In this digital age, marketing managers are tasked with understanding their audience right to their core. Part of this understanding is knowing that consumers like to engage with brands on social media. As such, it is imperative that brands are creating engaging content that speaks to each consumer on an individual level in meaningful ways. So how do small business owners and managers master this? By utilising the buyer persona, defined by AI.
The buyer’s persona is an age-old marketing practice that has helped companies better connect with their audiences. They are no longer receptive to media targeted to the masses because it isn’t about them and their needs. Instead, they now have their own personal space in the cyber world that opens up an opportunity for them to discover content, products, or services that are relevant to them. Now that data is at the centre of it all and AI is here to assist, marketers can really shake things up, creating personalised campaigns that hit the bullseye.
Typically, a buyer persona is a research-backed profile that describes your ideal customer. Seeing that demographics only tells you so much about the personality of your target group, it’s important to expand your audience profiles to start connecting with the people who are most likely to engage with your business and purchase your products.
In today’s online world, we are leaving our digital footprint everywhere we go and it says a lot about us; who we are, what we like, where we work and loads more. This information can then be crafted into one, solid buyer persona, allowing marketers to create content that packs a punch across multiple platforms. Of course, a company is bound to have more than one persona which is why you can expect to target multiple audiences, developing a tailored strategy for each.
Here’s what you can learn about your audience through their social media and digital activities:
- Their social media interests
- How active they are on social media
- What stage of the customer journey they are in
- The influencers they follow
- Their page affinities
Using social media to learn about your community is a huge breakthrough. Not only can you learn about their likes and interests – but also their behaviour. Are they more active in the morning? Are they always on the go? When you truly understand who you are talking to in combination with their behaviour, you can make your messages even more powerful.
Tailoring your content to fit your audience’s needs is a sure way to generate results. When comparing personalised content to un-personalised content, 80% of marketers have said that it’s more effective. And with Facebook constantly changing its algorithm to only include posts that people are engaging with, content creators need to take full advantage of this and create posts that are generating engagement.
Charles Tidswell, Socialbakers’ Vice President JAPAC.