Using Specific Social Networking Sites to Reach Target Audiences

In today's class, we explored different social networking sites that target a specific subset of the community. I visited GLEE, which stands for Gay, Lesbian, and Everyone Else. Through my internship last summer, I worked with the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, and I will use them as a mock client for this class.

I definitely believe that different campaigns can be used to target very specific audiences. If a large part of that audience is found on a specific social networking site, then, by all means, use that venue to communicate! Many people tune out to specific commercials or even news stories in general in communication venues (Like mainstream TV channels). This means PR practitioners must fine new venues to gain the attention of their target audience. These social networking sites could support PR campaigns by providing a venue where people may feel more like a member. In essence, the target audience, because they are in a venue that targets their interests and needs, could believe PR messages are for them, and thus pay more attention than they would if the same message appeared in a mainstream media outlet.

GLEE is definitely an excellent tool for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, as the organization tries to target gay and lesbian individuals to visit the region. The South Shore has gay and lesbian ski weeks and other events. GLEE would be a great way to get information about certain events and special packages to this target audience. We could also use these sites for two way communication by setting up a page within the system. We could post messages or begin a blog to better understand the needs and desires of our target audience. Also, because Lake Tahoe is such a visually appealing destination, this site would be a great place to market because we could distribute many picture and VNRs to prospective visitors. Although these photos are at the web site, specific social networking venues allow the PR team to bring the photos to the consumer.