Audience Research

Discover where your audience actually pays attention online using Rand Fishkin's behavioral intelligence methodology—beyond demographics to actionable media affinity data.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Find where to reach your audience beyond Google and Facebook ads
• Discover podcasts, YouTube channels, and publications your audience follows
• Identify influencers and accounts with real audience overlap
• Plan PR and media outreach with data-backed target lists
• Improve ad targeting on YouTube, Meta, and other platforms
• Create content that resonates by understanding what your audience already engages with
• Find sponsorship and partnership opportunities with creators and publications
• Validate or challenge assumptions about your target market

This skill is particularly valuable for:

• Marketers who want to reach audiences beyond their current network
• PR professionals seeking hidden gem publications to pitch
• Content strategists planning distribution strategies
• Brands launching into new markets or segments
• Anyone tired of guessing where their audience hangs out

Methodology Foundation

Source: Rand Fishkin - SparkToro / Audience Intelligence methodology

Core Principle: Traditional market research (surveys, interviews) cannot reliably tell you where to reach audiences you don't already reach. Behavioral data—what people actually visit, read, watch, listen to, and follow—fills this gap at scale.

"Audience research has always been about what are the places where this audience pays attention. The beautiful thing about the web is it got way more granular."

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

What This Skill Does

When invoked, I will guide you through modern audience research:

1. Define your audience query in behavioral terms
2. Identify affinity data - websites, podcasts, YouTube, social accounts
3. Analyze search behavior - keywords, questions, trending topics
4. Extract self-description patterns - bio keywords, hashtags, skills
5. Map the competitive landscape - who else reaches your audience
6. Prioritize actionable channels for marketing, PR, content, ads
7. Synthesize into problem-specific insights (not generic personas)

How to Use

Provide information about your target audience:

Example prompts:

• "Help me find where interior designers spend their time online"
• "I need to identify podcasts and YouTube channels for B2B SaaS marketers"
• "Research the online behaviors of sustainability-focused consumers"
• "Find hidden gem publications for pitching our fintech startup"
• "Discover influencers with real overlap to our developer audience"

Information that helps:

• Description of your target audience (role, industry, interests)
• Current assumptions about where they pay attention
• Competitors or comparable brands
• Marketing channels you've already tried
• Specific goals (PR outreach, content strategy, ad targeting, etc.)

Instructions

Phase 1: Define the Audience Query

Critical shift: Don't think in demographics—think in behaviors.

Wrong approach:

• "Marketing managers, 35-45, mid-size companies"

Right approach:

• "People who search for 'marketing automation tools'"
• "People who follow marketing thought leaders on LinkedIn"
• "People who listen to B2B marketing podcasts"

Query Formats:

Phase 2: Gather Affinity Data

For your defined audience, identify:

Websites & Publications

What do they actually visit and read?

• Industry news sites
• Niche blogs
• Trade publications
• Community forums
• Educational resources

Podcasts

What do they listen to during commute/work?

• Industry-specific shows
• Thought leader interviews
• Educational content
• News and analysis

YouTube Channels

What do they watch and subscribe to?

• How-to content
• Industry commentary
• Product reviews
• Educational series

Social Accounts

Who do they follow and engage with?

• Thought leaders
• Industry experts
• Brand accounts
• Media personalities

Online Communities

Where do they participate?

• Subreddits
• Slack communities
• Discord servers
• Facebook groups
• LinkedIn groups

Phase 3: Analyze Search Behavior

Keywords They Search:

• What problems are they trying to solve?
• What solutions are they exploring?
• What questions do they ask?

Trending Topics:

• What's gaining attention in their space?
• What conversations are emerging?
• What content is getting shared?

Questions They Ask:

• What are the "how to" searches?
• What comparisons do they make?
• What concerns appear in searches?

Phase 4: Extract Self-Description Patterns

How do people in this audience describe themselves?

Bio Keywords:

• Job titles and roles
• Skills they highlight
• Industries they claim
• Causes they support

Hashtags They Use:

• Professional identifiers
• Community signals
• Interest markers
• Movement affiliations

Language Patterns:

• Jargon and terminology
• Values expressed
• Aspirations stated

Phase 5: Apply the Rhetorical Lens

Analyze why certain channels resonate using Aristotle's framework:

Logos (Logic)

Does this channel appeal through:

• Structured, evidence-backed thinking?
• Step-by-step instructions?
• Data and benchmarks?
• Clear methodology?

Implication: Your content for this channel should be logical, structured, and evidence-based.

Pathos (Emotion)

Does this channel connect through:

• Acknowledging audience struggles?
• Relatable failures before solutions?
• Urgency and empathy?

Implication: Your outreach should acknowledge real challenges and emotional stakes.

Ethos (Credibility)

Does this channel build trust through:

• Author credentials?
• Transparency about process?
• Practitioner experience?

Implication: Lead with credibility signals and real experience.

Phase 6: Competitive Landscape Mapping

Direct Competitors:

• Which of your competitors reach this audience?
• What channels are they present in?
• Where are they absent?

Media Competitors:

• Who produces content reaching your audience?
• What formats and topics resonate?
• Where are content gaps?

Opportunity Identification:

• Channels where competitors are NOT present
• Emerging channels with growing attention
• Underserved content topics

Phase 7: Synthesize Actionable Insights

Don't create generic personas. Instead, create problem-specific insights:

Examples

Example 1: B2B SaaS Company (Project Management Software)

Audience Query: "People who search for project management tools" + "People who follow productivity thought leaders"

Affinity Data Discovered:

Search Behavior:

• "Asana vs Monday vs [competitor]"
• "How to manage remote team projects"
• "Agile project management for small teams"
• "Project management for non-project managers"

Self-Description Patterns:

• "PM", "Scrum Master", "Product Owner"
• #agile, #projectmanagement, #remotework
• "Helping teams deliver"

Competitive Analysis:

• Asana: Heavy presence in productivity YouTube
• Monday.com: Strong podcast advertising
• ClickUp: Reddit engagement
• Opportunity: PM Times and trade publications underserved

Actionable Output:

For PR: Pitch PM Times and Scrum publications with thought leadership on hybrid team management—competitors underrepresent this angle.

For Content: Create comparison content ("X vs Y for specific use case") targeting search behavior. Distribute via PM subreddits.

For Ads: Target PM-focused YouTube channels (Thomas Frank for SMB, Notion channels for tech-forward). Avoid oversaturated productivity generalists.

Example 2: DTC Consumer Brand (Sustainable Home Goods)

Audience Query: "People interested in sustainable living" + "People who follow eco-conscious lifestyle accounts"

Affinity Data Discovered:

Search Behavior:

• "Sustainable alternatives to [product]"
• "Eco-friendly home goods"
• "How to reduce plastic in kitchen"
• "[Brand] reviews" for competitors

Self-Description Patterns:

• "Trying to live lighter", "Imperfect environmentalist"
• #sustainableliving, #consciousconsumer, #slowliving
• Values: Anti-greenwashing, authenticity, transparency

Rhetorical Analysis:

• Logos: r/buyitforlife is highly logic-driven (durability data, materials analysis). Content should be evidence-based.
• Pathos: Lifestyle influencers connect emotionally through "imperfect journey" framing. Avoid perfectionism.
• Ethos: Audience is skeptical of greenwashing. Transparency about supply chain = trust.

Actionable Output:

For PR: Lead with supply chain transparency story for The Good Trade. Avoid generic "eco-friendly" pitches—too many competitors.

For Influencer: Target mid-tier accounts (10-50K) who emphasize "imperfect sustainability." Avoid polished accounts—audience distrusts them.

For Content: Create "honest comparison" content for Reddit (r/zerowaste loves data-backed recommendations). Avoid promotional tone.

For Ads: Podcast sponsorship on Sustainably Influenced (aligned values) > generic lifestyle shows. Instagram ads targeting followers of mid-tier sustainable accounts.

Checklists & Templates

Audience Research Brief Template

PROJECT: [Client/Brand Name]
DATE: [Date]

1. AUDIENCE DEFINITION
Primary audience description:
Behavioral query: "People who [search/follow/visit]..."
Secondary behavioral signals:

2. RESEARCH GOALS
What problem are we solving?
[ ] Where to reach this audience (channels)
[ ] What content resonates (topics/formats)
[ ] Who influences them (accounts/publications)
[ ] Competitive positioning (gaps/opportunities)
[ ] Other: ___________

3. AFFINITY DATA
Websites/Publications:
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Podcasts:
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YouTube Channels:
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Social Accounts:
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Communities:
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4. SEARCH BEHAVIOR
Top keywords:
Top questions:
Trending topics:

5. SELF-DESCRIPTION
Common bio keywords:
Frequent hashtags:
Values expressed:

6. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Competitors present in:
Competitors absent from:
Opportunities identified:

7. ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS
For [specific goal]:
Priority channels:
Key message angles:
Tactical next steps:

Channel Evaluation Checklist

For each potential channel/publication/influencer:

• Audience overlap - Do they actually reach our target?
• Engagement quality - Is the audience active or passive?
• Competition presence - Are competitors already here?
• Access feasibility - Can we realistically get placement?
• Cost/effort ratio - What's the investment vs. reach?
• Brand alignment - Does association fit our positioning?

Rhetorical Analysis Grid

Skill Boundaries

What This Skill Does Well

• Structuring audio production workflows
• Providing technical guidance
• Creating quality checklists
• Suggesting creative approaches

What This Skill Cannot Do

• Replace audio engineering expertise
• Make subjective creative decisions
• Access or edit audio files directly
• Guarantee commercial success

References

Primary Source:

• Rand Fishkin, SparkToro methodology and thought leadership
• Tommy Walker, "You've Done the Audience Research... Now What?"

Additional Resources:

• SparkToro Blog: sparktoro.com/blog
• Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin (startup/marketing lessons)

Tools:

• SparkToro (audience intelligence platform)
• Social listening tools (Brandwatch, Mention, etc.)
• SEO tools for search behavior (Ahrefs, SEMrush)

Related Skills

• buyer-personas - Deeper dive into buyer decision-making process
• competitive-analysis - Broader competitive intelligence framework
• content-strategy - How to create content once you know where audience is
• jobs-to-be-done - Understanding why audiences seek solutions
• positioning-dunford - Differentiating based on audience insights