Who is your website for?
We’ve established that having a website is important, and we know what it’s for; but there’s an even more important question to ask: Who is it for?
This question is even more important because knowing who your website is for determines essentially everything else about the site. It affects design, functionality, content, capabilities, web services staffed, sales integration, adjacent and dependent marketing…you get the idea. So, how do you figure it out?
Coverall + Generalities = Blah
If you don’t take the time to figure out who you want to/are speaking with, you can’t be specific with your content, and end up having to appeal to everyone that could possibly come in contact with your site. This creates the need for speaking in generalities and covering the spectrum in all or nearly all of your content.
You can’t dig into the meat of the issues your site visitors are having. You can’t show an understanding of the intricacies of problems they have. People want their problems to be solved, and digitally speaking, you have one first impression to convince them you can do it.
If people aren’t sure you can solve their problem, they have no reason to trust your brand. Sure, that doesn’t mean they’ll have a negative opinion, but are lukewarm and wary the feelings you want potential clients to come away from your site with?
Purpose + Persona = Success
We learned in the last lesson the different functions of a site. Is it going to be sales focused, service focused, investor focused? Any of these questions will drive the functionality of your site. But knowing who the core audience is determines what is on your site, where it is, and how much of it exists.
Many business owners take the mindset, “I don’t care who buys my stuff, as long as they’re buying it.” Which is fine, but you end up leaving tons of money on the table. By drilling down and specifically designing and marketing for a target persona, you end up with higher conversions and more sales.
So who is your target audience? Males? Generally too broad. Males living in the Rocky Mountain region? Still too broad. Male business owners based in the Denver metropolitan area, employing between 11-50 people, whose sales are between $1M-5M and have 1-24 fleet vehicles? Now you’re on the right track.
By getting specific with who you want to speak to, you’re not only able to better target your message, you’re able to speak to direct problems that your core audience is having. This is critically important because they don’t just read/hear/see your message, they connect to it.
Connecting to marketing messages and website copy and content is the gold mine of website success. This is the “it” factor of someone clicking an ad, adding a product to their cart, filling out a contact form, or being receptive to a sales call.
This ultimately leads to more interactions, better proportional web conversions, better sales, and higher revenues. Isn’t that kind of the point?
The Best Next Steps
Here’s your takeaways: First, figure out who you are talking to, and even if that’s the core audience you should be talking to. Second, figure out what the issues are plaguing that audience and what your solutions are to those issues (hint, it should be your product or service). Third, design your site and your content around those problems and solutions. Last, make sure you’re getting feedback about what you’re doing. Is the content connecting? Do you need to go deeper? What’s the best platform/channel to reach this audience? These are great feedback questions.
We cannot stress this part enough: all of these decisions need to be data driven! There is something to be said about gut feelings and intuition, but this process of determining target personas and curating content specifically for them is an ongoing process that is backed up or refuted with data. It is vitally important to follow the directions laid out by analytics and feedback in every stage.
So now you know. Persona is important and should be a part of any digital campaign. Find your audience and speak directly to them.
MediaWorks Digital is a hometown agency focused exclusively on helping small businesses in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Golden, Lakewood, Colorado Springs, and across Colorado. We specialize in effective web design, development, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and content marketing. Value is always a priority, and we don’t rely on one-sized-fits all web packages, quirky gimmicks, or hard sales. We are a partner in small-business success. Contact us today to see how we can help.