The previous article was dedicated to telling you a little bit about us: Who we are, what we do, some of the challenges that we face daily, and more. Basically, I wanted you to get to know us a little better.
This article goes the other way around.
I want to dedicate it to the importance of knowing and understanding very well those who read us, that is, our target audience.
Consider the following example: Imagine that one day, a friend asks you for a favor which involves buying a gift. What is the first question that comes to mind?
Without a doubt, most of you would ask for whom is the gift, since, if you didn’t know, it would be very difficult to fulfill the favor.
Buying a gift for a child is different from buying a gift for a teenager or for an older adult.
We don’t even need to go that far with the age differences. Buying a gift to a twelve-year-old who loves videogames wouldn’t be the same as buying a gift to a twelve-year-old who loves soccer.
At the same time, if, for example, we know that both children love soccer, it is perfectly possible that one loves to play it, in which case a soccer ball could be gifted. Meanwhile, the other child only enjoys soccer as a spectator, in which case a soccer jersey of their favorite team could be gifted.
Where am I going with this exercise?
I want to make it clear that the more we know our target audience, the easier it is to “buy them the right gift” or what would be the equivalent in the case of us translators, to connect with the audience and speak their language.
Next, I share with you 3 important aspects that we should always consider when approaching any project based on the target audience.
To Whom We Speak – we should know our target audience in-depth since the more we know about their tastes and preferences, the easier it will be for our message to be received optimally.
The Context – we should not only focus on the person as such, but also on the environment that surrounds them since it provides us with valuable information that allows us to create messages that go beyond any cultural barrier.
Specific Terminology – besides knowing the target audience and their environment, we should know how they communicate, what their tone is and what words or special terminology they frequently use. Since, in order to speak “their language”, we first need to know it in detail.
By now, the importance to know our target audience and the different aspects that we need to consider for a meaningful connection should be clear. So, the next logical question is: How to achieve this?
Nowadays, the resources to achieve any objective are practically unlimited, but I would like to recommend three practices that have been very useful to me personally throughout my career.
Researching Online: Usually, the first thing that I do to understand my target audience more profoundly is to research. I check everything from articles to social media. There are many sources with valuable information, so much that nowadays the challenge is not to find information, but to verify it. To know which sources are reliable. What is useful and what is not. In short, what I recommend when it comes to research is to invest time. Search. Read. Analyze and document what you find useful and reliable.
Interviews or Focus Groups: This practice requires a little more time, planning and investment. It consists of gathering a representative sample of our target audience, in a controlled environment, in order to extract the necessary information through interviews or guided conversations. Usually, focus groups are organized through experts or mediators who do precisely this for a living. But personally, I have also found it effective to conduct more “casual” or “one-on-one” interviews with different people from the target audience.
Common Sense and Empathy: This last point could be considered as more empirical, but I still want to recommend it to you since I enjoy applying it. There is no better phrase to describe it than: “putting ourselves in the shoes of our target audience”. Let’s think about the situations they go through, what their day-to-day life is like and let’s genuinely try to understand how they feel. Basically, let’s be as empathic as we can be to get to know them.
And well, the best thing about any of the above practices is that the result will always be to get to know different lifestyles. Personally, I have always found this super interesting and enriching. So my final advice would definitely be: have a lot of fun and a good time while researching! : )
EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON WHO READS IT.
The previous article was dedicated to telling you a little bit about us: Who we are, what we do, some of the challenges that we face daily, and more. Basically, I wanted you to get to know us a little better.
This article goes the other way around.
I want to dedicate it to the importance of knowing and understanding very well those who read us, that is, our target audience.
Consider the following example: Imagine that one day, a friend asks you for a favor which involves buying a gift. What is the first question that comes to mind?
Without a doubt, most of you would ask for whom is the gift, since, if you didn’t know, it would be very difficult to fulfill the favor.
Buying a gift for a child is different from buying a gift for a teenager or for an older adult.
We don’t even need to go that far with the age differences. Buying a gift to a twelve-year-old who loves videogames wouldn’t be the same as buying a gift to a twelve-year-old who loves soccer.
At the same time, if, for example, we know that both children love soccer, it is perfectly possible that one loves to play it, in which case a soccer ball could be gifted. Meanwhile, the other child only enjoys soccer as a spectator, in which case a soccer jersey of their favorite team could be gifted.
Where am I going with this exercise?
I want to make it clear that the more we know our target audience, the easier it is to “buy them the right gift” or what would be the equivalent in the case of us translators, to connect with the audience and speak their language.
Next, I share with you 3 important aspects that we should always consider when approaching any project based on the target audience.
By now, the importance to know our target audience and the different aspects that we need to consider for a meaningful connection should be clear. So, the next logical question is: How to achieve this?
Nowadays, the resources to achieve any objective are practically unlimited, but I would like to recommend three practices that have been very useful to me personally throughout my career.
And well, the best thing about any of the above practices is that the result will always be to get to know different lifestyles. Personally, I have always found this super interesting and enriching. So my final advice would definitely be: have a lot of fun and a good time while researching! : )
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