In the marketing world, most experts don’t speak about a whole target market anymore. Instead, they refer to personas. These personas (also known as buyer personas) are fictitious characters designed to help marketers direct a variety of marketing measures at their customers or subscribers. If you want to run a successful blog, you should try to aim your content at these fictitious personalities.
Example: fashion blog
Let’s assume we’re running a fashion blog for a target group of ‘single females, aged 18 to 25’. This target market definition is still very broad. A buyer persona for this same blog could be a 19 year old high school graduate, undergoing a training program in industry and with a disposable income of $XY. This person is quite conservative and is online to find ways to dress herself professionally and fashionably at work for a low budget. She spends an average of $XY a month on fashion and cosmetics, her frequently visited fashion stores are A, B, and C. The channels she uses most are Facebook and Instagram. It’s now much clearer to work out how to reach this buyer persona than it was when all we knew was that they were a ‘single female, aged 18 to 25’.
Stay true to the persona
Through as detailed a description as possible, a persona can help you to generate better content and reach potential readers through relevant channels. You should refrain from addressing a really wide target audience, focusing instead on niche groups. In this instance, you should use several individual personas. Once you’ve decided upon your approach, it’s important to stick with the defined personas. Every article, picture, and headline should be aimed at these niche target groups. To discover more about buyer personas and how to implement them, see our article ‘Buyer personas for optimal targeting’.