Research Task Seven: Target Audience
My target research involved creating a survey for 16-25-year-olds, inquiring about their current usage of both print and digital forms of magazines, as well as their interest in different elements of style.
Does My Target Audience Read Print Magazines?
My research has found that very few people from the ages of 16-25 read print magazines regularly. My recipients stated a number of different for this. However, the main reasons were:
- They found it easier to read content digitally.
- They found that print newspapers are too expensive.
Therefore, from this data, one of the steps that should be taken in order to attract this audience would be to lower the price of the magazine, in relation to competing issues. In regards to the issue surrounding the greater convenience of digital content in comparison to print magazines, in order to try to bypass this issue, digital marketing of the magazine, particularly on social media platforms, such as X, Instagram and even TikTok, is likely to expose the magazine to the 16-25 audience in particular, due to their high activity on these sorts of platforms. Therefore, this will boost the convenience of the print magazine itself, as it means that it can be purchased digitally, which the younger generation tends to view as more convenient, and, due to the algorithms used on these platforms, a more specific area of this target market can be accessed, such as those who are more fashion-conscious.
Does My Target Audience Read Digital Magazines?
My research also indicates that my style-conscious, 16-25-year-old target market views digital magazine websites, but not on a regular basis. The main reasons for this are as follows:
- Although mainstream style magazines, such as GQ and VOGUE, are browsed occasionally, due to their expertise in fashion and other areas, social media is generally used more commonly, due to its ability to tailor information to its individual users.
- Others stated that the reason why they do not use digital magazine websites is due to their lack of advertising and exposure, and so potential readers are unaware that they may be interested by them.
Although the easy-to-access, personalised and tailored content of social media platforms is difficult to compete with, a way to bypass the issue of the lack of usage of magazine websites as a result of a lack of effective advertising, can involve social media platforms themselves. By advertising on platforms with such a unique ability to reach such specific audiences, this can be used to try to expose the magazine website to 16-25-year-old, style-conscious people. Furthermore, the idolisation of social media figures by the younger generation can also be utilised, as collaborations with certain creators will help to further promote the magazine to different, more specific demographics.
What Elements Of Style Is My Target Market Interested In?
Although there were many different factors that survey recipients were most interested in, one of the most common interests was clothing/fashion. As a result, within this magazine, and much like many other style magazines, fashion may be an appropriate choice when selecting a main genre.
