2 Audience Analysis
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the purpose of audience analysis as an effective communication tool for crafting or adapting a message based on a common ground shared with the audience
- Recognize the importance of understanding the socio-demographic makeup of an audience to determine their knowledge of a topic
- Recognize the importance of understanding the psychographic makeup of an audience to identify their needs
- Identify the factors that can influence attention span when communicating a message
Video Lecture:
Quiz:
Recommended Exercise:
Before advancing to the next module, try the following exercise.
Based on your current research studies, identify five publications to which you might want to submit your findings. Generate a table listing the socio-demographics and the psychographics of the desired audience for each publication. Socio-demographic factors that may affect the receptiveness of that publication’s audience to your message include their age, race, creed, language, education, knowledge/expertise, interests, and social groups. Psychographics refers to the psychological motivations of the audience, including their attitudes, beliefs, emotions, opinions, and lifestyle. Depending on your discipline, differing categories of information may be available on the websites of these publications. Once your table is complete, decide which is the ideal publication from your findings and make a point form list explaining why.
