Targeting Your PR Audience

In the world of public relations, there are two ways to go:
targeted or non targeted PR campaigns. A targeted public
relations campaign focuses on a smaller market, a group of
potential buyers that might be more likely to buy your product or
service. Non targeted public relations appeals to the population
as a whole, and you aren't trying to aim your ideas at anyone in
particular.

You might wonder why a targeted campaign is a better choice. Coca
Cola or McDonald's, for example, are both companies that pitch
their products to anyone who will listen the whole world over,
right?

Au contraire. You might notice that different commercials for
these companies are aired at different times of day. Versions of
their commercials are targeted at certain age groups or "targeted
markets".

Smaller companies and businesses most likely need to look for one
or two specific audiences to target to, considering their budget
is not nearly large enough to even try to market to the masses.

There are several ways to pick and choose how to target an
audience. One of the first things to think about is the industry
into which your product or service fits. Let's say you owned a
small photo lab. If you wanted to target professional
photographers as a market, you would stress your professionalism
and quality. However, if you wanted to target people that just
wanted better quality processing without the wait, you would want
to stress not only your quality, but also your speed of service.

Location is another factor in deciding who you will market to.
Recently, more and more companies have gone online, making it
easier for them to sell to people in any location. However,
distribution companies generally have to target business closer
to home.

You might also try targeting specific people within a company.
There wouldn't be much sense in trying to sell a certain product
to an entire company when the buyer was the only person you
really had to influence, right? There are certain magazines that
are written by and for people with specific job titles, CEO and
Purchasing being just a few.

Affinity groups are probably one of the best places to go to
target an audience. An affinity group refers to a large group of
people with a common interest, such as fitness, computers,
outdoor recreation, or music. Because this group has shown
obvious interest in your product in the past, chances are they
will be more likely to buy than someone that knows nothing about
whatever it is you are selling.

If you can't think of anyone specific to target, or there aren't
any publications written specifically for a group that you would
like to target, perhaps targeted public relations is not for you.