Use personas to focus on customers
by. Matt Neznanski
The basic concept that relevant content can generate interest in your products and services is easy to grasp. Who hasn’t read articles or watched a video before making a purchase or starting a project? But moving from theory to practice can be difficult, especially considering that every organization is different, with different goals and target customers.
Many well-intentioned blogs and social media accounts are created to build brands, only to wither on the vine. Why? Often, it’s because the content never resonated with people’s real lives. Personas, fictional sketches of ideal customers, can help you better understand what will — and won’t — strike a chord. When you understand who your ideal customers are, it’s easier to figure out what to publish on your channels.
Start with real people
Take some time to understand your actual customers before trying to capture them in a character sketch. Take a product and talk with people who currently buy it. Ask questions about their life to discover their method and style:
- What do they do for work? For leisure?
- What are their goals and values?
- What are the problems they’re dealing with?
- What’s a typical day like for them?
- Where do they go for information? For product reviews? To stay connected?
