Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences are reusable lists of people that admins create once and use anywhere: when posting Updates, Shout-outs, and Value Updates, building Journeys, setting up Custom Landing Pages, or adding HQ Billboards. You no longer need to pick people by hand or duplicate posts.

There are two types of Custom Audiences:

• Manual Custom Audiences - You choose the members by searching for colleagues, typing email addresses, or uploading a CSV file.
• Automated Custom Audiences - Membership comes from team-based rules, such as Departments and Locations, and updates automatically as people join, move, or leave.

For employees, this means cleaner, more relevant feeds. People see the content that matters to them without messages meant for someone else, and organizations can reach people at scale with precision.

Device(s): Desktop

Roles / Permissions: 

• Admin - Full access to create, edit, view, export, delete, and use Custom Audiences in the Admin Hub and when posting. 
   
• Custom Audience Administrator - Can create, edit, manage, view, and use Custom Audiences in the Admin Hub and when posting.
   
• Custom Audience Poster - Can select and use Custom Audiences when posting on Workvivo, but cannot create, edit, or manage Custom Audiences in the Admin Hub.
   
• Tool admins - Users with admin-level access to Custom Landing Pages, Journeys, Posts, Billboards, and Newsletters can see and use Custom Audiences within those tools. Posting to a Custom Audience still requires a Custom Audience role.
   
• General Access Employee - Sees content targeted to Custom Audiences they belong to. Members cannot see who else is in an audience.

Creating a Manual Custom Audience

1. Click Admin in the top navigation.
2. Click Custom Audiences in the left sidebar under Tools.
3. Click the Add Custom Audience button in the top right corner.
4. Type a name for your audience (e.g., "Marketing Team" or "Paris Office").
5. Optionally, click Change Avatar to upload an image (200px × 200px).

6. Click Fixed list to choose who belongs to this audience.

   

Option A: Search for Colleagues

1. Click Add Colleagues.
2. Search for people by name.
3. Check the boxes next to their names.
4. Click OK.

Option B: Type Email Addresses

1. In the Mailing List section, type one email address per line.
2. Invalid emails will be flagged - correct them before continuing.

Option C: Upload a CSV File

1. Click Upload Audience from CSV.
2. Click Browse files or drag and drop your CSV.
3. The system validates each email and shows valid and invalid results.
4. Download the report to review any failed addresses.
5. Click Confirm to add the valid emails.
    

Creating an Automated Custom Audience

1. Click Admin in the top navigation.
2. Click Custom Audiences in the left sidebar under Tools.
3. Click the Add Custom Audience button in the top right corner.
4. Type a name for your audience (e.g., "Sales - London" or "All Managers").
5. Optionally, upload an avatar (200px × 200px; supports GIF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, JFIF).

6. Under Membership, click the Auto-enrolment tab.
    

   

7. In Select Auto-Enrolment Targets, search or scroll through the available teams (Departments, Locations, etc.), check the ones you want, and click Select.
8. (Optional) Expand the Rules section, click + Add Rule, configure your conditions, and click Select to confirm.

9. Click Save to create the audience.
    

   

Managing Custom Audiences

View members

1. Go to the Custom Audiences dashboard.
2. Find your audience in the list.
3. Click the three-dot menu (•••) on the right, or click the audience name.
4. Click View Members to see the member list, with a Remove option next to each person.

Change the name or avatar

1. Go to the Custom Audiences dashboard in Admin Hub.
2. Find your audience in the list.
3. Click the three-dot menu (•••) on the right.
4. Click Edit.
   
5. Update the name and/or avatar.
6. Click Save.

Add or remove members

1. Click on the audience name to open its detail page
2. Use Add Member to add one person, or Upload CSV to add multiple
3. To remove someone, click Remove next to their name

Replace all members with a CSV

1. Open the audience detail page
2. Click Upload CSV
3. Upload your file — this will completely replace the current membership
4. Click Confirm

Delete a Custom Audience

1. Go to the Custom Audiences Dashboard
2. Find the audience you wish to delete in the list
3. Click the three-dot menu (•••) on the right or directly on the Custom Audience Name
4. Click Delete
5. User gets a confirmation delete pop up - This will permanently delete this custom audience. Are you sure you want to do this?
6. User clicks OK
7. Custom Audience is deleted

Note: Deleting a Custom Audience that is attached to content works the same way as deleting a Team. Posts are removed from the feed if the deleted audience was the only audience on the post, Journeys show the segment as unavailable, and Custom Landing Page tabs and widgets revert to Everyone.

Exporting a Custom Audience

1. Go to the Custom Audiences dashboard.
2. Find your audience in the list.
3. Click the three-dot menu (•••) on the right.

4. Click Export.

   

5. A CSV file containing all member emails will download.

Using Custom Audiences

In Posts (Updates, Shout-outs, Value Updates)

1. Start creating your post.
2. Click the Audience section in the compose modal.
3. Click Custom to see all available custom audiences.
4. Select one or more audiences.

5. Publish your content.

   

In Journeys

1. Start creating a Journey.
2. Click Info & Settings.
3. Click Edit Segments.

4. Select Custom Audiences in the Segment selector and click Select.
    

   

5. Choose the relevant custom audience from the list and click Select.
6. In the Select Segments modal, click Select.

On Customised Landing Pages

1. Access edit mode on a Customised Landing Page.
2. Click Edit Tabs and select the tab you want to modify.
3. Click the edit icon, then click Audience.

4. Choose Custom and select your preconfigured custom audience.
    

   

5. Click Select and Save.

On HQ Billboards

1. Click into HQ and enter Edit Mode.
2. Select Add Widget and access the Landing Page Billboards widget.
3. Click Audience.

4. In the audience modal, select Custom.

   

5. Choose the custom audience from the list.
6. Click Save.