UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES Samuel T Ramos Jr MCM Definitions

UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES Samuel T. Ramos, Jr. MCM

Definitions Stakeholders, a group or organization that has interest or concern in an(other) organization. Stakeholders are—or can be can—affected by what the organization say or does. Stakeholders include directors, employees, unions, stakeholders and investors, government and government agencies, suppliers and the local community where the organization operated. They are not all equal and need prioritization, different communications strategies, and will almost certainly be communicated with via different channels.

Target audience A particular group of people identified as the intended receivers of a corporate message or content.

Publics Communities of people (whether or not organized formally as a group) that have a direct or indirect association with an organization (eg. Clients, customers, employees, investors, media, students, etc).

So is it public, stakeholder or target audience? People use all these terms often interchangeably, in the end we are talking about people; we want and need to communicated with. Each one with his or her own views, beliefs, attitudes, prejudices and behaviours and whose views, beliefs, attitudes, prejudices and behaviours we may want to influence. Each person is a complex cocktail, a unique cluster of memories, values, beliefs, life experiences.

A note about international communications and international audiences A countryʻs culture has a huge impact on how PR is practised in terms of how audiences are segmented. This will dramatically affect what strategies, channels and tactics will work in particular circumstances. Among others Sriramesh and Vercic (2009) looked at the macro-factors that need taking into account and these include:

7 tactics The penetration of technology and its availability to individuals at home or work; A preference for electronics or face-to-face communication particularly for internal communications; The importance of hierarchy and power, where certain individuals, genders, professions command greater attention and respect; Demographics, which are vastly different across the world and shifting rapidly, dependent on whether a country is developed or developing; Split between those living in a rural or urban setting; The countryʻs infrastructure, including its political economic and legal positions and whethere is a culture that permits and tolerates dissent and activism; The media scene—what mass media exists, what control is exerted on the media (by a countryʻs ruler).

Hallahan (2001) typology of public Aware publics (with high knowledge and low involvement) Active publics (with high knowledge and high involvement); Aroused publics (with low knowledge and high involvement); Inactive publics (with low knowledge and low involvement); Non-publics (no knowledge and no involvement).

Thinking about Stakeholders For well-planned communications we first need to consider all the possible stakeholder—then we can think about targeting. First do your homework—bring together all the information you have at the start. This may come from past evidence, from online research looking at social networks, from surveys, questionnaires FGD. Focused Group Discussions and other research sources.

Key questions Who are the stakeholders? How many of them are there? Where are they? (these could be individuals or group/institutions). What role do they play in the achievement of our business aims? How should we classify/characterize/describe them? What role do they play? Where are they located? What is their experience of our organization? What attitudes, beliefs and feelings do they hold? What behaviours do they display? What are their priorities? What channels and media do they use and which influence them (including social and traditional media? What do they know/think/feel about us/or brand/our policy or issue? What overall relationship do we have with them?

Stakeholder mapping—whoʻs in the picture? It is a really good idea to make a stakeholder map. You do this by using the information you have gained to create a visual representation of key stakeholders on a particular topic (people also influence map sometimes call this an ʻ ʻ and this organizes information in a way that allows you to assess the whole situation. It helps you order your thoughts and assists planning your strategy and tactics. The technique of mapping , especially if it is done as a group exercise, helps everyone share and agree on what is most important.

Influence mapping There are no rules here– be as creative as you like with symbols, colours and shapes—do whatʻs best for your team.

Step by step process 1. brainstorm every possible influencer on this issue—come up with the list in random order. 2. now organize this intro some sort of ranking, most important at the top and less important lower down. You could do this in a pyramid for example. But again be creative—use any structure that works for you. 3. now indicate, perhaps using different coloured pens, any continuous or overlaps. Be as creative as you like. If, for example, A clearly influences B then an arrow could be inserted pointing from A to B. If the influence is two way, indicate as such.

Finally complete a stakeholder analysis Once you have done a map you could then do more detailed breakdowns— this can visually represent whether stakeholders are positive or negative towards a particular issue and how much power they have in terms of influencing others. For example, for a hospital, stakeholders would include: Patients-local people and those who have opted for treatment at this hospital from further afield; Local MPs and the local council and councillors; Patientsʻ families; Staff; Unions; Local media; Local employers; Local schools; Local community and community groups Professional medical organizations

From stakeholders to target audience There is an old adage in communication and start where your audience is ʻ. Good advice— that is ʻ but only if you know who your audience is. Many people in organizations, when first asked, ʻ who is your target audience? ʻ give me the answer, ʻ the general public ʻ. Sorry, thatʻs the wrong answer!

If you plan to reach an audience that vast you will need: An equally vast budget for communications; A remarkable news story, A fabulous creative idea.

Questions to help you identify your audience Who needs to hear your message? Who has influence over your target? Who must be moved to action so your goals will be met? Who has the greatest impact on the outcome of your campaign

Collecting the right data Measure levels of awareness and understanding; prevailing attitudes and current behaviours. Assess the effectiveness of the programme or campaign. Gain insights that help set PR/communications objectives. Judge what channels and tactics worked best in a programme or campaign. Inform longer-term planning. Provide management information to clients and any sponsors or partners.

Quantitative vs Qualitative Quantitative research tells you what is happening. It is associated with numbers, statistical analysis, large scale studies, a specific focus, researcher detachment and predetermined research design. Qualitative research tells you why something is happening. It is associated with words, description, small scale studies, context and relationships, researcher involvement, and then more probing research design.