A guide to targeting the right message to the right demographics.

You’ve spent hours collating, researching and writing your content. You’re sure it’s going to be a hit, and every word a complete gamechanger for your company. So imagine your surprise when you’ve published the content, and you check on your content views, you find the number fails to reach your expectations. How could this be? Everyone should want to read this – did they not see the email you sent around telling them to?

If we understand the correlation between content and our target audience, then we won’t suffer frustration and confusion when we don’t get the engagement figures we’d wished for. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t expect every story to be a bestseller. However, by understanding our audience and knowing how best we can engage them, our reader potential is greater.

There are so many ways we can connect with our audience these days, but not everything is suitable to engage every reader. So, here’s my guide to targeting the right messages to the right demographics.

I’m going to start things off with the hot topic of the moment, our Millennials. The tech-savvy, social media addicts who spend most of their lives online. This group have grown up surrounded by the internet and mass marketing – social media is a key place for them to get their news.

They’re used to taking in all the information they need to know in two-minute YouTube videos, so it’s important that when communicating with this group, you use messaging that can be read in an instant while scrolling through their favourite social media site. With thumbs that scroll through a newsfeed faster than you can say “Bob’s your uncle”, you need to make sure that your message will grab their attention. Make it visually exciting, bright and beautiful enough to break through all that other noise. And make them want to click it – give it a call to action and a reason that it’s worth their time.

Next in line we have our Data Disciples. These guys don’t want fluffy, they want facts – and lots of them. As important as it is to ensure you remember the details for them, you don’t want to risk alienating other employees by overloading on information for this group’s benefit. Give them the top-level details – including the ‘why’ – and give them clear instructions as to where they can go to get all the information they want. They’ll be happy diving into all the digits, stats and facts, whilst the rest of your audience won’t feel overwhelmed or intimidated by it.

Now for one of my favourites, and the group that will possibly require your finest thinking cap – the Cynics. Not to be confused with pessimists, our Cynics are the ones who doubt the sincerity of our motives. They find it impossible to believe that you’re really in it for them, so your goal is to build their trust and confidence. Always look at your messaging from both sides of the fence, recognise what their doubts could be and answer the questions that you know will be on their minds.

I feel it’s best to tackle your cynics upfront, by putting yourself in their shoes.  Don’t focus on why they should use the benefit – instead, figure out why they wouldn’t. Use those objections to build super-positive messages that will help you break down their barriers to engagement. Always put them, not the organisation, as the focus of your content.

Let’s think now about the colleagues we don’t see day-to-day. The Work-from-Homers – the ones who live far away, or the new mums on maternity leave. How do you ensure they don’t get left out of the loop?

This group may feel that they’re missing out on all the action – and it’s our job to reassure them that we know they’re there, we know they’re listening and we value them just as much as everyone else. Make sure you make a special effort to include these employees in your communications plan, and don’t make assumptions about what they may have been told before – if your communication was preceded by a team briefing in the office, they’ll be missing some key pieces of information. Your introductions and explanations are key to keeping this group engaged.

Then we have our Online Audience – our office workers, for example. A lucky bunch, right in the centre of the action every day, this group has every opportunity to socialise and communicate both online and face-to-face. Use this to your advantage – make use of this easy word-of-mouth promotion by enlisting allies, your Champions, to draw attention to your communications. I love word-of-mouth – is there anything better than having an actual conversation with your peers about the latest company news? It’s far more valuable than people give it credit for.

On the opposite side, you’ve got the Front Line. Whether working in retail, transport or a factory, they’re not online every hour of the day – if at all! Unfortunately, an email’s just not gonna cut it when it comes to communicating here. Never let any low engagement statistics fool you – these busy guys really care about your organisation, but because you rarely see them in person, it’s easy to feel as though you’re fighting a losing battle. It may seem like your communication channels here are limited. You may think that posters are your only option – but with the limited time the Front Line spend at their base, your return on investment from this communication will be limited.

How can you be sure you’ve got all stations covered? It’s time to put yourself in their shoes. Picture a day in their lives and work out where you can slip in communications – such as the place where they check their rotas, on the back of clipboards or on air fresheners in the cabs of their vehicles. It’s also key with this group to think about the way you onboard them  – introduce your communication channels early, and make sure to include their families as well.

Now, you know those colleagues that barely know how to turn on a computer, and still mourn the death of the landline phone call? This group, the Technophobes, can be one of your biggest obstacles when it comes to efficient communication, as so much of it now relies on smartphones, laptops and tablets.

The good news is that these Technophobes are in the minority – over 75% of the UK population now owns at least one smartphone – but you’ll need to tread gently with your communications here. Face-to-face conversation is best, along with printed materials they can take home to mull over. However, if the subject of discussion is a type of technology, a good old-fashioned workshop demonstration or one-on-one training session will work best.

It’s also important to introduce a way for Technophobes to ask questions and have them answered quickly and with ease, without heavy use of technology. Make sure each employee knows who their line manager is and that they can approach them face-to-face with any queries they have.

We’ve all got a colleague who never seems to have time to stop and chat, or even pause for a cuppa! They’re one of our Busy Bees – they’re working on so many projects at once that they rarely get a chance to read things at their leisure and digest information fully. You’re likely to find them in the more senior, demanding roles within your organisation.

When communicating with the Busy Bees, your best option is to send out a round-up email once a week, with key points laid out clearly for them to take in quickly. Your ability to stand out from the rest of their inbox is critical, and you’ll also need to show value in the communications you send. Less can be more – with this group, it’s better to send one bite-sized email with important information than to bombard them several little emails containing fluffy filler text. Too many emails might find you on the Busy Bee’s junk list!

If you use the Insights colour test at your organisation, you’ll recognise the ‘red’ characteristics in your staff straight away. They’ll show themselves most prominently in The Leaders – whose desired communication style can be summed up with the phrase ‘be bold, be bright, be gone’. Basically, if you don’t get straight to the point, you won’t have your Leaders’ attention for long.

Your Leaders can be the difference between the success or failure of a communication in your organisation, so it’s important that you get them on board. Consider it part of your mission to make these people your allies, but be clear about what you need from them – and don’t ramble on too much. Make sure you grab their attention quickly, and give them the ‘why’ – the primary reason for the communication – straight away.

And finally, we have The Social Butterflies. If you’re familiar with Insights, you’ll know what I mean when I say that this group have very strong ‘yellow’ characteristics! They’re the ones who are always up for a drink after work, regularly stop by your desk for a lengthy chat and are the first to offer to make a round of tea or coffee.

These are a fairly easy group to communicate with, as they’ll usually be happy to take the time to listen to or read what you have to say. A great way to use this group to your advantage when it comes to communications is to make them the Champions for your benefits platform. They’ll be the perfect advocates for your programme, and will really enjoy shouting about it to their workmates.

The Social Butterflies love to feel involved and appreciated, so play to their egos with every piece of communication you send them. Make them feel special and reward them for their efforts. This way, you’ll be able to use them as a sounding board – they’re definitely the most likely group to pass on your communication to their colleagues.

So there we have it, my guide to targeting the right message to the right demographics. We’ve looked at Millenials, Data Disciples, Cynics, Work-from-Homers, Online, Frontline, Technophobes, Busy Bees, Leaders and our social flutter, butterflies and I’m sure you could think of some more too! If you’d like more information on how you can reach your wider audience and improve your engagement through communication, I’d love to hear from you.