Question

what is the difference between primary readers/ target audiences and secondary readers/ target audiences in professional communication.

Answer 1

A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.

Primary audiences are those who receive the communication directly and are also known as the target audience. The person is also usually the decision maker. Secondary audiences are those readers who are not the primary addressee, but are still included as viewer.

Primary audiences are those who receive the communication directly. Secondary, or "hidden", audiences include anyone who may indirectly receive a copy of the communication. These include anyone who will receive a copy, need to approve, will hear about, or be affected by your message. You should determine the level of knowledge, interest, and any potential biases the audience may have with regard to your message.

The primary audience is the decision-maker and/or decision-making body and the secondary audience is the group(s) of people that you identify, educate and activate to influence the primary audience

For example, your organization seeks to utilize some of its resources to develop tangible programs that K-12 students in your school district can participate in and reap valuable educational experiences. In your case, the primary audience might be the county school board, if that is the decision-making body that designs the public school curriculum and allocates the funding and teachers for such programs. The secondary audience could include the PTA, parents, students, faculty groups, and business groups that understand the critical thinking, problem solving and leadership skills provided by comprehensive and fully integrated programs.

Your primary audience is your intended audience; it is the person or people you have in mind when you decide to communicate something. However, when analyzing your audience you must also beware of your secondary audience. These are other people you could reasonably expect to come in contact with your message. For example, you might send an email to a customer, who, in this case, is your primary audience, and copy, your boss, who would be your secondary audience. Beyond these two audiences, you also have to consider your hidden audience, which are people who you may not have intended to come in contact with your audience (or message) at all, such as a colleague who gets a forwarded copy of your email.