What is the difference between primary and secondary audiences?
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The influence of the Secondary audience member can be the difference between success and failure. Show Setting up a marketing campaign requires a fair bit of planning, thought and then execution. Amongst the things to consider are:
Most of the above questions can be answered fairly easily through a bit of research - understanding, for example, how your Google Analytics can tell you key metrics such as where you users are based, how they’re finding your site, where they go on your site and so forth is comparatively simple. But there is an additional layer in understanding your audience that requires a bit more insight and thoughtfulness - whilst you may have a fairly clear idea on who your primary audience is, you should also really consider who the secondary audience might be, and why they’re just as important. Primary vs secondary audienceSimply put, the Primary audience is the group of people you’re directly targeting with marketing - they tend to be the decision-makers, and are the first receivers of communication. The Secondary audience is less easy to define, but effectively this group are likely to be the users of the products or services that the Primary audience purchases, and can, therefore, be more varied in their interests, and how they can be marketed to. To give you an example, for parents or guardians of children old enough to go to school, you’ll know how schools market themselves at open days or in the local media. For parents and guardians (the Primary target audience/decision-makers) marketing is based on language and imagery that includes success in exams, diversity of cultural activities on offer, examples of students who’ve gone on to achieve great things, inclusivity and nurturing, and a range of other devices to convince you that their school is best. But for the potential student, the experience and language is significantly different. For this Secondary audience member, whilst there is still talk of achieving good results, taking part in many activities and becoming a responsible young citizen, the focus and language is far more likely to use words like ‘exciting’, ‘fun’, ‘make friends’ and so forth. But if the parents and guardians ultimately make the decision (primary audience), why then go to the effort of appealing to the student? The value of secondary audiencesThe Secondary audience is all about one word: influence. Whilst the Primary audience will likely make final decisions, the Secondary audience is often someone who is able to influence the decision to some degree, and may therefore be the catalyst for success when it comes to ‘selling’ the product or service on offer. In the above example, the school has the challenge of convincing both parties that their offering is the best choice - there is little or no point in appealing to the primary audience in this instance, only to find that the school has not convinced the person who will actually attend the school! Covering all basesThe schools example is quite a simple one, in which subtle language changes and explanations can be used to entice both primary and secondary audiences. In other examples, though, such as retail, there are many other factors to consider - what imagery is being used? How and where is the information presented? Who is the recipient of the Primary audience’s decision? How can the seller convince the Primary buyer to make a purchase decision that ultimately really benefits the Secondary audience? A great example is Valentine’s Day… the Primary audience is the person who is buying the flowers, but they are buying them for the Secondary audience - the person who likes flowers. How does the flower-seller appeal to the Primary buyer? Not by saying things like “Buy some beautiful flowers to enjoy at home”. The seller is far more likely to appeal to the Primary buyer by saying “Buy some beautiful flowers to take home to your Valentine!” So while it’s a challenge to understand your audiences, it is really worth taking the time and effort to delve deeper into the full spectrum, to analyse who they are, where they are, what they like and don’t like, and how best to reach them with a comprehensive marketing strategy. For help understanding your audiences better, and guidance on a digital marketing strategy please contact Realnet today on 01223 55 08 00 or Photo: WOCinTech Chat A few months ago, I got an email from a reader who wanted to know how to attract an audience to their blog. Their blog was geared more toward individual developers and covered a range of beginner topics, but they actually wanted to create content that would attract possible mentors and even employers. What kind of content do those audiences want? Do we need to create content for every audience? In this short post, I’ll explain the differences between different audience types and help you understand what these audiences look for when they interact with your content. Audiences Fall into Three Main BucketsAs I mentioned in The Developer’s Guide to Content Creation, your audience isn’t everyone. You have a specific audience (or reader) you want to attract and your content addresses them directly. This reader is called your target (or primary) audience. (In the book, I show you how to define your target audience.) But in addition to your target audience, there are other categories of readers who look at your content. Known as secondary and tertiary audiences, their goals differ from your target audience. For example, let’s say you’re writing a blog about Ruby for early-career Ruby developers. Your audiences might look like this:
The book Technical Communication Todayby Richard Johnson-Sheehan defines these different audiences—and their goals—as follows:
In summary, your content addresses the needs and wants of a primary audience. Your secondary and tertiary audiences are aware that they are not your primary audience. You do not have to write content that is specific to these audiences for them to derive value from it. These audiences will use your content as a resource or reference to better understand your primary audience and your areas of expertise. Your Turn:
Like this post? Purchase The Developer's Guide to Content Creation for more content-related tips and exercises. What are primary audiences?Your primary audience is your intended audience; it is the person or people you have in mind when you decide to communicate something. However, when analyzing your audience you must also beware of your secondary audience. These are other people you could reasonably expect to come in contact with your message.
What are examples of primary audience?With a primary audience, you're talking to people who can actually take action based on what they see or hear from you. If you're a B2B company selling accounting software, then your primary audience is accounting professionals who have spending power to purchase their own technology.
What is the definition of a secondary audience?A secondary audience is comprised of people who aren't the most likely to buy a product or service, but are still the second-most important.
What are primary secondary and tertiary audience?Primary, Secondary, and Hidden Audiences
Primary audiences are those who receive the communication directly and are also known as the target audience. The person is also usually the decision maker. Secondary audiences are those readers who are not the primary addressee, but are still included as viewer.
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