{"id":237356,"date":"2024-04-11T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T09:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/?p=237356"},"modified":"2024-05-31T10:47:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T08:47:03","slug":"buyer-personas-content-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/resources\/buyer-personas-content-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Buyer Personas in Tailoring Your Content Marketing Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Creating a buyer persona is more than just a good marketing exercise.<\/p>\n

You may have taken the time to sketch out an idea of your target persona before but didn\u2019t ultimately see the benefit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that thinking through your target audience without strategically gathering, documenting, and implementing that information isn\u2019t going to do very much for you.<\/p>\n

However, buyer personas in content marketing<\/a> can be extremely valuable to your overall marketing strategy if used properly.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019re going to outline why buyer personas matter, how to make one yourself, and look at some examples of them in action.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is a Buyer Persona?<\/h2>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/hs-fs\/hubfs\/gabriel.webp?width=1300&height=896&name=gabriel.webp” alt=”Buyer Persona example” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_3_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n

A buyer persona is a work of fiction. That is, it\u2019s a customer profile that details a fictitious buyer.<\/p>\n

Though the person in your customer profile isn\u2019t an actual buyer, the details in your buyer persona are based on data you have acquired from actual customers.<\/p>\n

This data typically includes demographic information such as age, gender, income level, and occupation. Lifestyle details such as interests, behaviors, goals, challenges, and pain points are also typically included.<\/p>\n

The idea is to create a detailed description that represents your target audience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the Purpose of a Buyer Persona?<\/h2>\n

Not sure what the point is of drafting this profile of a person who doesn\u2019t exist?
Your buyer persona gives you a clear understanding of who your customers are.<\/p>\n

Without drafting out these data-driven details, your marketing efforts are aimed towards some ethereal notion of a \u201ctarget audience\u201d without any real understanding of what that means.<\/p>\n

Your customer persona helps you understand the needs, preferences, and buying behaviors of different segments of your target customers so you know how to market to them.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re thinking generally, it\u2019s all too easy to forget that you\u2019re writing to real people searching for real solutions.<\/p>\n

Having an actual person in mind (fictional or not) helps keep all of your content marketing efforts focused, relevant, and effective.<\/p>\n

But let the data do the talking.<\/p>\n

In the latest research on buyer persona statistics<\/a>, reports showed that companies using buyer personas saw 73% higher conversion rates than companies without documented buyer personas.<\/p>\n

A whopping 93% of companies that exceeded the same goals segmented<\/a> their database by buyer persona.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve not used a buyer persona before, now is the time to start.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How to Use a Buyer Persona in Email Marketing<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve ever created an email campaign<\/a>, you know all best practices come back to the two cardinal rules of email marketing:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Personalization<\/li>\n
  2. Segmentation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can\u2019t do either effectively without detailed buyer personas.<\/p>\n

    Understanding your customers on a deeper level allows you to meet them where they are (read: the right stage of your sales funnel) and offer them what they need. If they\u2019re investigating solutions and getting to know your brand, send them a welcome email with your brand\u2019s story or how they can learn more.<\/p>\n

    If they\u2019re considering a purchase, send them customer reviews and testimonials to encourage them to make the right decision. Once they do, keep them loyal by sending them anniversary emails with thank-you messages and discounts.<\/p>\n

    Beyond segmenting according to your sales funnel, you can also segment your list<\/a> according to customer needs, goals, budget, buying behavior, and more. It all comes down to how well you research and create your buyer personas, so take your time and do it right.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    How to Use a Buyer Persona in Content Marketing<\/h2>\n

    Your audience persona is your True North when it comes to content marketing.<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t make the mistake of drafting a detailed buyer persona just to let it sit in a Google Drive folder somewhere without any functional use.<\/p>\n

    If done well, the ideal customer you\u2019ve mapped out can serve as a blueprint for your content marketing efforts.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s take a look at how to use your buyer persona in content marketing.<\/p>\n

    Personalization<\/strong> – The data is clear that brands who prioritize personalization in their marketing content far outperform those who don\u2019t. 2021 research done by McKinsey & Company<\/a> shows that businesses that employed personalized marketing tactics saw a 40% growth acceleration over the businesses that did not.<\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/marketingplatform.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2021-research-done-by-McKinsey-Company.png” alt=”Companies that capture more value from personalization grow faster.” title_text=”2021 research done by McKinsey & Company” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_3_font=”|700|||||||” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

    (Image source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

    Here, the writing is on the wall. Using your customer profile to personalize your content will pay dividends in ROI.<\/p>\n

    Targeted Distribution<\/strong> – Content distribution can be a challenge for many marketers because there are so many marketing channels to choose from. When you allow your target persona to be your guide, you\u2019ll know exactly where to distribute content. For instance, you won\u2019t waste time and resources building a YouTube channel if your potential customer is primarily on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

    Custom Messaging<\/strong> – The data and market research you use to build your buyer persona will enable you to speak directly to your audience\u2019s pain points. This will increase the relevance of the content to the potential buyer, maximize engagement with your content, and optimally result in more traffic down your sales funnel.<\/p>\n

    Optimized Strategy<\/strong> – The detailed schematic your buyer persona offers will give you a data-driven foundation for a marketing strategy. Gone are the days of throwing the proverbial spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks. You can confidently move forward, expecting results and refine as you go.<\/p>\n

    Effective Ideation<\/strong> – Most marketers let keywords drive their content ideation. While keywords have their place, and they are a good place to start, the real gold of your content will always be in what your customers most want, not what Google wants to rank. Remember, you are writing for humans, not algorithms. Your customer persona will give you content ideas that\u2019ll help and speak to actual humans with actual problems.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    How to Build a Useful Buyer Persona<\/h2>\n

    We\u2019ve been harping on using good data, and that\u2019s exactly where you should start when building a buyer persona in content marketing.<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll want to utilize:<\/p>\n

    Customer Surveys and Feedback<\/strong> – This is where you\u2019re going to find out what your customers care the most about<\/a>. Who are they? What issues are they most commonly facing? What solutions are they looking for? What do they enjoy the most?<\/p>\n

    Market Research<\/strong> – Market Research is where you\u2019ll find much-needed stats about the age, gender, location, income level, education, values, attitudes, and behaviors of your target demographic.<\/p>\n

    Existing Customer Data<\/strong> – Scour your user data for information on the customers you already have. You\u2019ll find a lot of demographic info as well as user behavior and your highest-converting consumer pool.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re not sure where to get these insights, here are a few places to start:<\/p>\n