By Melanie McGrice

I was editing an article for a colleague which had been written for Personal Trainers, and although it was a well written article, I believe that the author had skipped one key step: pitching it at the level of the target audience.  There are two types of Personal Trainers: those undertaking it as a part time job whilst at uni, and those who make it a lifelong career; neither of which would likely enjoy spending hours reading the technical jargon of a doctoral dissertation, but both of which have a healthy respect for emerging research and evidence-based literature.  As such, I felt that the tips in this article such as “ensure that your client’s eat breakfast” and “discourage binge eating” would make most PT’s eyes glaze over – not share the article with all of their clients and colleagues which is, of course, the primary aim.  My feedback was simple: know your target market and in this case, add in a few references to the latest research.

It sounds trite, but speaking to your target audience has a significant impact on whether your media will ‘sell’ (or be shared).  In the marketing world, there’s a term called a ‘pen portrait’ which is an informal description or stereotype of a sub-group of people.  Jotting down a few character traits (writing a pen portrait) about your target audience can be a great way to get you into their mindset before trying to communicate with them – whether it be through television, radio or print.  Start by asking yourself these 5 questions:

1. How old are they?
2. Where do they spend most of their time?
3. How educated are they?
4. What are their goals?
5. Who do they hang out with?

Give this a go before you undertake your next media gig.