Why your digital ag audience might not be who you think it is
No paid media targeting method is perfect. That’s been true since the days of radio, TV and print.
Back in the analog era, broadcast media targeted broad demographic groups, like age and gender. Print ads used context, placing ads in farming magazines or business sections. Broadcast ratings and print circulation data, from trusted industry sources like Nielsen and the Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulation), provided approximations of audience reach.
And then the internet showed up. And everything changed.
Digital targeting changed the ag marketing game
Digital opened up a world of targeting possibilities. And the possibilities just keep growing. Consumers feed an endless stream of data to apps, devices, service providers, loyalty programs, newsletter sources and more every day. We can now target with immense specificity. Want to find right-handed moms who drive minivans? You probably can. Or, in the case of our clients, locate the specialty crop farmers or heavy construction equipment owners.
But here’s the catch: with more data comes more complexity. One of the biggest challenges for clients in digital ag marketing today is understanding the difference between two similar concepts:
- Actual (IRL) audience: The real humans in your target group. Think, corn farmers in Illinois, soybean farmers in Missouri or heavy equipment owners in the West.
- Addressable audience: The people you can reach through digital channels. It’s the digital version of your audience.
Mismatches between actual (IRL) and addressable audiences are normal and come with the territory. But, can have big consequences. That’s why understanding the difference and narrowing the gap is important to a smart paid media strategy.
Device multipliers
Here’s the first problem: the digital ecosystem loves devices. We all use a ton of them: smartphones, tablets, laptops or desktops, smart TVs, streaming sticks, gaming consoles, smart speakers and for farmers, smart tractors.
Platforms will match multiple devices to a single user, but none will be perfect. Each one of those devices represents a potential risk of your farmer being counted as multiple people in audience targeting.
Shared devices are even trickier. The farm computer might be used by four different employees. The family iPad gets passed from dad to daughter. The same device could belong to different people depending on the time of day.
Multiple users, overlapping interests and multi-use platforms can make precise targeting tricky. Your ad might reach the right device, but not necessarily the right person.
Ag data sources don’t always agree
Offline data sources, like membership lists and government records, for digital media targeting are often considered more accurate than digitally based data sources. They’re especially valuable where:
- Audience segments are extremely niche (potato farmers, for example)
- Sales pipelines can be long and indirect (farmers buying seed from a retailer rather than the seed company, for example)
- First-party data is limited or out-of-date (ag retailer employees turnover frequently and don’t provide seed companies with updated contact information, for example)
That said, even the most trusted offline sources are rarely in total agreement. We compared estimates from a variety of sources for how many farmers of specific types of crops there are in the US. The results were wildly different. Even government sources didn’t agree. For corn farmers alone, one dataset says 32,704. Another reports 1.2 million. Here’s a snapshot:
These data sources demonstrate this disagreement and exemplify why it’s critical to triangulate data, not rely on a single data source.
Where does this leave ag marketers?
As we mentioned earlier, in addition to a company’s own first-party data, there are millions of other second and third-party data providers out there in the digital space with varying levels of accuracy and use cases. Most traditional ag marketers may not know them, but digital marketers do. The distinctions between these source types are the topic for another blog post, but suffice to say, the landscape is vast.
Our intent isn’t to overwhelm you. It’s to arm you with knowledge. Here’s what you need to know:
- No data set is perfect: That’s why layering the right options is critical. Using multiple datasets helps you triangulate where your actual farmers are hiding.
- Smart platforms learn as they go: One of the perks of digital media is optimization. Campaigns learn who’s watching videos, visiting websites or signing up for newsletters and adapt in real time, looking for more people that look like those taking the key campaign actions.
- Addressable ≠ actual (IRL): If your creative is strong and your targeting is tight, your actual (IRL) prospects will show themselves through engagement and conversion.
What the addressable vs actual gap really costs you
The difference between addressable and actual (IRL) audiences can impact more than just who sees your ad.
- Cost efficiency: While there will always be some waste in digital, paying to reach people outside your actual audience means spending money without getting closer to your goals, so you want to arm the algorithms with as much of the right data as possible to limit budgetary waste.
- Performance and optimization: When your addressable audience doesn’t closely match your actual audience, it can lead to optimizations based on the wrong behaviors or pause something that was actually working.
- Strategic planning: Flawed audience assumptions can throw off your segmentation, funnel planning and even product positioning.
- Creative impact: The wrong audience means the wrong context. If you are showing a product video meant for production farmers to hobby farmers, it won’t land. Good creative gets wasted.
The paid media ecosystem is dynamic and complex. Partnering with an experienced agency is essential to navigate these nuances, optimize targeting and drive real results in a crowded digital world. Learn how we helped our client, Bayer, improve the impact of its digital marketing. Plus, get tips to harvest your digital marketing success.
Need help with targeting precision? We are here for it. Drop us a note to get the conversation started.
FAQ: What ag marketers are asking
What’s the difference between addressable and actual audiences?
An actual audience refers to real humans in your target market, like wheat farmers in Kansas. An addressable audience refers to who you can reach digitally, often based on device data, behaviors and subscriptions.
Why does my audience size vary so much across platforms?
Because each data source uses different methodologies and technologies to identify audience members and connect each member’s individual devices to aid the member. Even government and industry groups often disagree on how many farmers exist in a category.
Does this gap impact creative?
Yes. If your ad is reaching someone outside your actual audience, even strong creative can miss the mark. The more accurate your audience, the more relevant and effective your message becomes.
What’s the risk if I ignore this?
You risk wasting budget, misinterpreting performance data and sacrificing good creative. In ag, where audiences are small and high-value, those inefficiencies add up fast.