Focussed Message to the Right Personat the Right Time Whentheyare Most Receptive to It

Understandingyouraudienceiskeyto

deliveringtargetedmessages

Why is it important tounderstandyour audience?

Whetherthe aimofyourmarketing isto increase donationsto your localgiving.compage, encourage more volunteersorto motivate fundraisers,clearlydefining youraudience and understanding theirbehaviouriskeyto successful communication.

The daysof'DorothyDonor'are gone and 'one cap'will never fit all.Nowmore thaneverit is vital for voluntarygroupsto delve deeperinto whotheirtarget audience isinorderto delivera

focussed message to the right personat the right time whentheyare most receptive to it.

Building supporter profiles

The first stage isto thinkabout who you want to attract:

•additional membersto yourgroup

•more regulardonors

•morevolunteers withITskills

•peoplewho will fundraise for you

•localpress

•localcouncillors

•employees

•funding bodies

Foreachsegment,thinkabout whetherthese stakeholdersare male or female,ofaspecificage, fromacertainpart ofSlough,enjoya particularlifestyle, visit certainplacesofinterest or have a certainpersonalitytype.Once you have gathered thisinformationyoucan start to develop

'profiles'ofeachgroup.This will help youto understand the motivationsand influencesofthese

groupsand inturn will help youto shape the content ofyourmessaging.

For example:

Objective - To increase donationsto your youthgroup byencouraging Slough's young people to take part inacharityfootball match

Target audienceprofile- Male and females,aged13-18 years who live inSloughwithan interest insport.Enjoyscommunicating bySMS,Facebookand Twitterand socialises withfriends at the local leisure centre,sportsclubs, football clubsand cinemaon student nights

Influencers-include parents,teachers, friends,relativesand coaches

Target -Schools,colleges,cinema, football clubs,sportscentres,local cafes,supermarkets

Messageto young people-'Challenging young people ofWindsor, Ascot and Maidenhead-Havefunwithyour friendsby taking part inacharityfootball matchto raise moneyfor yourlocal youthgroup'

Message to parents-'Keep yourchildrenactive.Encourage yourson ordaughterand their friendsto take part inacharityfootball matchto raise moneyfortheirlocal youthgroup'

Message to teachers -'Moivateyourstudentsto give backto theircommunitybyencouraging themto take part inacharityfootball matchto raise moneyfortheirlocal youthgroup'

Methodofcommunication:

Targeting young people-Facebookand Twittercampaigns, SMSmessaging, postersand leaflets displayedonnotice boardsofclubs,schoolsand colleges.Leaflets handed out onstudent night at the cinema

Targetingparents -Leaflets handed out to parent/teachersassociationsoflocal schools,small advert placed inthe latesteditionof'Families'magazine distributed throughout East Berkshire schools,postersdisplayedinlocal supermarkets

Targeting teachers -Leafletsand posters handed out to schoolsand colleges,visit head teachers to encourage participationand promotionofevent

It's allaboutsegmentingyour audienceintogroupswith similar characteristics andthentargetingthem withfocussedmessages

So,acharitywhounderstandstheiraudience and howto appeal to themstandsabetterchance of increasing theirincome thanthose who do not.