Identify Your Nonprofit Target Audience

It is important for you to understand who your target audience is and who supports your cause/organization. When I consult my nonprofit clients, one of the biggest mistakes they make is trying to appeal to every type of audience. Identifying your audience is one of the very first steps when you develop any marketing strategies and content. Don’t spread your audience too wide too thin, your efforts would be diluted.  You should focus on your specific audience, especially you have limited resources and budget.

I want to explain demographic changes too and divided them into the following three generations.

1. The Baby Boomers
2. Generation X
3. Generation Y

The Baby Boomers:

• Birth year:1944-1964.
• They give because of their personal identity/brand.
• Giving to charity is important.
• Media Consumption: Traditional media like television, radio, magazines, and newspaper.
• Use Facebook to stay in touch with family members and reconnect with old friends.

Generation X:

• Birth year: 1965-1980.
• They have an entrepreneurial mind.
• They give when they see a problem being solved.
• They care where their money is spent.
• Media Consumption:  Still watches TV. However, they are also digitally savvy and spend roughly 7
• 7 hours a week on Facebook (the highest of any generational cohort).

Generation Y:

• Birth year:1981-1991.
• They likely give out when they feel they are part of a community of change.
• This generation is extremely comfortable with mobile devices but 32% will still use a computer for purchases.
• They typically have multiple social media accounts.

Excercise

Try to find out your target audience and their demographic. 

Developing personas

Developing personas is an important task for your marketing planning, Most of my nonprofit clients ignore this process when they develop their marketing collaterals, such as website, social media marketing, fundraising campaign, etc.