Our communications are more than random words and images. When individuals seek to convey ideas and thoughts, they must be organized in such a way that the intended receiver is moved to action. While some may argue a broad approach in communications will ensure a larger share of the market, defining a targeted audience and incorporating both written and visual elements, enables communications by companies such as The Onion, Thesaurus.com, and Facebook to achieve proper structure, clear focus, and effective content.
With an irreverent style and sense of purpose, The Onion.com, an online newspaper successfully reaches a wide audience. It is this author’s opinion that the targeted audience for this communication tends to be those individuals who typically identify in the political realm as Independent or Liberal voters. Further, it may be argued that the subject matter which is overtly political, but does incorporate other areas such as sports and entertainment, also attracts those with a higher level of education.
This publication parodies news stories and news programming and uses imagery and eye grabbing headlines to capture audience attention. One such story features a picture of the G.O.P debate with potential candidates, Trump and Bush engaged in a heated exchange. Marsh, Guth, & Short, (2009) state “Make every word in a headline meaningful” (p. 20). The headline reads, “GOP Candidates Fiercely Divided Over How Much Voltage Border Wall Should Be Electrified With” (The Onion, 2015). Certainly, the authors are adept at playing upon the current schisms involving the border and immigration issues which occur within the Republican party. In general, those who oppose many of the Republican ideas concerning immigration view their tactics as inhumane, and this headline achieves such an intended purpose. With many influential political and entertainment personas citing The Onion as a favorite source of spoofed news, it may be argued that the writers of this publication do indeed have a clear sense of the target audience.
The intended audience of an online thesaurus site is likely comprised of individuals who frequently use written communications to achieve a desired purpose such as crafting documents or other media objectives. Thesaurus.com is an easily navigable site which incorporates visual elements and page design to make information available in an efficient manner. The top or, banner portion of the page has a large white search box, thereby providing users an immediate, eye catching glimpse of what isneeded to search for desired information. Additionally, the site offers many other word related links including, “The Word of the Day”, “Lifelong Learning”, and “Synonym Sense” (Thesaurus.com, 2015). This is illustrative of the following statement “The top layer is the outer skin of your website, and as you go deeper inside, you reach the meat” (Marsh, Guth, & Short, 2009). As indicated, the top layer of the website provides the actual thesaurus and also provides links by which the audience can access interior pages with a variety of information. Certainly, the authors of this website have carefully considered the target audience and provided in depth information for those using words in any type of media.
Facebook is an interesting phenomenon. The target audience has changed dramatically and the number of users has grown substantially since its inception in 2004. According to an article in Southern Methodist University’s online newspaper, The Daily Mustang.com, users over the age of 35 are the fastest growing segment of the Facebook audience. (Hogan, 2009) While the original target audience of the creator, Mark Zuckerburg was fellow college students, the demographics have now shifted and Facebook has adjusted, accordingly. The authors of the class text argue this from a marketing standpoint. They assert, “In marketing, communication increasingly means two-way communication—almost a conversation between a company and a customer” (March, Guth, & Short, 2009, p. 24). For example, those in the older demographic tend to use the site to exchange photos of family, and new features make this easier by incorporating several photos into a collage. The site retains the familiar blue banner at the top and keeps a few strategic icons in the upper right corner, while subsequently providing a strong visual layout and balance. Marsh, Guth, & Short (2009) argue the importance of visual design when they write “Research shows that communication with a visual component is far more effective, persuasive and memorable” (p. 21). The format also includes information on upcoming professional sports, trending headlines, and ads based on previous browsing sessions. It should also be noted that Facebook has created an easy to read section of help topics. The formatting and structure of these is quite user friendly and does not assume that the user is possesses technical savvy. Therefore, it may be concluded that while the original target was an audience comprised of college students, those who construct the pages in Facebook have embraced the revised target audience. Their clear sense of this aging demographic is evident through the newly created and effective content.
Media communications have necessitated many different approaches to communications. Each type of media presents challenges and opportunities to reach audiences in new and innovative ways. However, the fundamentals of effective communication such as identification of the target audience combined with balance of written and visual content will enable increased success as companies seek to expand market share in a competitive market.
References
Facebook. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/
Hogan, C. (2009, October 2). Facebook’s target audience is growing and changing. The Daily Campus, Southern Methodist University. Retrieved from http://www.smudailymustang.com/?p=15464
Marsh, C., Guth, D.M. & Short, P. (2009). Strategic writing, multimedia writing for public relations, advertising and more. Boston: Pearson.
n.a. (2015, September 28). GOP candidates fiercely divided over how much voltage border wall should be electrified with. The Onion. Retrieved from http://www.theonion.com/article/gop-candidates-fiercely-divided-over-how-much-volt-51377
Thesaurus.com (2015) Retrieved from http://www.thesaurus.com/
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