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Why targeting the audience?

A critical element in effectively presenting ideas and content is planning the site with targeted audience in mind. Who will be viewing the site? What will those people find useful and interesting? Whatever the purpose of the site that purpose should be recognized from the moment the page begins to appear, creating the intended mood.

What is the intent?

Targeting audiences boils down to knowing audiences.  What are their levels of need relative to the site intent?  What resources or opportunities do they have to draw from? What characteristics do they have that will influence participation in and benefit from the site?  What types of educational approaches are appropriate to their needs and preferences?  This information feeds into the processes of determining site contents, setting objectives, and selecting methods.

Where to begin?

Sometimes the starting point is a specific audience. Otherwise often start from fairly broad goals for which there are many possible audiences. Sometimes target audiences are identified based on factors like unique opportunities, needs, risk factors, intensity of concern, likelihood of change, ability to deal with the problems at hand, or their ability to serve as multipliers...etc. Another criterion for targeting is extension�s unique qualifications to assist a particular audience.

How to do it?

Start by listing as many potential audiences relevant to site goals. Briefly characterize why each is important to the goal.  Include audiences that can influence an issue or need as well as those affected by it.  Consider whether audiences should be addressed in a particular sequence. Clearly identifying potential and existing collaborators is an importance part of audience targeting.