Jennifer Burke

Blog: Your Audience Awaits

This blog post originally appeared on the Natural Resources Canada internal blog, Digi-Get-It, in 2017.

Your Audience Awaits: Does Your Web Content Deliver?

Five quick questions to help identify your audience and ensure their needs are satisfied.

To satisfy users and keep them coming back, a web page needs to meet the specific needs of its audience. Ask yourself the following five questions to assess your own audience and determine whether your web content delivers for their unique needs.

1.    Who is your target audience?

Narrow your audience down from broad categories like “all Canadians”. Consider which subsets of the population your content is targeting. Common targets include:

  • consumers
  • a specific industry
  • businesses
  • government (e.g., municipal or provincial)
  • academics or educators
  • scientific community

It’s possible that your web content may cover more than one of these subsets. If so, identify the key groups and limit your audience to three or less. Once you have identified your target audience you will be able to determine what they need.

2.    What task do you want your audience to complete?

Define the purpose of your web content and the tasks for your target audience. What would you like your audience to do with the information you have provided? For example, you may want your audience to:

  • sign up for a product or service
  • submit a form
  • apply for a grant
  • join a program
  • access data or tools

Use the unique goals of your page to help guide decisions about structure and content. With techniques like front-loading and creating scannable content, you can ensure your audience successfully completes the intended task.

3.    Does your audience understand your content?

The more readable the content is, the easier it will be for your audience to understand it and complete the intended task. Use simple language, short sentences and avoid acronyms or jargon.

Unsure whether your content is understandable? Ask a colleague who is unfamiliar with the content to read your page and provide feedback about any areas that are unclear.

If your target audience is subject matter experts, it may be appropriate to use more complex language or common jargon of the field. However, experts still scan web pages like everybody else so keep your content clear and concise.

4.    Which device is your audience using to view your content?

Your audience might be using a desktop computer to view your web content—or they might be using a mobile phone or tablet.  Google Analytics can tell you what devices your audience uses. Contact Jenn Burke in the Communications and Portfolio Sector for more information about analytics access.

Mobile usage of both the NRCan departmental site as well as Canada.ca continues to grow. Keep in mind that visitors on mobile devices have shorter attention spans and less time to spend looking for information. Some tips to make your content easier for mobile visitors to read:

  • Put the most important information first.
  • Make your content as concise as possible. Content that is immediately visible on a desktop monitor will require a mobile visitor to scroll through 3-5 screens.
  • Use links that are longer than one word—they’re easier to select with a fingertip.

5.    Is your content accessible?

All Government of Canada web content must be accessible to all Canadians, regardless of ability or technology. Regardless of whether your audience uses desktop computer, a screen reader, or some other assistive device, they should have access to the same information. To facilitate this, make sure your content has:

  • properly coded headings
  • appropriate text equivalents for images and videos
  • descriptive link text

For more information on web accessibility, check out Digi-Get-It’s blog on accessibility or consult the Treasury Board Standard on Web Accessibility.

By answering these five questions, you should be able to come to a strong understanding of your audience and their needs. Knowing your audience will make tailoring your content easier and lead to web pages that successfully fulfill their purpose. For further assistance or any questions, please contact Web Planning.

Digi-Get-It: Digital Communications in a Digital World is a new blog dedicated to sharing best practices, tips and tricks, guidance and news about digital communications topics and how they relate to NRCan’s web and social media presence.

If you have any feedback about this week’s post, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I’m always happy to discuss the topics of web writing, web usability and web analytics. I’m eager to hear if you find these posts useful and helpful as we move toward a digital communications future in the Government of Canada.

Thanks for reading!