Episode Summary
Keyword research is one of the best ways to determine which keywords to target and it can help you learn a lot about the most searched terms online However while keyword research wont help you understand your audiences needs wants and behaviors audience research will
In this episode of the Recorded Content podcast our host Tristan Pelligrino welcomes Amanda Natividad the VP of marketing at SparkToro They chat about the importance of audience research the differences between the buyer persona amplifier persona and attention persona and how to create content that enables collaborative relationships
Guest Profile
Name: Amanda Natividad
What she does: Shes the VP of marketing at SparkToro
Company: SparkToro
Noteworthy: Amanda is also a contributor to Adweek a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and a former journalist Before SparkToro she led marketing for Growth Machine and Liftopia built Fitbits B2B content program and led content and comms for NatureBox
Key Insights
- The most challenging part about audience research is doing it effectively Audience research allows you to understand your audiences needs and wants But you need to do it effectively Amanda explains The hardest part is really just doing it effectively Audience research is researching your audience which is usually a mix of a bunch of different things It can come in the form of focus groups maybe some market research and running surveys What can inform it is even just traditional keyword research strategy and understanding what keywords people are searching for I think the hardest part of audience research is putting all these things together and understanding what it is that youre looking for and then doing something with it
- Consume what your audience consumes One of the best ways to get to know your audience is to put yourself in their shoes Amanda explains In some initial audience research I think my starting point was from this PR agency that we worked with who said that in a survey of a couple hundred HR and benefits leaders they found that people read Psychology Today and Entrepreneur magazine So that was fascinating to me because if you asked me What do HR and benefits leaders read Id be like I dont know a human executive magazine which is partly true But Psychology Today and Entrepreneur unlocked a couple of things for me It unlocked the idea that they see themselves as in the business of people and they care about social psychology and driving motivational change And so once I got to those resources and started reading Psychology Today and Entrepreneur magazine then I started to think more in line with our target audience
- Audience research is equally as important as keyword research Keyword research and audience research are two separate things With keyword research you learn what the most searched terms are but with audience research you learn who is behind those search terms Amanda says Keyword research tells you what people are searching for What is corporate wellness or What is a podcast but only audience research will tell you who is searching for that So you can get the data that says that there are 700 searches per month on What is a podcast but you have no idea who is searching for that
Episode Highlights
Buyer Persona vs Amplifier Persona vs Attention Persona
We obviously have that classic buyer persona the people who would ideally buy our product Then you have your amplifier persona which represents the people who might amplify your content andor your brand So an amplifier might be a creator in your niche a reporter or an analyst Those are all potential amplifiers And then in your broadest sort of audience you have the attention persona which I define as people who pay attention or people who might pay attention to you
Create Content That Enables Collaborative Relationships
I dont come from the world of paying influencers and securing those sponsorships Ive done them before Ive done that in the past but that just isnt my world My world is more of creating content So I tend to think about it through the lens of Well how can I create content that enables a collaborative relationship or that can be mutually beneficial in a way that doesnt have to involve exchanging money
Search for Terms That Best Exemplify Your Audience
I would start with search terms that best exemplify your audience So this could be that my audience uses these words in their profile and it might be a marketing director or maybe its a show host a podcast host or things like that the words that people would use publicly to self-identify
