Her name is Mylah.
She likes her coffee light, her wine complex, her popcorn lightly salted, and her Mexican cuisine with a hefty dose of spice. She binge-watches episodes of Orange is the New Black and secretly watches reality tv like Love is Blind. She’s a glasses-wearing, top-knot-to-bed memoir reader who never has time to read because she loves her work that it’s hard to turn it off when the clock strikes five.
Wanna meet Mylah? Me, too, but I’ve met many versions of her already – she’s my brand persona.
HUH? If I lost ya, let’s chat.
Here’s the short version of what a brand persona is: it’s YOUR ideal client, captured in your imagination. It’s a person YOU should always think about when creating content for your brand – whether you’re crafting social media posts, brainstorming new products or services, or tending to your email list.
WHY is a brand persona important to YOUR messaging? If you know who’s reading your words – if you know their pain points, their definition of success, and yes, even their favorite television show – you can SERVE them more effectively…and you can sell to them, too.
Wanna learn more about developing YOUR business’ brand persona? Here are THREE key questions to start defining your ideal client:
1) What problems is YOUR brand solving for your client?
HINT: Think about your WHY for being in business. Not the simple, surface-level WHY, like “to make money” or “because my Mama said I need to have a job,” but the deeper WHY. Why do YOU do what YOU do, and who do YOU do it for? What do your clients gain as a result of their business transaction with you?
2) What experiences make your client unique AND make them an ideal fit for your business or service?
HINT: If you’re a photographer, this one is typically easy, at least on the surface: your ideal client wants photographs to remember a special time in their lives. But, since that’s a very WIDE target market, let’s narrow it down a bit. Is there a specific type of photography client that you’re interested in serving, such as an engaged couple, a mama who’s expecting a baby, or a senior in high school or college?
These descriptors point to specific experiences that help you to hone in on your brand persona, AKA your ideal client: a couple who’s planning their wedding, a mama-to-be who can’t wait to meet her little one, or a young person on the cusp of a new adventure in their lives.
3) What words would this client use in conversation with friends or family? How would they greet people? How would they say goodbye? What words would they NEVER use?
HINT: This can be difficult to answer, because you may feel that there’s little difference between “Hi” and “Hello.” But if we dig a little deeper, the word “Hi” is more informal and familiar, which points to a person’s comfort level to whom they’re speaking or writing. Even simple clichés like “It is what it is” or “That really grinds my gears!” tell a lot about a person’s background, upbringing, and even geographical location!
The key here is to take these sayings and use them in your messaging, anywhere from your website copy to your blog posts and social media captions. Because if your ideal client can see themselves in YOU and in YOUR business, then they’re more likely to jump on board and book your service or buy your product.
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