Guiding Question: Who is this for? 

Flashy animations, dramatic storytelling, and stunning visuals—none of it matters if you don’t know who your video is meant for. Identifying your audience is the most critical step in video creation, yet it's often neglected in the excitement to dive into production.

Creators who bypass this step often end up with videos that feel generic, uninspiring, and unfocused. To produce meaningful content that truly resonates, you need to take the time to deeply understand your audience.

So, what’s essential to know? There are three key aspects of your audience that you must clearly define:

Simplifying Audience Statements

Crafting audience statements can feel challenging, but we've got a shortcut for you! This fill-in-the-blank exercise is designed to help you pinpoint the key characteristics of your target audience. The objective? Focus on imagining one person—your ideal viewer. Ready to give it a go?

Concept Hub: Audience Analysis

The Audience element of FOCA borrows directly from the instructional design process of audience analysis. We do this when we design training to make sure we understand the gap between a learner's current understanding and what we want them to know. 

Typically this involves surveying learners, conducting interviews, and observing them on the job to gain a deeper understanding of their existing knowledge and motivations. It's a lot of work, but it's critical to making something effective. 

Through audience analysis, we can customize the learning experience to meet the learners' needs and the same principle applies to video creation. Taking the time to understand your audience will help you make more effective video experiences that cater to your viewers' specific needs.

Reflection:

Before you continue, pause for a moment and think about your ideal audience member. Try to visualize them in as much detail as you can before moving on to Outcomes.

Go to next course: "Study - Outcomes"