Part I. Developing an Outreach Campaign Plan
Step 2: Identify & analyze the target audience

Deciding which segment to target

One of the keys to knowing which segment of the target audience to focus on is understanding the concept of social diffusion. This means that when a new idea or behavior is adopted by 15 to 20 percent of an audience, it has the critical mass to spread on its own. Dr. Everett M. Rogers developed this theory after more than 30 years of research. He discusses the theory in his book, Diffusion of Innovations (Everett M. Rogers 1st edition, 1962; 5th edition, 2003). Dr. Rogers discusses five categories of people within an audience that may be exposed to the innovation or new behavior. This slide describes the people in those categories. Although acceptance of the idea within the target audience occurs in a predictable progression of stages (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards): (beginning with the innovators and usually ending with the late majority), the rate of this diffusion depends on how easy it is to overcome the barriers for adopting the idea.

Many outreach campaigns fail because organizers believe they need to focus heavily on targeting the late majority and laggard segments of the audience since those segments encompass the greatest number of people. However, those segments are the hardest people to reach and hardest to convince that they should change their behavior. People in these categories will not even consider changing until the idea has become well accepted by a solid majority of the target audience. It is much easier to reach and convince innovators or early adopters. Once you've reached innovators or early adopters, they can become partners to start the social diffusion processes in their own circles. Because many in this category are considered to be leaders and are well respected, their peers will be more likely to pick up the new behavior. When it comes to changing behavior, remember that success often means "preaching to the choir" and letting the choir help you get the message out to the harder-to-reach segments.