First thing’s first: What is a persona?
When you’re writing content for your company’s blog or social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter, it’s essential to know who that content is being directed toward. By figuring out the demographics, attitudes, approaches and feelings of the “average” user, you can begin to craft messages tailored directly to that person.
Think about it this way: When you write a letter to your grandmother, you’ll use a different tone of voice than you would in a letter to your best friend. Either way though, you’ll be directing that content to a specific person with a specific set of values, beliefs, wants and needs.
That’s persona.
Why is it important?
- Unless your content is directed only at yourself, you need to hone your tone and voice to meet the needs of your audience. In fact, even if you are the definition of your target market, do some more research and see what people really want.
- Let’s say you don’t know what your grandmother likes better: long letters or pictures. Instead of being inconsistent, find out for sure and give her what she loves. Every time.
How can you do it right?
Use analytics to determine the demographics of your target audience. Figuring out how old they are, what their gender is and where they live gives you valuable insight into how you can begin crafting your message.
Then dig deeper. Figure out how the person you’re writing to prefers to take in content. Is it words on a blog? Through an infographic? A listicle? Much more than demographics, a persona is a role, a character, an outline of a person. When you’ve determined your persona, be sure to stay consistent. If you’re talking to your grandmother, keep the slang out of it. If you’re talking to a teenage boy, put some slang in it.
Above all else, remember that when a person in your target audience reads your content, that person should feel as though it was written just for them instead of a broader group or idea. You need to know them – understand their persona – before you try to write to them. Make sure you’re talking to your grandmother, not all the grandmothers in the world.
Conclusion
So maybe you won’t be writing to your grandmother. But the same tips apply for any content you’re producing. Using personas in your content marketing efforts can help boost traffic as you try to develop valuable leads in your business. Know your audience and create a persona so you can custom-craft each message.
