TAILOR MESSAGES TO DIFFERENT AUDIENCES
May 27, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
As both a charity that provides health care and an advocacy group, Planned Parenthood tries to reach audiences as diverse as hardened Capitol Hill watchers and teenagers seeking birth-control information. Under tax law, all messages that express opinions about political parties or candidates must be sent from the group’s advocacy arm, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
The organization used to try to reach everyone with a single Facebook page and one Twitter account. As conversations about political issues started mounting, however, the group decided to create multiple outlets. In February, it set up two new Facebook pages focusing on health issues, one aimed at a general audience and another specifically for teenagers, as well as separate Twitter feeds for each group. All of the outlets draw on relevant materials from the others.
Staff members in New York and Washington hold a conference call every morning to coordinate communications efforts (including e-mails, press releases, and media relations).
They are guided by daily reports that track news articles and social-media conversations to see which topics that affect Planned Parenthood are getting the most attention and whether the “major sentiment” is positive or negative.
