Creating a Brand Persona: How to figure out WHO your clients are
I know, I know. We want to talk to anyone and everyone about what we do, especially when we're passionate about it. Narrowing down your target audience is one of the toughest parts of marketing and public relations, but it's also one of the most important parts. Figuring out who your perfect client (AKA Brand Persona) is will be a game-changer for you, I promise.
Why is it so important?
For an example, picture walking into a family reunion. You find your aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, etc. When a family member asks about your job/business/blog, you're going to explain it differently depending on who has asked. If Grandpa asks about your digital marketing blog, he's probably going to need a little more backstory than your IT professional sister. Also, Grandpa's going to need it in a different language. Your 30-year-old sister will understand what you mean if you say your brand colors are "on point," but your Grandpa will probably be even more confused about your blog if you say this. Grandpa would probably better relate to you if you said something like, "the colors I chose for my website represent my business personality well." You get the picture. You should use the language your clients best understand and relate to when you're speaking to them. To do this, you have to know them.
Question to think about: How would you explain your business differently to your sister versus your Grandpa versus you perfect client?
To figure out who your target audience is, think about your favorite clients. What characteristics do they share? Then put those characteristics together to describe one person; this is you brand persona. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your clients so you can better develop you brand persona:
What gender are my clients?
How old are they?
Are they coupled? Married? Single?
Where were they born?
Where did they go to school?
What are their favorite sports teams? Do they like sports?
What colors do you think about when you picture them?
What level of education do they have?
What career field are they typically in?
Do they have children? How old are the kids?
How long have they been married?
Do they communicate with email? Text? Phone calls? Facebook message?
Who is their favorite singer/band?
What restaurants do they frequent?
What brand of car do they drive? What model?
What do they do for fun? Hiking? Yoga? Reading? Something else?
What is your clients' average salary?
What three adjectives would you use to describe them?
Where do they shop?
What business organizations are they involved in?
What kinds of things do your clients read? Fiction? Nonfic? Blogs? Newspapers?
What cultural/historical experiences shaped their lives?
What was the last movie your clients watched in theaters?
What was the last concert they saw?
What was the last book they read?
What questions do your clients ask about your products/services?
What are their goals?
How did they start their businesses? Careers?
Who are their biggest role models?
Does your client engage with you and other brands on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or another platform?
How do you serve your clients? What issues do you help them solve?
Some of these questions may seem excessive, but the better you know your client, the better you can serve them.
Bonus tip: Always name your target client. My client is Nic/ola. S/he is a passionate innovator who wants to make a positive impact on the world with her/his business/organization/brand. That's just the short version-- My Nic/ola even has dogs who are named. With that said, leave NO detail out about your perfect client.
Do you have a brand persona? What's his/her name? Share your comments below!