08/15/2023
Pew Research recently took a bold stance on addressing the challenges of presenting generational insights to define audience labels.
They acknowledged generational data as important, but often misleading. And this can be the case for a lot of demographic data.
As business owners, we rely on data to understand what’s happening in our business.
But how can we make business decisions on such a rocky foundation?
Add color to your figures to make the data more meaningful by asking yourself these questions to inform your analysis:
✦When did the change occur?
Consider the time and date to identify the cause and potential effect beyond the single data point.
✦Is this change consistent across all of my platforms?
It's possible that the platform's reporting is incorrect. Check various sources for similar data to validate your finding.
✦Were there changes to your audience during this period?
Any large influx or outflow of audience size, geography, or demographics should be noted and further explored.
✦If there was a change in audience, what may have caused it?
Perhaps the root causes are algorithm changes or a mention on a prominent site.
✦Could the change be due to a trending topic?
Our organizations exist within a larger ecosystem and can be influenced by cultural conversation. The impacting topic can be directly correlated or a byproduct of a supplementary one.
Check keywords on the internet to figure out how you would like to intentionally contribute to the conversation.
Overall, try not to get stuck on what race, age, or education level could say about your audience.
They have so much more to them than what fits in a census box.
Instead, try revisiting how you interpret group data when looking to understand your audience through demographics and use this information to better serve them.
**
A version of this insight was originally shared in my newsletter.
If you want to get more perspective on how larger industry events impact small businesses and what we can do about it, get added to my semi-regular newsletter list.
Comment ‘add me in’ to get added to the list.
**
📷
**
