Create an avatar to identify your audience

An audience avatar is a fictional person who represents a typical fan. This will give you something to refer to when deciding what types of content to create next. When brainstorming ideas, ask yourself what would your avatar want to see?

For example, say you’re a blogger and fashion is your niche. Your audience avatar may look like Samatha or Jonathan.

While fashion is the niche for both Samatha and Jonathan, the types of content they’ll want to consume is very different. Samatha would probably be much more interested in an upcoming designer drop than Jonathan, while Jonathan would be more likely to click on a listicle about must-have closet staples. Knowing who you’re speaking to and why will ensure your content resonates.

Find your audience’s demographics

Demographics are statistical data about your audience. These are things like their identifying gender, their age, and where they live. How you find your audience’s demographics depends on where you’re creating content. For example, if you’re creating on Instagram, you’ll need a business or creator account to gain access to your Account Insights. If you’re creating on YouTube, you can see your audience's analytics from within your YouTube Studio account. And if you have a website, checkout your Google Analytics.

If you haven’t started creating content yet or don’t have many followers, you can start by considering yourself. You’re likely to draw in like-minded people, so start with what you know. What’s your gender identity, age and location? As you continue to expand your content and grow your audience, you can update your audience avatar.

Understand your audience’s psychographics

Psychographics is information about your audience's psychology. Things like their values, opinions, beliefs, challenges, fears, and what makes them happy or sad. This type of information is harder to find than demographics, but it provides a much deeper insight into who your audience is.

Blogger and digital marketing expert Christina Galbato suggests answering the 5 questions to get you started. If you’re having trouble answering these questions, again, consider yourself before you’ve found your niche.

• What is his or her occupation?

What does your target audience do for a living? Consider what additional factors it affects. Are they an office worker in finance with a long commute? Or are they a digital nomad exploring the world, spending limited time in each place?

• What are their hobbies or interests?

What does your target audience do with their free time? Do they enjoy hiking outdoors or spending time at home reading? Do they prefer to have dinner with friends or go shopping alone?

• What does their day-to-day life look like?

What does your target audience’s routine look like? Do they do the same thing every morning? What do they wear? Where do they go?

• What are their struggles as related to their niche?

For example, say you’re a travel blogger and your target audience is struggling to find affordable flights. This gives you a clear direction on content you can create about travel hacking or using the right search engines.

• What are their desires when it comes to your niche?

If we use the travel blogger example again, maybe your target audience wants to travel more while still keeping their office job. Your content can then center around weekend trips.

Write it all down

Now it’s your turn! Put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write down your target audience avatar. Spend at least 15 to 20 minutes bringing your avatar to life. Give them a name and describe what they look like. Then, come up with the types of content you believe they’ll love to consume and share.