. The basics are available to everybody. If you want more depth, you need to join. Here’s a summary of findings.
The project identified three distinct categories that captured what listeners find and value in our programming. We called them:
Qualities of the Mind and Intellect
Qualities of the Heart and Spirit
Qualities of Craft
We found some common ground among the values held by audiences for all of the formats, most notably intelligence and a desire for high standards of craft. But we also found dramatic differences - particularly in the Qualities of Heart and Spirit – with values that morphed as we shifted our focus from news to classical to jazz. The successful application of this research will rest on a clear understanding of how the values are shaded for each format and can sometimes even stand in opposition to one another. In short, there is no single “one size fits all” set of core values.
Disrupted
Core values information is almost a generation old. Things have shifted. The way people listen certainly has changed. Podcasts are big now. Spotify too, but please remember these are platforms, not content. You should look for the platforms being used by your audience. You can find out which platforms they are using by asking. How? Survey them. Have their core values shifted? Ask!
Survey Them. One of the easiest ways to find out what your audience wants is to survey them. ...
Do a Discovery Call. If you're looking for more in-depth feedback and ideas from your target audience, you should consider doing one-on-one discovery calls with a few people. ...
Use Social Media. (https://www.business2community.com/marketing/3-bests-ways-to-find-out-what-your-target-audience-wants-02150935)
More Depth?
I found this at Socially Sorted:
So here are19 Ways to Survey Your Audience.
Oh and I split them up into 3 areas, so you can find the level to jump in at depending on what type of audience you have right now! They are:
Survey Your Audience with a List. If you have a list of subscribers, then you are off and racing. If you don't, it's ok – there are plenty of options you can still use.
Survey Your Audience via Social Media. If you are just getting started (or even if you have a list) you can easily survey your ideal audience using social media. I've listed out plenty of ideas.
Survey Your Audience without a Social Media Following (or a List). All is not lost if this is your starting point. In fact, you are probably in a GREAT position as you can do this the right way, building your list in a targeted way at the same time. #Winning.
You can get the complete rundown here.
Grow the audience with a Survey
What You Should Ask
Ease in with Demographic Questions
Simple, basic questions about the responder helps them feel like, “this is easy.” This lets them get used to the podcast survey process, before you ask them opinion questions requiring more thought. These general things that give you an idea of what your audience is like. You probably want to know:
where they live
what age range they fall into
what level of education they have
Opinions about format
Here, you can ask them about the way your content is presented. You can ask them if they prefer interviews, solo talking, or panel discussion. Ask how they feel about the episode length. You can also ask if they prefer to listen to each episode all at once, or if they tend to listen to it in chunks. This gives you some valuable insight. If you have recurring segments, ask if there are parts they look forward to.
What's in it for your listener?
Here's where you'll ask why they listen, and what they get out of it. Unlike broadcast radio or television, people don't turn on their device and listen to “whatever's on.” They have to make a choice. Asking why they listen and what it does for them, in different ways, will get answers with different focus.
Ask what they do while listening. Do they commute? Exercise? Cook? Data entry? Close their *eyes and give it full attention?
Discovery
Always ask how your listeners found out about the podcast. Did they find out about the show through social media, word of mouth, or maybe another podcast? Did they find out through paid advertising? Did someone write a tweet or Facebook status recommending your work?
Survey Showtime
Keep your audience survey posted and open long enough to be able to mention it at the end of at least 3 episodes. Make sure it's heard! Mention it on your podcast's social media and web site. Use a short link system like PrettyLink to make a clear link to your survey. It'll look something like yourpodcast.com/survey, and it's easy to repeat in the recording stage.
Now that you've got the survey data, what's next?
It's always nice to get a pat on the back. When you look at the results of the survey, set aside your ego. Pretend it's someone else's show. The survey results can help you create more content in the future, or tie-in products or perks.
Once you've gathered these responses, be sensible. If people mention something specific that you can change (“the theme music goes on for three minutes and that's too long”), then think about changing it.
If it’s not changeable (“women have shrill voices! history is boring!”), then don’t worry about it. Unless, of course, you get a lot of feedback about it. Then, talk with other podcast creators that you trust.
Find out if they hear what your audience mentioned. For example, a comment about “shrill voice” sound might just be an indication of a need for some gain adjustment.
In a recent blog post about surveys and polls, marketing wizard Seth Godin said, “even asking someone a thoughtful question about their satisfaction can increase it.” Podcast surveys aren't just about getting the word out. They're about looking at what you’re doing right, and planning what you can do better, to engage the listeners you have. (The Podcast Host)
Simple Strategies
How to Find Your Target Audience
Use Google Analytics to learn more about your customers.
Create a reader persona to target blog content.
Look at social media analytics.
Use Facebook Insights.
Check on website performance.
Engage with social media audiences. (Google Search)https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/target-audience
Coda
The genesis for this article came while putting together a contact list for the Paul Winter Consort. A considerable number of stations no longer have a content manager or program director. My question is, who’s in charge of the overall sound of the station, and who is making sure the station is actually serving an audience? Or, is the station serving other needs. The problem with a producer-run station, it is easy to run off the rails. It is easy to lose sight of the station’s core values and the core values of the audience. After the audience moves away because they’ve become disappointed with the overall sound of the station and its content, revenue sources begin to dry up.
