There’s no shortage of ways to communicate in our modern world, and it’s easy to default to what seems to be the most popular when trying to reach audiences. That plan makes plenty of sense, after all: You can potentially reach millions of people on TikTok, whereas the readership of your local print newspaper is likely in decline, if it even exists anymore.
Except sometimes that strategy isn’t actually the best strategy.
TikTok may have a big reach, but anybody can start an account; lots of videos go viral and are quickly forgotten. But having an opinion piece published in the storied pages of The New York Times? Now, that’s special — and it’s the sort of prestigious placement that is likely to pay dividends.
How do you know what type of communication works best for you? It all starts with figuring out who you want to reach and what you want them to hear. Below are five questions to help guide you.
Question No. 1: Who is your audience?
Very rarely do strategic communications campaigns aim to reach everyone and anyone. Doing so isn’t typically a good approach, either, given the diversity of audiences, both in demographics and in the way they consume media.
A wiser strategy for communicators is to figure out the specific group of people that are their most important potential audience. Maybe you are trying to educate senior citizens about a new health care initiative, or perhaps you are trying to reach local policymakers about a piece of legislation. Or, it could be that you are looking to promote an event to Los Angeles-area moms ages 35-45 who also do CrossFit.
The more specific you can get about the makeup of your audience, the better. Doing so will help strengthen your overall communications strategy, as it will allow you to home in on exactly who you want to reach — and help you figure out how to reach them.
Question No. 2: What one thing do you most want people to know?
With your audience identified, you can focus on what you want them to know. The key is to keep it as simple as possible: If your audience could leave your communication knowing just one thing, what do you want it to be?
Advertisers fundamentally understand this. Think about some of the most effective ad slogans in history, like Nike’s Just Do It or the California Milk Processor Board’s Got Milk?. Both utilized simple language to convey their message, and both presented that slogan over and over (and over) again to audiences.
Of course, communicators don’t always have the luxury of simplicity; sometimes they are charged with promoting a very complicated topic. Still, it’s vital to break things down as much as possible. Avoid jargon. Find ways to make your content relatable to people. Use visuals whenever possible.
Question No. 3: What ways can you reach your audience, and how do they communicate?
Once your audience is identified and you have a clear idea of what you want them to know, you can begin to decide where you are going to reach people. This is where knowing the most you can about your audience really can drive your strategy.
Here’s an example from a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. A little more than half of U.S. adults told Pew that they use social media to get their news, but that varies widely when you focus on specific products or population segments. About 41% of men get their news via YouTube, while 43% of women consume news on Facebook, for example. By age, 43% of young people ages 18-29 say they get news on TikTok, while just 10% of people 50-64 do the same. Education also is a factor; 45% of adults with a high school education or less get news on Facebook, but that number decreases to 28% for college grads.
And that’s just social media! There are a whole host of other communications mediums that can be effective for certain populations: email, text messaging, podcasts, blog posts, newspaper articles, local news coverage, even old school postal mailers can be an effective way to reach people, depending on the message and depending on your audience.
Question No. 4: Are you able to track audience metrics – and what lessons can you learn?
Communicators get better when they listen to their audiences — and they pay attention to what works. Sometimes you get direct feedback, like on a social media post. But other times, it’s valuable to look at as many metrics as you can get your hands on.
Do your email open rates increase at certain times of the day? Do you get more engagement on Facebook post on certain days of the week? Did your website get more page views after you placed an opinion article in your local newspaper, or was it more effective to take out a series of targeted Google ads? Do you get the most feedback on all your communications channels when you book a spokesperson on cable news, or is it more impactful for them to do an interview on a popular podcast?
The more you can dive deeper into both the data and the cause-and-effect of your communications, the more you can refine it moving forward.
Question No. 5: What Does Success Look Like?
This, of course, is the ultimate question. There are a lot of things you can do to get retweets on X, but does that ultimately help achieve your communications goals?
Let’s go back to the examples under Question No. 1., and what success may look like for them.
- Reaching Seniors for a New Health Care Initiative: Not only can you show via metrics that you reached a large segment of the senior population, but you can show a direct correlation in the number of seniors taking part in that initiative from the start of your communications campaign until the end
- Reaching Policymakers about Legislation: Not only can you show that you reached policymakers (perhaps reaching their office via geotargeted online ads, or driving a letter writing campaign) but you are able to show movement on that piece of legislation. Did the policymaker respond to the legislation in any way, like a letter to constituents or public statements? Did communications efforts impact their votes?
- CrossFit Event for Moms ages 35-45: This is a fairly easy example – did your communications lead to your targeted audience attending the event? Did you begin to build a list of additional potential attendees?
Remember: Talk is Cheap, But Whiskey Costs Money
There’s no shortage of very loud voices in our society, and as a result it is easy for your communications efforts to get lost in the chatter. That’s why it’s so important for communicators to have a focused, results-orientated communications strategy before launching any campaign. Know what it is you want to say, how you want to say it – and how you will know if your message has been received.
Do you need help putting together a communications strategy? evolv’s communications team can help.
Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch is a seasoned communications leader with a track record of aligning strategy with organizational goals. Elizabeth has implemented robust internal communications plans for a range of organizations, from a top-selling North American automobile manufacturer to a major philanthropic foundation. She’s garnered placements in top-tier media, including CNN, Fox News, CNBC, C-SPAN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Associated Press, and numerous other publications. She’s also directed digital media campaigns, email advocacy efforts, social media strategies, video and podcast production, newsletter publication, and even produced a feature-length documentary.
Elizabeth began her career as a reporter on Capitol Hill. In her free time, Elizabeth serves as leader of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.
