To create an effective buyer persona is to consider many important characteristics to understand who exactly you are trying to target. This will help you communicate with them on a personal level and understand their wants and needs. It's easier to create a creative message that stands out when you have an idea of who it is going to appeal to. This article will provide some of those characteristics you should consider when trying to start a new inbound marketing campaign. 

Who Are You Trying To Target?

When you start a new marketing campaign, it's important to narrow down who you are specifically trying to appeal to. You should consider  name, age, location, income, education, profession, ranking in the business,  and maybe a vague description of appearance. It's important to know them like they are your best friend next door neighbor. The most successful buyer personas are often based on market research and interviews of your actual customers. Knowing who you are trying to specifically target will nurture a successful marketing campaign to  effectively create an appropriate marketing message and achieve targeted goals. If you don’t consider your buyer persona, your content is not going to be as relevant to your audience. This means you miss out on the opportunities to connect on a personal level with customers and build trusting relationships. Building a buyer persona will help you relate to them and understand their needs from their perspective. 

What Are Their Interests?

It's important to understand the interests of your buyer personas to relate that back to your brand. When building your buyer persona, make sure to document everything. There should be a section solely for their likes and dislikes with bullets that should include:

• Interests
• Hobbies
• Likes
• Dislikes
• Passions
• Activities outside of work

What Are Their Purchasing Habits?

What have they been purchasing the most lately? Are they going directly to the seller or do they trend more towards online purchasing? Understanding the purchasing history of your buyer personas will give you a competitive edge to see where your products and services fit into their needs. This can also be a strategic tool to base your social media around, emailing offers and discounts and creating content on your website. Now that you know their interests and what they like to purchase, utilize that and offer them with unique and detailed information that is appealing as well as offers answers to their questions. Use all the information you have obtained not to just make a sell but to really get to know who you are selling to. They'll appreciate the dedicated service and provide you with loyalty purchasing in return. 

How Can You Help? 

The biggest question you should be asking is, how are your products and services going to help the buyer personas you have created? Provide them with unique and creative blog that gives them detailed information and let's them get to know you as a brand a little better. Show them that you can help with their needs and your products or services is going to fulfill their wants. 

Remember that your personas may change as you grow and discover who your core audience truly is and what motivates them. You should reevaluate and redefine your buyer personas every once in a while to make sure you’re targeting your most potential customers in the most effective ways.

Check out free buyer persona development worksheet below to create the most effective marketing campaign.