Research and Targeting Audiences

After the goals of a strategic communication plan are determined, it is time to conduct research and select the audience on which you hope to target. When choosing your target audience, you need to be sure on what you expect out of them. Anderson Adult Education, a client I have recently worked with, were looking for funding for their education programs. Since they were mostly looking for large donors, my team tried to market the cause to larger corporations or people, who had larger incomes and a history of donating in the past. You need to know your audience in order to obtain the best results. Another good strategy to follow is planning brainstorming sessions on the target audience to better understand their interests and group them into smaller groups. For example, Safe Harbor is trying to target many people, but especially high school students. Safe Harbor categorizes this group by education, age, and possibly even gender.

As we move on to conducting research, we should use media trend analysis to enhance our communication plan. By examining press coverage that has been done before on a certain topic, you will more than likely be able to find a trend. Review past stories by looking at dates, placement, tone, length, reporter, blogger interest, key words and phrases used to describe issue, and names. By looking at past press coverage of Safe Harbor, we can figure out what things have been working for them, along with things that have not. Using this information, will help our team produce better results for the organization.

Since there are two types of research that can be done, you have to pick the right one to provide the data you need. Quantitative research would cover public opinion polls or surveys, while qualitative research would be more centered around focus groups and interviews. I believe the best research method to approach Safe Harbor would be the focus group (seeing how we already conducted the meeting.) During our meeting, we had a chance to see certain views and attitudes on the organization. Also, we were able to receive valuable feedback on many of our ideas. Of course, there is always lower-cost alternatives to research, such as online resources, internet -based public opinion research, and omnibus polls.

During my internship, we have to know our target audience in order to reach them effectively. Before every meeting, we would have to research the company and just get a feel for what kind of environment they work in. Since my internship was at a design firm, this research helped a lot when we had to brainstorm ideas for their newly purchased logo and website. Also, going into a meeting with a closer look at the company's trends and work ethic, we were able to communicate effectively and efficiently.