Creating cross-segmented groups to tailor your communications
How do I define who my campaign and its messages are aimed at?
Who are you speaking to? Knowing your target audience means understanding their interests, needs, pains, concerns, and desires. This allows you to connect more effectively with your audiences and design communication that is relevant and compelling for your electoral audience.
Define your audiences
1. Identify your main audiences:
- Who are the people most likely to be impacted by your proposals?
- Who are you specifically addressing?
Think about factors such as age, gender, geographic location, educational level, race and socioeconomic background.
2. Research your audiences:
Once you have a general idea of who you want to reach, go deeper into their behaviors and needs. You should do this both by online forms and research as well as in-person meetings, knowing their neighborhoods, etc.
- What are their interests?
- What are their needs?
- What worries them?
- How do they communicate?
- What media do they consume?
- Which social networks do they use?
3. Create a persona for each audience:
Think of your audience as if it were a person and create a profile that represents them.
- What’s their name?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What do they like to do in their free time?
- Which social networks are they on?
- What kind of digital content do they consume?
- What TV shows, podcasts, or radio programs do they follow?
This persona will help you better understand your audience and create more effective messages.
4. Think about narratives for your audiences:
Once you’re clear on your audience persona, adapt your communication to their needs and interests. Use language that feels familiar and speaks to them directly. Create different narratives for different groups of people.
Below are broad examples of audiences and targeted messages.For simplicity, we have segmented audiences only by age. In practice, you should further refine each of your audiences, combining factors such as gender, geographic location, educational level, and others that are relevant to your campaign (ex. Women, of color, 25-45, X City, Y Neighborhood, High School degree, uses Instagram, watches evening news, doesn’t feel represented by politicians).
Examples:
Audience A: Young people (18–25 years)
Relevant messages:
- Animal welfare policies
- Environmental protection policies
- Employment opportunities
- Implementation of technology in public administration
- Scholarships and access to higher education
Audience B: Women (18–65 years)
Relevant messages:
- Safety
- Access to justice in cases of gender-based violence
- Support for single mothers
- Remote work
- Gender equality policies
Free medication and medical consultationsconfident and prepared to face challenges and achieve your goals.
Audience C: Older adults (60+)
Relevant messages:
- Dignified pensions
- Healthcare support
