This document discusses persona development for content marketing. It defines a persona as a model of a specific type of potential customer or reader that may interact with content. Personas help marketers understand their audiences to create targeted content. The document provides tips on what details to include in personas, how to develop them through interviews and research, and challenges to avoid. It recommends starting with a few key personas and refining them over time.

1. +
Persona Development
Twitter: @topfloortech

2. + Presenters:
Twitter: @topfloortech
Denny Yunk
Director of Marketing
@dennyyunk
Cal Fidler
Content Marketing Specialist
@Cal_Fidler

3. +Developing Personas
What is a persona?
Why are personas important?
What should a persona include?
How do you create a persona?
How many personas do you need?
Challenges in creating personas

4. + Content Marketing Step by Step Guide
Determine
Goals
Understand
your Audience
Select Content
Topics
Create Editorial
Calendar
Create/Collect
Content
Publish Content
Twitter: @topfloortech

5. + Content Marketing Step by Step Guide
Determine
Goals
Understand
your Audience
Select Content
Topics
Create Editorial
Calendar
Create/Collect
Content
Publish Content
Twitter: @topfloortech

6. + What is a persona?
Twitter: @topfloortech
A model of a particular type of person
who will (hopefully) read and interact with
your content marketing which will increase
their chances of
taking some
desired action.

7. + What is a persona?
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 A model
 Based on behaviors, priorities, and goals
 Of a particular type of person
 Customer
 Business partner
 Job seeker
 Industry expert
 Who will (hopefully) read and interact with your
content marketing
 Which will increase their chances of taking some
desired action
 Making a purchase
 Giving you a referral
 Applying for a job

8. + Why are personas important?
 They force us to gain a better understanding of specific
types of people.
 They help us to create compelling, targeted messages
that those people will find valuable.
 They clearly define our audiences so that everyone
involved with content marketing shares a common
understanding of the audience(s).
Twitter: @topfloortech

9. + Persona ≠ Market Segment
Persona:
Behavior-based
 Goals
 Influences
 Processes
 Roles
 Responsibilities
Market segment:
Profile-based
 Age
 Gender
 Income
 Geography
 Budget
Twitter: @topfloortech

10. + What should a persona include?
 Behaviors
 Priorities
 Influences
 Responsibilities
 Roles
 Processes
 Opinions
 Preferences
Not:
 Demographics
 Trivia
 Fluff
Optional:
 User story
Twitter: @topfloortech

11. + How do you develop a persona?
1. Start with assumptions
 Maybe even use actual people as representatives of a persona.
2. Gather input from customer touchpoints
 Sales
 Customer service
 Human resources
3. Develop a set of interview questions
4. Interview the best examples of each persona from among
your current customers, partners, and employees.
5. Revise and refine your personas
6. Make them available to all stakeholders
7. Periodically review, update, and add as needed.
Twitter: @topfloortech

12. + How many personas should you have?
 As many as you need.
 As few as you can get away with!
 Start with one or two.
 Pick the highest priorities (customers/prospects)
 Add as needs/opportunities arise.
 Consider whether existing personas can be split
into multiple, more narrowly-defined personas.
Twitter: @topfloortech

13. + What kinds of personas should I develop?
 Buyers
 Users
 Prospects
 Job seekers
 Industry influencers
 Fans
 Service technicians
 Dealers/distributors
 Media
Twitter: @topfloortech

14. + What kinds of personas should I develop?
 Buyers
 Users
 Prospects
 Job seekers
 Industry influencers
 Fans
 Service technicians
 Salespeople
 Media
Twitter: @topfloortech
• Technical
• Economic
• New
• Experienced
• Entry-level
• Management
• Creative
• Technical
• Dealers
• Distributors
• Those that like your product
• Those that don’t like your product
• Those that know they need your product
• Those that use a competitor’s product

15. + Challenges in persona development
 Making stuff up (false assumptions)
 Getting out of your head and into your customers’
heads
 Not specific enough
 Too many personas
 The wrong personas
 Or the right personas in the wrong order
 Irrelevant trivia
 Over-thinking
Twitter: @topfloortech

16. + Persona development resources
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17. + For further inspiration
 Content Marketing Institute’s “Audience” blog:
 http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/audience/
 Buyer Persona Institute
 http://www.buyerpersona.com/
 E-book, “The Buyer Persona Manifesto”
 Hubspot
 Library of persona templates
 Pardot
 Persona development case study
Twitter: @topfloortech