Does my audience even care about my content?

• Krystle Kopacz
• Jan 27, 2022

What makes your audience care about the content you’re producing?

Regardless of where you are in executing your content strategy, this is the foundational question that must be researched, determined, revisited, obsessed over. So much so that The Atlantic recently posted a robust explanation of what matters to its readers, defined by two years of data collection: 

The 5 Reasons Audiences Come to The Atlantic

1. Get deeper clarity and context to the news
2. Discover new, provocative ideas
3. Challenge assumptions
4. Take a (meaningful) break 
5. Follow specific expert writers 

The Atlantic’s audience use cases have become an organizing framework for the organization’s content creation. 

Like any good strategy, The Atlantic has also defined how it deliberately does not serve audiences:

The 2 Reasons Audiences Do Not Come to The Atlantic

(and what it believes are already “met needs” that do not need to be a focus)

1. Breaking news or aggregated news 
2. Niche depth or topic mastery 

Why is this information critical to a content operation? 

• The insights are based on stable, persistent audience needs, not topics. The post notes that these needs haven’t changed, despite the global pandemic that has upended all of our lives. 
• This understanding creates a differentiated value proposition for why your specific audience target should read your content, something critical for developing audience loyalty. 
• It provides an operating framework for the entire organization. The Atlantic understands its priorities, from content creation to product design and development, based on the needs of its users. 
• The data shows the pathway to transaction. The post notes that content featuring “lighter” topics tends to be consumed early in the journey to becoming a subscriber, while weightier topics tend to drive more immediate transactions. Other organizations might find transaction trends (to products and services) that could be operationalized for higher conversion rates. 

How do I figure this out for my organization? 

• Invest in data analysis, not just collection. Assess internal analytics, external audience behavior, competitive insights, industry trends and brand goals: Where do the gaps exist, and does it make sense for your brand to fill them?

• Create and distribute a content strategy rooted firmly in your audience data. Make sure your strategy is flexible enough to include where your audience is going, not just where they are (and, importantly, how you deliberately will and won’t serve them). Above all, make the strategy practical enough that teams across your organization can easily get involved. 

TL;DR: Audience engagement and growth is built by filling unmet audience needs better than anyone else in your space. To figure out what that is, start with analyzing your audience data. 

Need help with this? Revmade’s data analysts and content strategists help organizations grow by delivering unique, valuable content to your audience. Reach out to us here to find out how we can help today.