posted by Amanda Tower on July 02, 2015 in Converge Blog
Who Are You? 3 Tips for Creating User Personas
If you’re a CSI fan like me, you’ve probably found yourself singing along to the show’s theme song a time or two – who are you? Who who, who who?
When we think about our target audiences as marketers, we should be asking the same question. Who are you? User personas are a great tool for helping us answer that question. They help us make sense of the customers we’re trying to target, whether they’re browsing our website, reading an email we’ve sent, or leafing through one of our brochures.
Our attention spans are fleeting. We pay attention to topics only when we’re motivated to do so. That’s why marketers need a game plan. Enter the user persona.By discovering our audience’s interests, behaviors, habits, goals, and challenges, we can identify the message that will resonate best. One that will capture the attention of even your most distracted prospects.
Now the million-dollar question: how do I create a user persona?
Here are 3 tips to get you started:
1. Give the backstory.
Say your prospect is Layla the Linguist. A mediocre persona tells you Layla is a female interested in graduate programs. A good persona tells you Layla is fluent in 6 languages, dreams of teaching a foreign language at the collegiate level, and is looking for a graduate program in linguistics to fulfill her dream.
See the difference? One thing to keep in mind is that while the persona you develop should be fictional, the characterization of that person should be based on real data and research. If you don’t understand your audience, your marketing will never graduate from aimless chatter to calculated communication.
2. Know the pain points.
It’s important to understand your prospects’ backstory. But it’s equally important to empathize with the challenges they face. Going back to Layla, we know her goal is to teach a college foreign language class. But maybe Layla is raising a child while working full time. Maybe she already struggles to find the time to practice her foreign language skills, let alone continue her education.
One of the greatest mistakes marketers make is failing to identify and understand their prospects’ pain points. The way you get through to your audience is by demonstrating that you acknowledge their struggles and can offer solutions to help alleviate them.
3. Change it up.
People change, and so should your personas. Keep an eye on the market research – if you learn something new about your target audience that throws off your personas, go back to the drawing board. User personas should be living documents. When the market evolves and your personas become obsolete, use the opportunity to evolve your personas and make sure they’re on target.
If you’re looking for more tips to enhance your marketing efforts, check out our upcoming webinar, Beyond Google Analytics: How to Pick the Best Metrics for Your Project.
And don’t forget to reserve your spot at Converge 2015!
Sources:
http://blog.act-on.com/2013/12/7-tips-using-buyer-personas-lead-nurturing-2/
