Many public sector organisations write one post and put it out on every platform at once, perhaps slightly tweaked in format for the channel, which is best practice, but it’s still the same message. It’s understandable, public sector social media teams are stretched and consistency feels efficient. But it means the same message, in the same tone, reaches a teenager on TikTok and a pensioner on Facebook, and neither of them was really the audience it was written for.

What is audience segmentation?

Audience segmentation just means splitting your followers into smaller groups based on what they actually need from you, then thinking about where each group spends their time and what tone lands with them. It’s not about creating more work. It’s about being more deliberate with the work you’re already doing.

This guide gives you a practical way to map your audience against your platforms, along with an exercise you can run with your own team to apply it to a real campaign.

Which platforms matter and who’s actually on them shifts constantly, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a fixed rule, and check it against your own account analytics before you rely on it. Tools like Orlo Analytics can help you see this in your own data, rather than relying on general trends like the ones below.

• Facebook. Still the platform with the broadest reach among older audiences. UKOM data shows Facebook has the highest daily reach among over-55s of any platform. Strong for community content, and often the best route to reach vulnerable audiences indirectly through local groups.
• Instagram. Skews younger, UKOM figures show it has one of the highest daily reach rates among 15 to 24 year olds. Better for visual, place-based community content, less suited to dense process information.
• X. Smaller reach than it once had, but disproportionately used by engaged and vocal audiences, journalists and elected members or senior leaders. This is where tone under pressure matters most.
• LinkedIn. The clear choice for partner and stakeholder audiences, and for recruitment. A more formal register is fine here, it’s expected.
• TikTok and Instagram Reels. Skews younger, though it is definitely worth checking your own analytics rather than assuming it’s only a youth platform now. Strong for recruitment content and myth-busting or “did you know” service explainers.
• Nextdoor (where used). Hyperlocal by design, useful for practical local information and reaching community and vulnerable audiences at street level.
• Bluesky and Threads. Relatively low reach, but still an engaged audience when active.

• Who is this actually for? Name the segment, don’t just write for “residents” in general.
• Does the tone match who you’re talking to?
• Is this the right platform for this segment, or are you posting here out of habit?
• If someone from this group read it with no other context, would it make sense to them?

Segmentation doesn’t mean more content or more accounts to manage. It means being clearer about who a piece of content is actually for before you write it, and giving it the best chance of landing with that audience rather than writing something generic and hoping it works everywhere.

At Orlo, this kind of audience thinking is baked into how we help public sector teams plan and publish, so if you want help putting it into practice day to day, that’s exactly what we’re here for.