The buyer persona is one of the most integral parts of a content writing brief; however, it’s also often the most overlooked. Crafting a specific buyer persona will help streamline your content and impact your strategy positively.
Here’s how.
For some agencies, buyer persona has a variety of names. It could be your ideal customer, audience, or a marketing persona. Regardless of what you call it, its function remains the same. Essentially, a buyer persona is a semi-fictional rendering of your ideal customer or specific targeted audience for your content. For some businesses, giving the buyer persona a name is easiest.
For example, Sally is a 25-year-old woman who spends her weekends attending Goat Yoga classes and having brunch with her friends. She makes about $50,000 per year as a freelance artist and lives in a one-bedroom apartment in a trendy neighbourhood.
On the other hand, Robert is a 57-year-old executive who subscribes to all the high-profile news outlets. He likes golfing with his friends on the weekend and owns a boat. He has a family, and his wife is active in community organizations and local charities. He is a high earner with significant retirement savings in the bank. His kids are in high school.
As you can see, these two “personas” are very different. Robert and Sally would most likely never be targeted for the same products, but when it comes to writing content for them, they need to be treated with nuance.
With a specifically-targeted buyer persona, your content strategy might differ drastically. Some of the things that might change include:
Length of the Post: Sally is a millennial and might prefer easy-to-digest listicles and “best-of” articles while Robert is used to reading more long-form content and would most likely appreciate a longer, well-researched piece.
Language: In the examples listed, Robert is a more formal reader who would require more formal sentence structure while Sally would prefer a little slang and humour.
Where the Content is Posted: As a millennial, Sally is probably active on social media, so her content should be easy to post and look visually appealing on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Robert most likely favours trusted blogs and reputable website content.
Any marketer worth their salt will already have ample experience in creating buyer personas for their clients. It’s one of the biggest parts of the job. However, there might come instances where you don’t have a solid “persona” and instead only have a general idea of the audience you want to pursue.
This is also fine as a content writer could typically glean some insight from the actual topic of the content. For example, a blog about fixing an old wooden fence will probably read a little more casually than a blog about refinancing commercial mortgages.
If you’re having trouble choosing a solid buyer persona, we recommend simply taking some time to think about the goal of the post and who you want to read it. In the case of the fence-fixing blog, do you want it to appeal to people who will fix their own fences or to someone who would call a handyman before attempting any DIY project on their own? These minor details can have a huge impact on the language and tone of the content.
To learn more about creating a solid buyer persona and integrating it into your content marketing strategy, book a consultation with us today. We can help with all your content writing needs and produce everything from blogs, website pages, and beyond to perfectly capture your targeted audience’s attention.
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