How do you leverage audience analysis to create cross-platform and transmedia content?

If we take the podcast as an example of cross-platform content, we will find that it is an effective tool to reach a larger audience for different objectives. From each podcast episode, various types of content can be generated, such as content extracted for social media, content for blogs, and videos extracted from the podcast episode. All of this is in addition to the audio podcast episode itself.

Content tailored for various platforms/devices to ensure consistent, engaging experience. Devices and platforms such as social media, websites, mobile apps, TV, and more.

Great cross platform content needs to stand out if it’s going to be available in many places. Podcasts can contribute more to cross platform content as they have the power to tell stories, share opinions or interpret and predict future results based on experience.

It’s a great way to reach larger audiences and increase engagement (this will increase trust in your brand and your followers) BUT only if it’s being tailored to each platform. For example, one of my favourite ways of creating great cross-platform content is to film and edit a longform video from an event, such as a round table or webinar. You can then use that longform content for YouTube, podcasts and also splice the most interesting quotes into 30 sec captioned clips for FB, Insta and LinkedIn. You can go further by transcribing the video and creating blogs for your website to increase traffic and boost SEO, and creating image posts from great quotes. One event, tailored to each platform to maximise engagement and consistency.

Some personal recommendations from my experience regarding cross-platform content: -Consistency is Key: While it’s essential to tailor content to each platform’s unique specifications and audience expectations, the core message and brand voice should remain consistent. —Analyze and Iterate: Use analytics tools to understand which platforms yield the best results for your content and why. This data-driven approach can guide future cross-platform content strategies. -Engage with the Audience: Cross-platform content provides multiple touchpoints for brands to interact with their audience. It’s essential to engage, respond, and adapt based on feedback from these various channels.

Start with a strong story: The most important part of transmedia content is the story. If the story isn't good, no amount of transmedia elements will save it. Plan carefully: Transmedia content requires a lot of planning. You need to decide how the story will be told across different platforms and how the different parts of the story will fit together. Coordinate with your team: Transmedia content is a team effort. You need to coordinate with your writers, designers, producers, and other creatives to ensure that all of the different parts of the story are consistent. Test your content: It's important to test your content with your audience to make sure that they are understanding the story and that they are enjoying the experience.

Telling the story using different angles, each angle for each platform. Thus using the best possible media tool for each platform.

To effectively reach your audience, start by segmenting them based on demographics, interests, behavior patterns, and platform preferences. Use this information to tailor your content format, style, messaging, and user experience to each segment. Optimize content distribution timing, encourage interactivity and engagement, gather feedback, and personalize content recommendations based on user data. Consistency and relevance are key to building a loyal audience.

The most undervalued rule in content is context. No matter how good your content is, If there is no context, it can be harmful and wasteful.

Transmedia content is a storytelling strategy that extends a narrative across multiple media platforms, such as books, films, video games, and social media, creating a rich and interconnected story world. Each medium contributes unique elements to the narrative, engaging the audience with diverse and immersive experiences. Transmedia storytelling encourages audience participation, platform-specific content, and non-linear storytelling, enhancing engagement and allowing fans to explore the narrative from multiple angles. Consistency and continuity are essential to maintain a coherent storytelling experience, making transmedia storytelling a potent tool for building fan communities and fostering brand loyalty.

If you don’t understand your target audience, the purpose that you are trying to serve with your content is defeated. Then you are only creating for yourself. The most successful content stems from a strong insight, which you can only develop by analysing and speaking to your audience.

Monitoring your audience’s behaviours and interests is an on-going and never ending process. To evolve your content you truly need to walk in their footsteps to ensure you don’t become insincere in delivery.

Audience analysis is important because it helps you to create content that is relevant and engaging for your target audience. When you understand your audience, you can tailor your message to their interests, needs, and pain points. This makes it more likely that they will pay attention to your content and take action. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to conduct an audience analysis: Who is my target audience? What are their demographics, interests, and needs? What are their pain points? What are they struggling with? What are their goals? What do they want to achieve? What kind of content do they consume? What platforms do they use? What tone and style should I use? How can I connect with them on a personal level?

Making great content without first analyzing the audience is like tailoring a suit for a body that has never been measured.

Understanding your audience, living the lives of your audience and picking up their audio, listening, reading, visiting and viewing habits can be crucial in relating effectively to the target audience. It can help to refine delivery and content to better superserve your target demographic.

Audience analysis is like an algorithm in which you put together the pieces of a 'people puzzle' with objective data and subjective reasoning combined to get a better picture of your 'target audience' and their needs, wants and desires.

Audience analysis is becoming more and more challenging as platforms are relying on harsh algorithms that keep a shield between content creators and audiences and pushing more into boosting posts. This situation limits the reach to a point where creators are not sure anymore if the issue is within their content or the platform's algorithm, and thus makes analyzing audience data (if available) not of a big effect unfortunately.

To conduct audience analysis, start by figuring out who your customers are and what they like. You can do this by asking them questions, looking at data from your website and social media, and keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing. Then, create profiles that describe different groups of your customers, like their age, interests, and what problems they have. Once you know your customers better, use this information to make your marketing messages and content more appealing to them. Keep checking in with your customers regularly to see if anything has changed, and adjust your marketing as needed. It's like getting to know your friends better so you can talk to them in a way that they understand and like.

Best is to scout the desired platforms on their metrics tools in advance and keep that in mind on retrospective analysis for future content productions.

An analogy: Audience analysis helps you to create a 'cook book' of your target audience's media diet. Just as tastes have evolved, so too are people's tastes in the media they consume.

These three concepts — audience analysis, transmedia content, and cross-platform strategy — should be considered and studied equally to maximize reach and effectivity. I believe they go hand-in-hand equally as well. Because the danger of one prevailing over the others is redundancy and saturation, borne out of the tendency to create formulas. For instance, if you know that a certain demographic of your audience prefers a particular type of content delivered via a particular platform, you might be tempted to stick to this formula and repeat this delivery over and over. While this approach is good at the beginning of audience-building, it should also be revisited periodically to check up on its effectivity.

Get engaged with your own content. Build a team that hasn't been too much involved with the production in order to get the best "outsider's" view.

I agree, and also I would add that understanding the preferences, behaviors, and expectations of a target audience is key. This insights will help us to tailor the messages to resonate most effectively across different platforms, but also help us to reflect on what should be our main niche. Let's think in a brand that specializes in sustainable fashion, interacting across platforms. On Instagram, the audience will be visually attracted to striking images of eco-friendly outfits. On YouTube, they might seek detailed documentaries about the sustainable fashion industry. On X, the audience might engage more with statistics and news about sustainable fashion. By analyzing the audience's preferences on each platform, we craft specific content.