N493-DQ3-Reply

Please reply to Jennifer Muller– Please note minimum of 200 words. Please cite one scholarly source. In-text citation should be included.

 Health in general is a very sensitive topic to talk about. Discussing health is usually not a top priority for most of the population. People nowadays tend to focus on other things rather than focusing on their well-being, such as careers, education, social life, family, or are being immersed into technology. One of the examples of this is going to school or to work even when you are not feeling well. Another example is watching TV or being on the computer on your days off. So, when it comes to talking about health, people normally have to change a lot of their previous unhealthy habits.

    Choosing your target audience can be a difficult task especially when you are educating a certain group of population about their own health. I think that it is important to consider a lot of aspects when trying to figure out who your target audience is going to be. First and foremost, I think it becomes apparent to re-visit your own values and your own opinions on the topic that you are going to be working with. There can be many more criteria to consider when picking your target audience but, “these 8 criteria are some of the more important ones to consider when it comes to selecting a target audience for your content” (Padveen, 2014, para. 3). These eight criteria include: age, gender, education, industry, job function, interests, influence, and marital status. Age, gender, and industry would be of importance depending on the topic you are presenting. Education level of the audience is important to know to determine what type of content and how the content will be presented. Job function can be of importance if their career can interfere with their health. Knowing the target audiences’ interests and what influences them the most is necessary to develop a sense of mutual feelings and to show that you can relate to the audience. Marital status can be important depending on the topic you are trying to present. If necessary, audience can have the option to involve their family to make changes in their health and for moral support. I personally connect to my audience because most of my family members are the same age as the audience (middle aged adults and older adults), therefore it is easier to relate to them on a more personal level. I can also relate to them because we share the same societal values and the same community. We all tend to thrive in the same environment and providing resources would be easier as the resources would also be local.

Reference

Padveen, C. (2014, February 10). 8 criteria for determining your target audience. Retrieved from  https://t2marketinginternational.com/target-audience-criter 

Please reply to Michelle Restivo – Please note minimum of 200 words. Please cite one scholarly source. In-text citation should be included.

           To select my target audience for my educational health project I will need to determine which population would benefit from my presentation. I read that it is important to understand the needs and wants of my target audience and to understand their motivations and lifestyles (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). It also stated through reaching your target audience it aides in your ability to engage with them. My topic will be focused on youth and young adult suicide. My target audience will mostly be parents, teachers and anyone who is around and works with youth. Even teen and young adults could attend and learn the signs and how they can help, along with outreach and contact information if someone they know is at risk. I plan on sharing the experience my friend went through when her  her son committed suicide. I plan on using quotations for some of her story that I will share. I feel this will connect on an emotional level with most parents as this is such a devastating loss. Our book stated that health promotion is more than teaching and providing education to people to help change their behavior, but that it also includes developing environments that help support health and encouraging the community to step into action that will improve health (Clark, 2015). 

    I also read how it is important to know your key message and to keep focused on the topic (CDC, 2019).  It is important to determine what the audience needs to hear and to include contact information, additional references, a fact sheet could also be used to share statistics and other important information. 

     I do feel I will have a personal connection to my target audience. I believe my target audience will mostly be parents. I am a parent of five kids and I am sure I share many of the same fears and worries about my own children that most parents probably do everywhere. Do we all know the signs to look out  for? Are my kids depressed? Are they showing signs that I should be more aware of? Do I know how to talk to them or what to say? Is this just normal growing changes? I feel this is such an important topic to share and for myself to dive deeper into as it is a growing concern in our community.

Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2019). Gateway for Health Communication. https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication