Custom Target functionality is a powerful feature that allows for very specific content targeting, and because some content is sensitive it is important to have a full grasp of how targeting works before posting your targeted content. The following custom target example provides a clear and concise scenario to illustrate how custom targeting functions.
In this example, the common target type Position will be used. You might prefer to use a hierarchy for Position, but let’s assume this target will be flat. The image below shows some common types of positions or titles in an organization.
If you want to include both Position and Location as content targets, remember that any given single target needs to match any of its values, but for multiple targets, a member must match some value from all of the targets. Thus, OR logic is used within a single target, while AND logic is used between multiple targets.
To recall our previous example, Christina is a member Located in the San Francisco office, and has the position of Team Member. Megan has set New York as her Location, and has the Position of Team Lead. Chris has set London as his Location, and has the position of VP.
A post targeted at London, California and VP can only be viewed by Chris because he is the only member who matches both target values of VP and either London or California. Christina cannot view the content because though she matches the target value of California, she is not a VP.
A post targeted at China and Team Member cannot be viewed by any of these members. Christina cannot see this post even though she is a Team Member, because she is not in China. Using the AND logic for multiple targets, she has to match both target values to view the post.
A post targeted at Europe, Team Lead and VP can be viewed only by Chris. Megan is a Team Lead, but she is not in Europe so she does not meet the AND logic requirement.
In this example scenario, neither Christina nor Megan can view any of the content. As you can see, using multiple content targets can be complicated, but allows you an advanced degree of content personalization when used correctly. But you must consider to what degree you need to target content, as the possible combinations can grow large very quickly.