Reaching the Hard to Reach: Drawing Lessons From Research and Practice

Communicating with citizens, stakeholders, or service clients is challenging under normal circumstances. Reaching government audiences who are hard to reach because of language or culture differences, lifestyle unpredictability, mistrust, isolation, or other reasons compounds the difficulty. This article examines who the hard to reach are, addresses reasons why it is important for governments to reach them, explores research and experience, suggests effective approaches for reaching these audiences—drawing upon a social constructionist approach—and proposes lessons and guidelines for public sector communicators. Communication practice and research indicate that more effective strategies include: utilizing knowledge about target audiences; forming partnerships with agencies and individuals that interact with targeted populations; utilizing children to reach parents and older relatives; using ethnic media that effectively reach immigrant and ethnic minority households; and simplifying communication and using feedback techniques.