Share4Rare toolkit for patient advocacy
Identifying your target audiences
A target audience is a specific group of people with shared interests, goal or characteristics that are most likely to be interested in your advocacy.
By defining your target audience, you get to know them and can focus your strategy, tone and content of the message. This tool gives insight into who your target audience is, and how to understand what they want you to solve.
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In advocacy work, the two main audiences will usually be:
- Decision-makers. Your primary audience. Who are the individuals or groups who can take the decisions you want to be taken?
- Influencers. Your secondary audience. Which individuals or groups influence the decision-makers?
The more specific you are in identifying your audience, the more effective your communications will be. Different audiences will be at different stages of awareness: some will be ready to work actively on chronic disease prevention and control immediately, while others will require information about the issues first. Target them as individually as your time and resources allow.
Audiences and Stakeholders
First things first: your target audiences are not the same as your stakeholders. Audiences are receivers of the message; you disseminate a message with the only goal for them to listen. Stakeholders are people or organisations that are impacted by the decisions or actions your organisations make, actively participating in your reputation management. The goal of this tool is to define to whom we will share our message to create awareness, not to balance their various interests.
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Use the tool Target Audience to identify and analyse your target audience.