By: Kenn Dixon, M.A., CDMP, APR
Reaching the right audience starts with a painfully simple truth: not everyone is your audience. And if the only person consistently liking your posts is your Aunt Linda, it’s time for an intervention. Aunt Linda is loyal, but she is not your growth strategy. Effective audience targeting means stepping back from assumptions and drilling into who actually benefits from, funds, or amplifies your work.
Start by identifying your top three audience groups. Use demographic data to understand who they are on paper, and psychographic data to understand what keeps them up at night. What do they value? What do they fear? What motivates them to act? This level of clarity stops you from throwing spaghetti at the wall and praying something sticks.
Next, map where your audience actually spends time. Spoiler: it may not be Facebook. Younger donors live on Instagram and TikTok. Corporate partners spend time on LinkedIn. Community members might prefer email or in-person events. When you understand behaviors, you can go where the attention already exists instead of shouting into the digital void.
Four Tips
- Build Personas Based on Reality, Not Assumptions: Use surveys, interviews, and analytics to define who your audience actually is—not who you wish they were.
- Map Their Digital Neighborhoods: Identify where each audience spends their time online. Meet them where they already are, not where you’re most comfortable posting.
- Speak Their Language: Mirror your audience’s tone, pace, and vocabulary. If your audience doesn’t talk like a board memo, neither should your messaging.
- Test and Adjust Quarterly: Audiences evolve, so your targeting should too. Review data every 90 days and refine your personas accordingly.
Finally, tailor your message so it resonates. The secret is simple: write the way your audience thinks, not the way your leadership team talks. If they crave hope, speak to hope. If they crave proof, provide data. If they want solutions, get to the point.
Want more resources, tips and tricks? Visit www.yourmessageclarified.com
