Is it possible to take information, dig into your customer base, your prospect base and build out a how-to guide for how to best reach your audience? The answer is absolutely. Creating a target persona gives you a very structured perspective on what they're looking to do. Remember, your target audience has a pain, a need, or an interest that they're looking to solve online. These are things that have a strong connection to them, something that matters to them. What you're looking to do is have the right messaging that connects with what matters to your audience.
1. Get to Know Your Customers
Creating a target audience persona is going to be based around what you know about your target audience. There's a variety of ways you’re going to do this, but ultimately it's going to come down to understanding your audience. How do you understand the audience? You talk to them. You survey them. You research them. You talk to your customers. You talk to your prospects. You talk to those that do not become your customers. You talk to those that may align with your target audience. The goal is to get a broad understanding of the potential audience that could potentially purchase your service or your products.
2. Get to Know What They Want
What are you customers looking for when they are searching for a brand to make a purchase from? Many potential customers are looking for a trustworthy company and a level of safety. They want options. Get to know what your audience’s needs are, what their pain points are, and what motivates them to become loyal to a brand. A good rule of thumb here is to over collect this kind of information. Even if the information that you collect can’t be used immediately, it may be something that you can use down the road as your company grows.
3. Get to Know Where They Get Information
Once you’ve taken the time to get to know who your customers are and what makes them tick, you should be able to delve into where they are getting their information online. Whether this means what social media platform they are frequenting, or what industry blog they subscribe to, knowing where they are spending time on the internet can allow you to better target them. Knowing this information will also give you a glimpse into how they like to receive information and give you the ability to better shape your message.
4. Understand What Sets You Apart
If you haven’t taken the time to do a competitive analysis, stop here and go do one. You need to know what makes you different from your competitors. Once you’ve completed a competitive analysis and learned who your audience is and where they go online, you can craft your interactions with your audience to center around what makes you different. For instance, if your potential audience spends a lot of time on Amazon and your competitors are lacking an efficient shipping method, your brand could promote your quick shipping to an audience who is used to the expedited delivery of Amazon.
5. Look for Opportunities to Expand
Once you’ve explored these areas and come up with a direction for your brand messaging, you are likely to see opportunities for growth within your brand. By delving into the pain points of your audience and learning how they communicate online, you may see some glaring holes in your business plan where you can earn major points and expand your offerings to your newly defined target audience. Customers appreciate brands who are always striving to improve; don’t get left behind because you continue doing what works without looking towards the future.
For more reading on online marketing, see the links below:
- Setting up an Effective Path to Online Revenue Starts Here
- 5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Optimizing Your Website
- Quick Guide to Advertising on Social Media Platforms
