Customers see your logo and they hear your name. You may even have a tagline they can relate to, ads on the internet, or commercials on TV. A brand persona guides your marketing language and messaging–it defines your brand’s “voice.” It helps your content convey what makes your business unique, a better choice than the company down the street or across the world that offers the same thing – maybe even for a slightly lower price.
It’s vital that customers see your brand, like a person, as something they can feel good about engaging or interacting with. Your brand is more than “just” a company. People who buy from you want to be able to relate to “who” you are as a business. For that, you need a persona that your customers can understand and find value in. If they don’t understand who you are, they might feel confused and go somewhere else.
So, here’s why you need a brand persona.
Brand Personas Give Customers a “Personality” to Identify With
With a good brand persona, you can make your business feel almost like a person. The first step is getting them to see the real you – or at least the “real you” that your business wants to portray. It’s not always easy to show a customer who you are, and developing a persona that your creative teams can use to make your content more relatable makes this easier.
Brand Personas Give Writers a “Personality” to Guide Them
A brand persona is not unlike a customer persona in that can be as simple as a one-page document detailing the characteristics of your brand personality and what’s important to get across in your copy. It points writers to a tone of voice, language, and specific messaging they can use in whatever content they’re developing. This helps establish consistency across materials and helps your content to not sound “generic” or disjointed. If your brand persona indicates that your brand voice is helpful, supportive, and warm…writers will avoid language and expressions that are authoritative or overly direct, something that might drive core customers away.
How Do You “Make” a Brand Persona?
But how do you really create a persona? In short, through a good understanding of what your company finds important and getting it down on paper. What guides your mission and vision? Where did you come from and where are you going? It’s time to start thinking about those things and putting them into words–your brand’s words, in the first person.
In developing the basis for this personality, consider what the company does outside of providing a good or service. Do you participate in local events, toy drives, or 5 Ks? Your brand messaging can bring this to life and help people understand what you have to say and where you’re coming from, what drives your company culture and approach to running your business…it all adds up to a dynamic personality that can emerge from your marketing content to engage customers.
Getting Started On Your Brand Persona – The Time is Now
With an established persona your business has a chance to go further – but it can take time to establish that persona the right way. If you’re a new business, you have the opportunity to create your persona right from the start. That can be easier than re-branding your business later. But don’t give up hope if your business is already up and running.
When you start to develop your persona, consider:
- Your company’s mission and vision
- What your company really stands for
- What you do on your “off” time
- What kinds of customers you want to target
- What those customers do on their “off” time
- The types of targeted marketing you use
- The customer personas you’ve already developed (What? You haven’t? Well, it’s time to add that to your to-do list, as well).
If you carefully consider all of those areas, you’ll have a much better chance of getting a brand persona that works for you and resonates with your customers. It will be well-developed and feel real and true to the people who buy your products or services. This can lead to earning and keeping their business. (And your writing team will love it!)
Contact us to find out how one of our Content Strategists can help you develop your brand persona, whether it’s a first-time initiative or a freshening up of an existing persona. After all…
Over the Years, People Change and Grow
And brand personas need to do the same thing! Your company isn’t the same after it has been around for five, 10, or 15 years. It changes, and the first day you opened the doors is just a (hopefully) fond memory. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your brand persona over time. You don’t want to make extremely drastic changes. You’re not a completely different “person” as a a company. But there’s nothing wrong with growth and development.
With a strong brand persona that adjusts to meet changing times and customer needs, you can keep people interested in the business you have and coming back to you when they need more of what you’re offering. That’s a great way to see long-term business growth, and to stay competitive in a business world that seems to be changing more every day.
Michelle B writes web content, articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and more, and has created thousands of pieces of content for companies all over the world. She holds an associate’s degree in business management and a bachelor’s degree in legal administration.
