Hey there,
In our last writeup, we discussed knowing your customer persona in your bid to write a comprehensive PR plan. In this article, we will be discussing how to conduct the demographic and psychographic segmentation of your target audience. So let’s dive in!
What is Demographic Segmentation? Instapage defines it as a precise form of audience identification based on data points like age, gender, marital status, family size, income, education, race, occupation, nationality, and/or religion. The basic idea for breaking down your audience into these segments is that instead of reaching an entire market, you can reach a specified sub-group of people within the market by using these segmentation metrics. Psychographic segmentation on the other hand is the research methodology used for studying consumers and dividing them into groups using psychological characteristics including personality, lifestyle, social status, activities, interests, opinions, and attitudes.- Survey Monkey.
The major difference between the two is that demographic segmentation could be described as quantitative attributes of your audience based on certain traits that are commonly seen, while psychographic segmentation could be seen as a more qualitative methodology which checks out the target audience’s personal characteristic, belief systems and perceptions. But they are both good ways to segment your target audience and identify the appropriate market sub-group to tailor your messages towards.
Yieldify even breaks it further by outlining the most commonly used used demographic segmentation factors, I will be expatiating on at least three of these factors:
- Age: You will need to segment your audience based on the average age of your projected target audience, are they within a specific age group, would you want to target the older or younger generation? What is the average age range? These are questions you need to ask to help you tailor your message to fit these categories of people.
- Gender: In terms of gender, are they male, female, transgender or non-binary. Do you have the right messages for these different groups of people? It helps in identifying what your business strategy is and helps in reaching the right set of people.
- Ethnicity: What ethnic group do they fall under? Are they Hispanic, Black/African, White etc? Do they come from different tribes within a specific ethnicity? This would help in identifying what kind of strategy to use for them.
Some other factors to consider include: Income; Level of education; Religion; Occupation; Family structure
In terms of psychographic segmentation, here are some factors to consider:
- Personality: What is the personality of your target audience? Fun, vibrant, introverted, reserved etc? This will determine if your message should be too loud or mild or if they can relate with your brand.
- Lifestyle: In considering the psychographic segmentation, it is important to understand if your target audience (TA) has a flamboyant lifestyle, if the person is more of an outgoing individual or an indoor person. Are they fitness junkies or do they like to consume food and other items?
- Interests: What are their interests? Do they like music, art, fashion etc? Can you tie your campaign to any of their interests? These are some of the questions that you can ask to understand your target audience better and also help in coming up with the right strategy for your brand.
Some other factors to consider include: Opinions; Attitudes; Social status; Activities.
So the next time you are asked to evaluate the demographic and psychographic segmentation of your target audience, note that it is not cumbersome but can be resolved by exploring a few factors.
I hope you enjoyed reading up to this point, thank you! Join me bi-weekly in my journey into the PR world where I discuss challenges, tips, pointers, and wins in the PR career space. See you soon!
Warm regards,
The PR Chic
