Questions to Help Analyze Data for Audience Profiling

Audience profiles make the audience come alive. They aim to capture not just the demographics of the audience, but all those characteristics that make them real people. Example of this information include the audience’s dreams, aspirations, fears, interests, likes and dislikes, their personality, habits, behaviors, beliefs and social networks.

It may be that data available about the audience is “dry” and information about these characteristics is not easy to capture. The list of questions below can guide analysis of data from a different angle that allows greater insights about the audience and an in-depth understanding how best to reach them.

• What sort of home does he/she live in? Where? With whom? Who are the neighbors? How does this living situation affect his/her behaviors in relation the emergency?
• What services and infrastructures are available in the neighborhood? How accessible are these to him/her? How has this changed due to the emergency, if at all?
• What behaviors does he/she do that prevent the reduction of problem causing the emergency? Why does he/she engage in those behaviors?
• Are there protective behaviors that he/she does not engage in? If so, which ones and why does he/she not engage in them?
• How is he he/she feeling about the issue causing the emergency? How are these emotions affecting his or her response to the emergency?
• What does he/she think, feel or do that might make practicing risk reduction behaviors easier?
• What does a typical day in his/her life during the emergency look like?
• What is his/her marital status? Does he/she have children? How many?
• Who are his/her best friends? Where does he/she spend time with friends? What do they do?
• Who does he/she talk to about the emergency? Where does he/she go for information and support? Who are the most trusted sources of information?
• What does he/she do for a living?
• How do traditional gender roles, culture and social norms influence his/her life? What aspects of gender roles, culture and social norms have the greatest impact on behaviors related to the emergency?
• What are his/her goals and aspirations in life? What does he/she hope to accomplish in the next five or ten years? How is the emergency affecting this vision and these dreams?
• What does he/she value most in life? How has this changed, if at all, due to the emergency?
• What does he/she do in his/her spare time during the emergency? Where does he/she go? Who with?
• What do his friends and family think, feel or do that may make it easier for him/her to engage in protective behaviors?