Corralling An Audience

    I'd like to start this blog with a shameless plug.

    

      Now that that's out of the way...

    Today, in an attempt to determine who in their right mind would actually listen to my audiodrama Creeping Wave Radio, I will be performing a in depth analysis of marketing demographics. By in depth, I mean I will be comparing two websites, one for a local business and one for a national chain, but both of whom sell similar products. In performing this intensive research, it is my hope to determine how each site targets their market differently, and how I might employ their fiendish trickery for my own, equally fiendish uses.

    First up is Rancho Vista Nursery a paradise of cacti and succulents, which you can adopt and bring into your happy home! The Nursery used to have a farm stand, but unfortunately due to Covid, they've had to close that. They now serve the Vista, CA community by offering appointment only consultations with wholesale and resale customers with permits. They currently do not do retail, and are thusly not open to the public at large.

    The site is small, only a single page, because the purpose is really to set up appointments and communications with potential sellers. Their contact information is clearly displayed, along with 4 beautiful pictures of the cacti and succulents they offer and one of their greenhouses. The site boasts that "We're not just growers but curators of one of the largest collections of succulent plants in the world." Perhaps because of this, they don't bother wasting valuable site real estate with endless photo reels. Instead, they offer links to their social media sites (Facebook and Instagram) where you can view images and keep up with goings on around the nursery. Personally, I'm sad that I missed their DIY succulent Pumpkin Workshop by 2 years. From the ad on their Instagram, it looks like it would have been cute, crafty fun! As a Chia Pet enthusiast, I feel like this would have helped take my apartment based gardening to the next level.

I want to make a succulent pumpkin, and now I'll never get the chance!

     If you know you want to buy cacti and succulents for wholesale, you likely already know what varieties sell at your location. You don't need pictures and descriptions of the product. It's very likely that this site is predominantly serving returning customers. With this in mind, an extensive website would just overkill. Rancho Vista Nursery knows who their clientele is, and markets specifically to them.

    Compare this to a nationwide nursery business, like Armstrong Garden Centers. Armstrong doesn't exclusively sell cacti and succulents, they sell many varieties of plants to the public. Unlike Rancho Vista's targeted clients, Armstrong's is selling to people at all levels of the gardening spectrum. They serve both interested novices, looking to learn and old hands with alarmingly green thumbs, and everyone in between. This requires their site to be much more comprehensive, with specific categories of plants, photographs and thorough descriptions of their chief characteristics.

    They not only sell plants, but also gardening equipment, patio furniture and personal landscaping consultation. They are appealing to a nation wide audience and thus have to have a much broader spectrum of products available. It would be impossible to refine their clients down to as fine a demographic as Rancho Vista can. Armstrong's demographic is a whole swath of the American populous, united by an interest in gardening or garden furniture and decor.

    As with Rancho Vista's DIY Succulent Pumpkin classes, Armstrong also offers classes and lectures. The talks are held at differnt locations throughout the nation and at different times, and one must specify where they are in the country to attend. Sadly, it seems many of these lectures are postponed due to Covid.

    Armstrong's also has career postings on their site. They host so many store in various locals that they are able to advertise a plethora of opportunities to job seekers. A person who comes to the site, looking to expand their garden may well wind up applying for a position. 

    Being that this site is so expansive, there is a search feature to help keep online shoppers from feeling overwhelmed. If you just came here looking for ferns then by golly, Armstrong will make your frondest dreams come true. 🤡 A search feature on a more targeted site like Rancho Vista's would be unnecessary.

    As for my own business, my audiodrama plays to an online audience. Therefore, the market I reach is much broader. In the past three years I followed some bad advice, telling me to think micro vs macro as far as marketing. My target demographic are comedy fans with interest in pop-culture, horror, sci-fi and the paranormal. I've been getting booths at San Diego art, comics and video game conventions in the hopes of reaching out to the overlap between these audiences and my own. However, the audiences at these events are there specifically for what the event is targeted towards. They might have some passing interest in my audio drama, or think the art is interesting, but will always try to relate it back to the core themes of the convention they're attending.

    You do see fringe marketers at these kind of conventions. For example, Dark Garden corsetry had had booths at comic-con before, to target the cosplay crown. However, no one goes to comic-con to buy a corset. Likewise, people at Comic book conventions don't want to hear about your podcast, or even listen to it, they want to pick up a comic about it. 

    Oddly enough, my modest ventures into Tik Tok have helped me in seeing the type of people my short Creeping Wave clips draw out. There are a lot of artsy, animation fans, many of whom are in their teens or early twenties. I've taken notice of this and currently write the scripts for the new seasons with PG language and themes. The show deals with the idea of not belonging and being different, which is really a cardinal theme in most young adult fair.

    We also seem to get likes from people involved in the horror community. This is a network of people fanatical about horror films, makeup, props and more. I had mentioned in previous posts that I my main fanbase tends to be elder goths, however, the horror community seems to be more diverse and without any specific dress code. 

    I think it may be safe to say that in a beachy locale like San Diego, people with more avante -garde interests feel the need to distinguish themselves by adhering to a certain aesthetic. I made the mistake last year of advertising with goth centered websites, which focus on bands, clothing retailers and clubs that cater to this subculture. While there's some crossover, the show I produce is far from gothic and probably offends the sensibilities of anyone looking for things in that realm.

    I think that like Armstrongs descriptions of plants and flowers, I need to have a section that gives a breif synopsis of episodes, and features the corresponding episode art. At this point, we have 4.5 seasons worth of shows which might be intimidating for new listeners.

    So much to think about while I tend to my chia pets evening watering.