Know Thy NonProfit Target Audience

In marketing, all of your strategies and outreach should be aimed directly at your target audience. When asked, many people answer that their target audience is “everyone,” which is an inaccurate approach to marketing. A target audience is a specific group of people you intend to market to and influence into taking a specific action to benefit your organization. If you aren’t aiming to influence the specific group of people your organization serves or needs to reach, then how effective can your marketing strategy really be?

Let me ask you this: Do you know who your target audience is?

Nonprofit organizations generally have two different audiences they connect with: the people who receive services provided by the nonprofit (a.k.a. clients) and the donors who financially support the organization. These audiences are vastly different, so not having separate marketing strategies for each of them is a mistake. Ideally, you would want to have one strategy to reach your potential clients, inform them of your services, and encourage them to engage with you. A different strategy altogether is important for the people you are asking to fund your operations. The marketing tactics that work for one audience will likely not work for the other audience.

If you work for a nonprofit, take a few moments to think about who your organization's target audiences are. Write down qualities and characteristics of each audience to gain insight into whom you are actively marketing your organization. When you understand who it is you’re attempting to reach and what marketing efforts they will respond to, you will have better results with your organization’s overall marketing efforts. 

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