I presented with Katy Katz at Pubcon - Las Vegas on October 9, 2014. How do you create buyer personas and what is the importance of targeting them in social contests? This information along with a few case studies behind the thought are covered in this presentation.

1. Utilizing Personas in Your
Social Media Contest
Kendall Bird & Katy Katz
#pubcon | @katykatztc | @simplymeK October 9,
2014

2. Kendall Bird
2
Online Community Specialist,
Collegis Education
B.A. in Public Relations,
University of Northwestern – St. Paul
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plus.google.com/+kendallbirdD
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3. Inbound Marketing Specialist,
Collegis Education
MBA, Benedictine University
BSB, Carlson School of Management
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@katykatztc
plus.google.com/+katykatz
Katy Katz
3
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4. #pubcon
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5. #pubcon
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6. #pubcon
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There will
be a test!
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7. What is a PERSONA?
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8. #pubcon
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Personas
A buyer persona is a
semi-functional
representation of your
ideal customer based
on market research
and real data about
your existing
customers.
- Hubspot
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9. #pubcon
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Creating a persona
 Conduct target market research
 Survey customers
 Create gated content to website
 Analyze social behavior
 Utilize an external partner (e.g. Simmons data)
 Divide results into persona buckets
 Create a story for each aspect that you identify
 Edit, edit, edit – limit to the right number
 Make them personal and detailed
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10. #pubcon
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What a persona should include
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NAME
JOB TITLE
• Where they work
• Details about their role
DEMOGRAPHICS
• Age
• Gender
• Salary
• Location
• Education
• Family
GOALS AND
CHALLENGES
•Values and fears
MARKETING
MESSAGE
• Elevator pitch
SOCIAL
PLATFORMS
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Twitter
• Google+
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
• Information
seeker
• Fan
• Influencer
• Detractor

11. #pubcon
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73%of marketers already use
segmentation for email, paid
and direct mail campaigns.
— getsmartcontent.com
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12. What do PERSONAS
have to do with
SOCIAL MEDIA contests?
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EVERYTHING.
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14. #pubcon
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Social media is
customer service.

15. #pubcon
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Only 23%of
customers think that a
company values their
business.
- cbsnews.com
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16. #pubcon
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71%of customers ended a business
relationship because of poor
customer service.
- forbes.com

17. #pubcon
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Consumers actually interact with a retailer’s
Facebook page
more than the retailer’s own website
(38% vs 36%)!
- Infosys

18. #pubcon
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89%of customers say their
social media interactions
impacted their
purchases!
- Infosys
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19. #pubcon
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“Responsive social media is a
key differentiator
for businesses in 2014.”
- Paul Dunay, Social Media Today, June 2014

20. #pubcon
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When you understand your customer,
you are able to communicate.
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communication
= an exchange of
information.

21. #pubcon
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Communication is the key to social
If you create content your customers
actually care about,
they will want to engage with your
brand.
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22. #pubcon
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Here’s why you need
to know your persona …
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23. #pubcon
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Social Media Contest: NYPD
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24. #pubcon
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“One of the most common reasons
why businesses fail to gain ROI
from their social media efforts
is their failure to
fashion their content to
target specific personas.”
— SquareFish, June 2014

25. #pubcon
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Social Media Contest: Audi
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Source: https://econsultancy.com/blog/65020-19-horrific-social-media-fails-from-the-first-half-of-
2014#i.1rztwh786ldexu

26. #pubcon
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Social Media Contest: Audi
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VS.

27. #pubcon
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Social Media Contest: Molson Canadian
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Source: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/11/facebook-marketing-stunt-backfires.html

28. #pubcon
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Social Media Contest: Molson Canadian
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VS.

29. So what does a successful
social media CONTEST look like?
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30. #pubcon
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User-generated content (UGC) is
trusted 50%more than traditional media.
— http://corp.crowdtap.com/socialinfluence, March 2014
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31. #pubcon
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UGC campaigns are an excellent way
to
collect creative material
for marketing purposes,
to get photos of your products
on the social web and to
drive sales and brand engagement.
— Mashable, January 2013
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32. #pubcon
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When you understand
your persona …

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Fans Share the Love: Eggo Waffles
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Source: http://blog.wishpond.com/post/52173284787/10-amazing-examples-of-branded-facebook-contests-done

34. #pubcon
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Fans Share the Love: Eggo Waffles
Company: Kellogg’s
Product: Eggo Waffles
Persona: Mom bloggers and food bloggers (25 – 40 years old)
Contest: A Facebook recipe competition.
 Part 1: Fans submitting favorite recipes using Eggos.
 Part 2: Fans voting for their favorite recipe.
Lesson: Fans take food contests seriously and will go to great lengths to
share their love for the brand.
Statistics: 1,292 Followers to Pinterest Board + 24 Unique Recipes
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35. #pubcon
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UGC is the Content: Brush Buddies
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Source: http://www.razorsocial.com/facebook-contests/

36. #pubcon
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UGC is the Content: Brush Buddies
Company: Brush Buddies
Persona: Pre-teen girls
Contest: A singing contest using Brush Buddies singing toothbrushes. The contest was
to find the best singer through fans uploading videos of them singing. Brush Buddies
fans could then vote for the best artist.
Lesson: When a contest is SO user-focused, including the end result (the prize),
fans will participate.
Statistics: Impressive results as there were only 30 contestants.
 34 Twitter Trends, 8 countries, 29,200 most votes for a video,
over 65,000 total votes, 23+ million impressions.
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37. #pubcon
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Inspire Customers: College A
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38. #pubcon
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Inspire Customers: College A
Company: Collegis Education client – College A
Persona: Millenials
Contest: User-generated content through Instagram, asking fans to share
their dreams and aspirations for their lives through photos. Each week,
photos were put into a random drawing for a brand giveaway.
Lesson: Grab hold of what’s popular with your persona base and take
advantage of it with a UGC social media campaign.
Statistics: In 8 weeks, there were close to 300 photos entered.
 Over 2 million website views, 150+ hashtag mentions, 100+ new
followers.
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39. Let’s walk through
a few social media
contests together
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Vera Bradley
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Source: http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/11/winning-social-contests/

41. #pubcon
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Vera Bradley Persona
Gender: Female
Age: 24 - 35
Interests: Shopping, socializing with
friends,
photos that show their creativity
Social Behavior: Fans
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42. #pubcon
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Lay’s
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Source: https://www.facebook.com/lays/app_291012370991143

43. #pubcon
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Lay’s Persona
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Gender: Male
Age: 15 - 25
Interests: Sports, easy snacks
Social Behavior: Influencers

44. #pubcon
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The 5 things you need to know about personas
 They should be a person, not a segment
 Know their inputs & their outputs
 Understand their story
 Be personal to what they care about
 All content should be directed at a persona
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Thank you!
#pubcon| @katykatztc | @simplymeK