What does your audience think? Five audience research methods
Information about your audience is at the core of your vision and strategic decisions. How do your visitors experience your cultural offering? Can a digital offering be of added value to your visitors? And how will you continue to reach your audience in the future? Find out by doing some audience research.
Quantitative or qualitative
Questions about visitors or their user profiles are answered using quantitative data, e.g. via a survey or data analysis. You can use quantitative and qualitative data to find out more about the audience’s appreciation, e.g. by giving a score or conducting interviews. Needs and motivations are best discovered through qualitative research methods, such as in-depth interviews or user tests. As you can see, there are various methods for conducting audience research and what method is best all depends on the particular questions you want answered. Do you want the answers to multiple questions? In that case, you can use a combination of different research methods.
Audience research helps you to understand and reach your target group.
Five common audience research methods
1. Data analysis
Your website or channel statistics provide information about your users. Statistics help you to get a better idea of who your target groups are, the number of visitors to your website or channel and their preferences.
Tip: start small, introduce a couple of changes after you have analysed the data and review the results one month later.
Case study
The Anne Frank Foundation discovered how to improve their website following data analysis by changing the second most important part of their website, the ticket section. They discovered that visitors were only buying one particular type of ticket, even though there were different types available so they decided to arrange this part of the website differently. They added a page showing all ticket options. Instead of ‘buy a ticket’, they put ‘select a ticket’. The number of visitors shot up within days; visits to the English ticket section increased tenfold and the Dutch version was visited 4.5 times as often.
2. (Micro) surveys
Surveys or questionnaires are used when you want to learn something specific about your visitors. In a micro survey you ask a couple of short questions about a very specific topic. You increase the number of respondents because it is quick and easy for your visitors to complete.
Tip: every question is one question too many. Ask yourself how useful the answer to a particular question is to you and delete where possible.
Case study
The tourist organisation Visit Gooi & Vecht organised a heritage festival in collaboration with a number of cultural organisations. Via a pop-up on their website, they asked their visitors what they thought of the festival. They found out that the festival attracted a large number of new visitors and that there were opportunities to encourage repeat visits.
3. Focus group
In a focus group a moderator questions several people at the same time. The focus group members tell the moderator what they think of the offering and give recommendations. Focus groups offer insight into the various interests and perspectives of a particular group of users.
Tip: focus groups can take place both online and offline. Make it interactive by giving examples or assignments.
Case study
Research carried out in Flanders looked at cultural participation before and after the lockdowns during the pandemic. In addition to interviewing more than 13,000 culture lovers, the researchers also talked to various focus groups. The focus groups were used to test the findings from the questionnaires.
4. In-depth interviews
During an in-depth interview you take your time to interview a user. This allows you to ask probing questions and obtain a more nuanced understanding.
Tip: interview a diverse group of people for a broad picture of your audience. A questionnaire provides structure.
Case study
The Nationaal Museum Voor Wereldculturen (National Museum for World Cultures) conducted a series of telephone interviews with people who had attended a hybrid talk. They interviewed both the visitors to the museum and the people who followed the talk via a live stream. This enabled the team to compare the experiences of the two groups. The interviews yielded useful insights into the audiences’ needs. The improvements were immediately implemented for subsequent episodes of the series. The research findings have also enabled the team to better adapt the style and content of new projects.
5. User test
User tests can show you how users use your digital offering or website. You can ask people to perform specific searches to see if they can find the relevant information. The results allow you to improve the user experience. (UX).
Tip: you can carry out the user tests digitally using screen sharing or software that tracks screen movements.
Case study
De Literatuurmuseum (Literature Museum) wanted to find out how people experience online exhibitions. By watching the exhibition together with the users, the museum discovered that many people watch the exhibitions on their phone or tablet. Additionally, a lot of people find out about the online exhibitions via social media posts. These findings prompted the museum to add more layers to their online presentations so that it retains the visitors’ interest, whether for five minutes or during longer visits.
Audience analysis, why?
You may think audience analysis or research is unnecessary. However, it does allow you to get to know your audience better and to make decisions based on their needs. It is a data-driven approach whereby you put the audience first. This is important because the world and your audience are changing. Shows and performances that used to draw a full house do not always appeal to the audience of the future. By carrying out audience research and analysing the audience’s responses, you can create an offering that matches their wishes and preferences.
Audience research to identify and reach your target group
More than anything, audience research provides you with a better understanding of your existing audience. But what if you want to identify or reach new target groups? DEN provides you with the necessary tools to identify target groups and determine your online target group.
- Learn from other cultural organisations how to identify your online target group.
- Really get to know the audience of the future.
- Read more about the different purposes of audience research and how you can analyse the results step by step.
Do more with your data
Audience research is a kind of data-driven approach. It enables you to answer specific questions with a set of data so that you can make data-based decisions rather than decisions based on a gut feeling. Would you like to know what else you can do with data and how to responsibly use audience data?
