Know Your Audience: Getting Started with Personas
You did it! Or did you?
Ever wake up feeling ah-mazing because you’ve just published your BEST CONTENT EVER? Lots of team input, multiple drafts, outstanding design support, and a terrific multi-channel campaign to deliver that gorgeous prose (or video or infographic, etc.) into the hands of the world’s most grateful prospects.
But as the days roll by and the data comes in, it appears that nothing happened.
Or maybe, something happened, but not enough to reach the number of clicks/downloads/form completes/MQLs or other top-of-funnel goals you were aiming for. Chances are, the reason that amazing, well-researched and articulate content fell flat is because you didn’t quite deliver on the needs of your target audience, or Persona. Maybe the reason why everyone at work was so pleased with your content was because you delivered on the story the product manager or the sales rep wanted to tell. You know, the story that ends with “and they all realized they needed our product and lived happily ever after.”
Whether your goals are tied to bringing in net new logos or encouraging existing customers to buy other products from you, content must help, not sell, particularly at the top of the funnel. You can turn this nightmare back into a fairytale with Personas.
Personas: The Foundation of All Content
If you’re creating or refining your B2B content strategy, you’ll want to leverage the power of Personas to build the foundation. Maybe you’ve offering a sales automation solution and targeting the VP of Sales at a mid-size SaaS business. You know from recent closed/won deals that she’s the ultimate decision maker. But while your product has the power to improve her life for the better, how do you know if you’re tackling one of her biggest needs?
Personas help you go beyond the job title to capture key attributes that describe the people who evaluate, buy or use your product or service. The goal of content is to give them something helpful, something they can get value from even if they never engage with your company again. Let’s think about the VP of Sales for a minute. Do you know her needs well enough to create content that addresses them? If she were to search for content that addresses those needs, would she use the same terms you use? Does your content reflect an understanding of her strategic or tactical challenges?
Putting effort into getting Personas right, and making sure they’re current over time, doesn’t just lead to better conversions; it helps you prioritize limited marketing resources on creating content and campaigns that resonate with the people you’re trying to reach.
Getting Sh*t Done
Personas are the basis for how marketers get sh*t done. A few thoughts:
Find out who, if anyone, is responsible for developing, updating and communicating your company’s Personas. Start with the product team.
If it’s been more than a year since they were last updated, or if they haven’t been vetted with your best sales reps recently, get some feedback.
Interview a few friendly customers about their roles, challenges and needs, and update your Personas using this current information.
Have a look at how recent content addresses the needs of this audience, and update your content calendar to reflect what’s missing.
What’s working for you?
How are you managing Personas in your organization? How are you bringing them to life? Where have your Persona efforts helped? Where have they fallen flat?
