14 Apr Harnessing the Power of Data: Audience Demographics
Posted
in RedGIFs Tips 'n' Tricks
Content platforms provide a range of data to their creators to assist in developing their online presence. The type and detail of data varies from site to site, but platforms are continually working on providing usable and relevant information to the creators on their sites. You will frequently hear people saying that these insights are a powerful tool for creators to use and they should access them and use them to maintain and grow their audience. But how exactly does one do that? The amount of data provided can be overwhelming, and working out where to start could literally paralyse you. In this series, I will talk about a basic range of data points that a site will provide on how you and your content are performing. I will break down the ways that you can use this data, and in doing so, I hope this will demystify the task and empower you to use data in unique and creative ways.
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS – WHERE TO FIND THEM AND WHAT THEY CAN TELL YOU
When I say “audience demographics”, I am talking about statistics related to the people who view your content. Different platforms will provide different information depending on how they are set up. Most platforms collect information about their audiences as it is a powerful tool to shape what content and features they offer. However, a lot of sites don’t necessarily share that data with their users, perhaps due to resource constraints or thinking that content creators are not interested in it. I agree that it can be difficult to understand and use audience statistics, so many shy away from it. However, here we are, unpacking the topic so that you can use these insights to drive your content creation!
You can usually access demographic data on your audience through your platform’s dashboard. Pornhub, OnlyFans, RedGIFs and Instagram have quite useful statistics that you can view in this way. The thing that makes this data tricky is that these platforms provide a range of different information about your audience; PornHub and OnlyFans provide views by country, RedGIFs shows you what social media clicks your viewers made and Instagram has some extremely detailed analytics including where your viewers are from, their gender, and when they are active on the site.
While you may be saying “Rem, Instagram isn’t a safe platform for us to use”, I hear you and I agree. However, the audience insights it provides makes it a platform that you should try to leverage. You will have to massage the content you share on there to ensure the best results in the data you can gather, but as I explain in the next section, it is worth making the attempt.
WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN USE AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
First things first, gather the data that you have available; having the same data from a bunch of different platforms (such as country of origin of your viewers) is gold as you can narrow down your focus, secure in the knowledge that you are not getting your information from just one site. Next, is what we call “triangulation”; this means getting another data set to help support your findings and guide where you go next. While we can triangulate your viewer statistics from your current platforms to work out where in the world you are most popular, we want to introduce data sourced in a slightly different way to help you understand what countries are most popular and what content they like to view. For example, PornHub release an annual report which is publicly available and is a treasure trove of data; not only can see what content is most popular in the countries where you are being viewed, but there is a lot of additional data points (such as age, gender of viewers) that you can incorporate into your analysis. Clips4Sale have also started releasing regular updates of the demographics of their site users to help models with their promotion, marketing, and content creation. Using these additional data sets along with your own personal data can not only help you find areas of overlap but can also highlight areas where you can grow.
Here is the crux of the subject: working with statistics and data can be considered an art. Although we can be taught a variety of techniques to understand and use our data, it takes time, experience and knowledge of the statistics and the environment of the adult industry to get the most out of it. And because the data is unique and personal to your situation and is influenced by a huge range of factors that an outsider can only speculate on, it is imperative you get your own head around it to be able to use it well. Using an outside consultant to assist you can be an option, but fundamentally, you need to understand your own statistics so a consultant can help you effectively.
WHEN YOU ASK YOURSELF “AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?”
Ok, so we are at the point where you have gathered your data, and some data from another source and have made a start at working out where the overlaps are, but also where you could expand your business. Where to now, and how do you know if you are doing this right?
The proof is in the pudding; you need to start using this data to shape not only what you produce, but where you release it and when you release it. A lot of what we do is testing content to see what works and what doesn’t (also known as the “throwing spaghetti at the wall” method). By using data, we can place boundaries around what we think we know about our audience, and therefore limit the amount of “spaghetti throwing” we do, so we are not wasting time in areas that are not rewarding. What is important when we start testing our data is that we keep records of what we tested and the results. There are so many factors at play when it comes to successful use of data, so keeping detailed records of what you released, when, where and what the response was, is key to building your own dataset as to what works and what doesn’t. A/B testing is another method to see if you are doing this right, but this will require a whole other blog post to explain!
This series of posts will build on one another, so stay tuned for future posts where I talk about harnessing data related to active audiences and popular content, and additionally dive into A/B testing. Triangulating all of this information will help guide you in your content creation.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
SHARE THIS:
Content platforms provide a range of data to their creators to assist in developing their online presence. The type and detail of data varies from site to site, but platforms are continually working on providing usable and relevant information to the creators on their sites. You will frequently hear people saying that these insights are a powerful tool for creators to use and they should access them and use them to maintain and grow their audience. But how exactly does one do that? The amount of data provided can be overwhelming, and working out where to start could literally paralyse you. In this series, I will talk about a basic range of data points that a site will provide on how you and your content are performing. I will break down the ways that you can use this data, and in doing so, I hope this will demystify the task and empower you to use data in unique and creative ways.
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS – WHERE TO FIND THEM AND WHAT THEY CAN TELL YOU
When I say “audience demographics”, I am talking about statistics related to the people who view your content. Different platforms will provide different information depending on how they are set up. Most platforms collect information about their audiences as it is a powerful tool to shape what content and features they offer. However, a lot of sites don’t necessarily share that data with their users, perhaps due to resource constraints or thinking that content creators are not interested in it. I agree that it can be difficult to understand and use audience statistics, so many shy away from it. However, here we are, unpacking the topic so that you can use these insights to drive your content creation!
You can usually access demographic data on your audience through your platform’s dashboard. Pornhub, OnlyFans, RedGIFs and Instagram have quite useful statistics that you can view in this way. The thing that makes this data tricky is that these platforms provide a range of different information about your audience; PornHub and OnlyFans provide views by country, RedGIFs shows you what social media clicks your viewers made and Instagram has some extremely detailed analytics including where your viewers are from, their gender, and when they are active on the site.
While you may be saying “Rem, Instagram isn’t a safe platform for us to use”, I hear you and I agree. However, the audience insights it provides makes it a platform that you should try to leverage. You will have to massage the content you share on there to ensure the best results in the data you can gather, but as I explain in the next section, it is worth making the attempt.
WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN USE AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
First things first, gather the data that you have available; having the same data from a bunch of different platforms (such as country of origin of your viewers) is gold as you can narrow down your focus, secure in the knowledge that you are not getting your information from just one site. Next, is what we call “triangulation”; this means getting another data set to help support your findings and guide where you go next. While we can triangulate your viewer statistics from your current platforms to work out where in the world you are most popular, we want to introduce data sourced in a slightly different way to help you understand what countries are most popular and what content they like to view. For example, PornHub release an annual report which is publicly available and is a treasure trove of data; not only can see what content is most popular in the countries where you are being viewed, but there is a lot of additional data points (such as age, gender of viewers) that you can incorporate into your analysis. Clips4Sale have also started releasing regular updates of the demographics of their site users to help models with their promotion, marketing, and content creation. Using these additional data sets along with your own personal data can not only help you find areas of overlap but can also highlight areas where you can grow.
Here is the crux of the subject: working with statistics and data can be considered an art. Although we can be taught a variety of techniques to understand and use our data, it takes time, experience and knowledge of the statistics and the environment of the adult industry to get the most out of it. And because the data is unique and personal to your situation and is influenced by a huge range of factors that an outsider can only speculate on, it is imperative you get your own head around it to be able to use it well. Using an outside consultant to assist you can be an option, but fundamentally, you need to understand your own statistics so a consultant can help you effectively.
WHEN YOU ASK YOURSELF “AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?”
Ok, so we are at the point where you have gathered your data, and some data from another source and have made a start at working out where the overlaps are, but also where you could expand your business. Where to now, and how do you know if you are doing this right?
The proof is in the pudding; you need to start using this data to shape not only what you produce, but where you release it and when you release it. A lot of what we do is testing content to see what works and what doesn’t (also known as the “throwing spaghetti at the wall” method). By using data, we can place boundaries around what we think we know about our audience, and therefore limit the amount of “spaghetti throwing” we do, so we are not wasting time in areas that are not rewarding. What is important when we start testing our data is that we keep records of what we tested and the results. There are so many factors at play when it comes to successful use of data, so keeping detailed records of what you released, when, where and what the response was, is key to building your own dataset as to what works and what doesn’t. A/B testing is another method to see if you are doing this right, but this will require a whole other blog post to explain!
This series of posts will build on one another, so stay tuned for future posts where I talk about harnessing data related to active audiences and popular content, and additionally dive into A/B testing. Triangulating all of this information will help guide you in your content creation.
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
