What Content Appeals to Different Audiences

Without understanding your audience, you will not achieve the goal for which you create the content for, no matter what it is — sales, likes, downloads, etc. An understanding of the purpose and user motivation will help you decide what types of content are relevant to your campaigns. However, the context and the trends are ever-changing. What is relevant now may be completely bonkers tomorrow. That’s why it is so important to keep your finger on the pulse and stay ahead of the curve.

You already know who you are trying to reach, right? Good, because we’ve already collected some useful insights about your audience, including some juicy stats. Let’s go!

Already trendy or predictions post factum 

Every year, the image-sharing social media Pinterest shares its “not-yet-trending” reports where they predict what is going to be trending next year, according to their audience’s top pins. The company explains that the pins illustrate what users want and are most likely to buy or try out in the nearest future. Their method appears trustworthy as the company is proven right from year to year.

Thus for 2022, in the beauty and fashion niches, Pinterest predicted a trend towards accessories (including even tooth gems and dermal piercing) among Gen Z users; pearl decorations among people of all ages; bright colors (rainbow or gradient) in outfits and silky nightwear among all genders. Instagram’s trend report has also added that about 1 in 3 young people is interested in minimalistic make-up and plant-based skin care.

Talking about well-being, Pinterest also says that:

• Gen Z’s are looking for higher consciousness in life this year (e.g., how to protect their energy). At the same time, Gen Z is looking for ways to manifest their friendship experience, saving pins with friendship rings, matching tattoos for friends, and goodbye gifts for friends moving. As for travel, Gen Z is driving a trend of night adventures (e.g., sea night beaches and road trip aesthetic).
• Millennials are educating themselves about their reproductive health (although Pinterest doesn’t mention gender here, it’s quite obvious). As for finance and business, millennials have an interest in developing their financial literacy and are exploring different tips for that.
• Gen X and boomers don’t go far and also want to have fun: they are searching for indoor swings, useful crafts, and fairy bedroom ideas.
• While people of all ages are looking for more conscious ways to relate to one another and for mellow ways to exercise (e.g., floating, lazy bed workouts, walking in nature, etc.).

Are you already in a romantic mood with all these inspiring topics or maybe you are trying to understand how information about bright outfits and vacations will help you promote, say, a hipster bookshop? Be creative: for example, show your audience fancy-dressed young people reading your books or tell them which book will be perfect for a relaxing day on a sun lounger next to a pool.

Keeping their attention

Now, when you have a general understanding of what the consumers are interested in and what can attract their attention, you need to be sure that they will 100% get your message.

Omnicom Media Group, Yahoo, and Amplified Intelligence published a survey focused on consumers’ attention to ads. The survey states that age does matter, while gender is not so important. It was found that boomers give ads 12 seconds of passive attention and 2.1 seconds of active. Gen X gives 11.2 seconds of passive attention and 1.9 seconds of active. The challenging thing for the advertiser is working with Gen Z, who give ads only 7.6 seconds of passive attention and 1.3 seconds of active attention.

For you, it roughly means that you can leisurely speak with boomers about how to craft a planter for their garden (with the device you advertise, for example), start a vigorous conversation with Gen X about the hotel for their next vacation in Rome, and chase Gen Z trying to get their attention to say at least a word about the new collection of fancy accessories you want them to purchase in your shop.

Bear in mind that these suggestions relate to video content and may not be relevant for static creatives.

The kinds of content to create 

By the way, do you know what type of content your audience wants to see? According to HubSpot research, people of all ages are equally likely to prefer video content. Excluding conservative boomers who cherish emails the most, and social content for Gen Z and millennials.

No wonder why. Video is the last stage of the content ladder. From video, people receive audio, visual, and often textual information. Thus, the information is processed at different levels of perception. That’s why it is so convenient for consumers. Even music goes visual! For example, more than 1 in 3 teens using Instagram are excited to see new dance challenges in 2022, so music transforms into a part of an interactive video and is hard to imagine without visual context anymore.

Conclusion

Here’s a conclusion without a conclusion. We’ve provided you with some stats examples of how you can find out what makes your audience tick and use it to your advantage. There is no one-size-fits-all super-formula, but make sure to give the video format a chance at any rate. Check up-to-date trustworthy reports, analyze your audience, and brainstorm ideas that will boost your performance.