Great content sells. It attracts people to you.
But content is like an arrow. Shooting one randomly into a field won’t do much damage. Aiming and hitting your bulls eye will resonate with your audience.
A blanket message for your brand won’t have much effect. It won’t be specific enough to get people to care. You need to formulate your message to the ideal persona so it speaks to them. It needs to make them care.
In order to do that, you must know exactly the type of person you’re trying to reach. Find out what their likes and dislikes are. Research everything about them.
Knowing your audience makes it easier to find what messages will resonate with them and through which medium.
Creating a Persona
Start by figuring out who has a need for your project, and who is most likely to take action. How do these people relate to your product or service, and who is most like to care?
Consider:
- Age and Gender
- Location (think things like urban/rural)
- Family status
- Income
- Education
Next, come up with a psychological profile of the people you just identified. How do they behave? Do they have specific values or any hobbies and interests? Take note of any needs or frustrations.
Solving a Problem
The main goal is to figure out what problems you can help solve for your customers. Start thinking about how you can help them and not so much how they can help you.
How does it improve their lives in a way they can’t live without it? What drives them to be a customer (give you money)?
How to Reach Them
Think on the medium or media your buyer persona uses and the best way to communicate with them. If you have an older audience, you might consider an op-ed piece in a newspaper. If your audience is younger, consider what websites they frequent.
Be sure to question your assumptions. Do you really know what your audience likes to do on their time off or are you guessing?
Experiment with customer surveys and use Google for background research. Don’t be afraid to communicate with your audience and ask them what they think.