Understanding Your Audiences

To reach your audience(s) using new media, you first need to understand who they are -- their age range, ethnicity, education levels, etc.. Are they health care providers, educators, individuals with HIV, and/or people looking for basic HIV information? Consider including a question or two on your intake form, email list subscription, or other sign-up form to find out more about your audience(s). You can also conduct focus groups and ask questions during usability testing and on feedback forms.

Once you have an understanding of your audience(s), it can be helpful to create personas, or profiles of the types of people likely to use your new media tool or service. Some factors to consider:

Different people have varying levels of familiarity and comfort with technology.
People may come to your site seeking general information. Or, they may be an individual with HIV seeking a particular resource, or looking for support. They may be a service provider looking for a tool they can adopt, a solution to a particular problem they face, or to connect with other providers.
Returning or repeat users may have different needs, look for different information, and seek a different level of interaction or involvement than a first-time visitor.

Learning about your audiences is an ongoing process. Offer ways for users to provide feedback, contribute suggestions and share resources with others. Online feedback forms are an effective way to gather information. Finally, whenever you meet with members of your audiences, ask them if your new media tools serve their needs, and how you can make them better.