This document provides guidance on developing personas and understanding audiences for content strategy. It recommends being specific about the intended audience and purpose of content. Rather than focusing on the written product, focus on understanding the audience's needs and how to meet them. Gather information about site visitors through various methods like analytics, feedback and interviews to develop groups and characteristics for different visitor personas. The ultimate goal is to understand the conversations each persona wants to have.

1. Date
Ch 2. Personas and Conversations
& Content Strategy

2. Be Specific
✤ To inform. To persuade. It’s not
specific enough. To whom are
you speaking?
✤ “I’m writing this so (who) (can
do what).

3. Start with a
purpose
✤ Don’t on the written product -
focus on the purpose.
✤ “This week, when you start
each writing job, take a few
seconds to thing about your
purpose - about what effect you
want to have on your reader.”

4. You are not your
user
✤ “You may be an early adopter
of new technology, eager and
engaged in all manner of social
media. But your typical site
visitors may not be. You have
to know about and
understand how to meet their
needs because the only way to
meet your business goals is to
satisfy your site visitors.”

5. Your audience in
4 steps (or more)
1. Gather information about your
site visitors.
2. List groups of site visitors.
3. List major characteristics for
each group.
4. Understand the conversations
they want to start.

6. Gather
Information
✤ Think about your mission
✤ Read their emails
✤ Read feedback, reviews, recommendations,
blogs
✤ Talk to colleagues
✤ Analyze site search logs
✤ Use web analytics
✤ Use social media (track conversations)
✤ Interview people (contextual, critical incident)
✤ Do usability testing

7. List groups of
site visitors
✤ How do people identify
themselves?
✤ What about my site visitors will
help me know what content the
web site needs and how to write
that content?”
✤ experienced travelers,
occasional travelers
✤ Use key phrases - and the
language level appropriate to your
visitors (experience and expertise).

8. Audience
Characteristics
✤ Values
✤ Technology
✤ Social and cultural
environments and language
✤ Demographics