What is psychographic research and how does it apply to your brand’s 2017 marketing and sales strategies? Turns out, developing demographic personas is not enough to guarantee a strong strategy, nor is it enough to provide long-term worth to your customers. Understanding both the what and why of a target consumer’s behavior — which is where psychographic research takes over — is critical in delivering a stellar user experience that converts and maintains brand relationships.

To illustrate the difference between a demographic persona and a psychographic persona, let’s consider a nature-focused magazine’s target audience:

Demographic Information:

• Male
• Ages 45-65
• Married, with adult children
• Scholarly, likes history and photography, cares about the environment
• Household income +$150k

Psychographic Information:

• Yearns for adventure
• Proud of their knowledge and eager to continue learning
• Keeps up with family and older classmates on Facebook
• Sees pictures and videos of grandchildren on Instagram
• Concerned about world his grandchildren will grow to know
• Values constructive conversation
• Willing to pay for expert options

With both lists, a clearer picture of your brand’s target audience is painted than either individual list could have provided alone. Discerning what drives the magazine’s reader provides deeper insight into their motivations, thereby outlining a strategy to help the magazine understand its value and approach projects with a tailored eye.

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Concerned about when your company can implement its newfound psychographic information? Fear not — psychographic research doesn’t require native strategy and it’s worth exploring at any juncture because it can be integrated into existing company projects. Identify new ways to reach out on a deeper level and start drafting additional campaign content with your personas’ behaviors in mind. For example, the magazine above should know that instead of providing frequent content, their readers would prefer carefully curated, denser content to feed their curiosity. An article detailing conservation efforts in the Amazon will perform better than an article detailing how to plan a budget trip to the rainforest.

Furthermore, social media efforts should reflect your personas’ psychographic behavior. Schedule posts to publish during high-traffic times among your audience and craft posts to speak to your personas’ psychographic “why.”

By assigning elements of psychographic research to your personas’ demographic information, your brand enables itself to approach and navigate sensitive situations, market fluctuations and brand successes with your consumers in mind. Whether your brand has one or four, Punchkick Interactive encourages you to implement psychographic persona research into your marketing strategy as soon as possible.