The Power of Personas: Building Effective Marketing Strategies

How do you know what to say in your content? How do you decide which topics to focus on?

It starts with strategy. Writing a strategy might not feel like the most exciting or creative part of marketing, but it is one of the most important. A strong, clear plan gives you something solid to build from.

A big part of that plan is understanding your audience. That is where personas come in.

I used to avoid using personas and avatars. Back when I was a marketing director, it felt like another corporate exercise. But over time, I realised how useful they can be when done properly.

A persona is not just a job title. It is a clear picture of a real person. Give them a name. Understand their day-to-day life. What kind of company do they work in? What problems are they trying to solve? The more real you make that person, the easier it is to create content that actually connects with them.

For example, when I worked for a company that sold smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, we discovered that many of our customers were part of the sandwich generation. Usually a mum in a household who had children to care for and also supported an elderly parent.

She was the person searching for answers. She wanted to keep her family safe.

But often, it was the dad who went into the shop to buy the product. That meant we needed to create two types of content. One that spoke to the person doing the research and felt emotionally relevant. And one that helped the buyer know what to look for, where to find it, and how to install it.

By understanding both roles in the buying journey, we were able to tailor our messaging. That approach helped double sales, even from an already high starting point.

It all comes down to knowing who you are talking to. When you create content that solves a specific problem for a specific person, the results speak for themselves.

So if you want better results from your content, take the time to create clear personas. Make them real. Focus on their needs. Build your strategy around that.