I’ve been talking for a while to customers and prospects about a marketing technique I’ve named Persona Marketing.  After doing some research, it turns out that the phrase “Persona Marketing” has been in use for a while to imply a method that considers the different end users. 

My first reaction was, dang, gotta find another phrase.  But then I looked online and found this definition:

Persona: A Latin term meaning “mask.” Personae are the characters in a fictional work of literature. The persona generally functions as a mask through which the author tells a story in a voice other than his or her own. A persona is usually either a character in a story who acts as a narrator or an “implied author,” a voice created by the author to act as the narrator for himself or herself.

So how do I define Persona Marketing?   The use of strong or resonant personalities to deliver regular, relevent content to interested prospects and customers in order to drive business results.    Persona Marketing is the conscious act by a brand (or a celebrity) to share relevent content and commentary with their audience by alowing glimpses into a real or manufactured personality.

Persona Marketing techniques can be highly effective for brands willing to embrace the power of social marketing techniques in a thorough and ongoing manner. It is not for everybody or every brand.  But the limitations of Persona marketing are not about big or small, or whether you sell primarily to businesses or to consumers. The limitations are:

• Do you care enough to put a face and a name into the public arena and say something about your subject?
• Are you willing and able to deliver authentic content that your audience will appreciate and that is not purely promoting your business?
• Are you willing and able to deliver your content regularly?

If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, then you should really consider a Persona marketing effort.

Storytelling is another popular and highly effective marketing technique.  When you combine Persona marketing with storytelling, you can get great results. 

Persona Marketing embraces but goes beyond social media marketing — like all good marketing or business efforts it starts with a strategy and a call to action that meets a business objective and is easily understood.  And the best part?  Anyone can execute Persona Marketing efforts for any brand, businesss or cause that you care about — with the critical term being care.  If you care about a subject, or can present your Persona as someone who cares about the subject, you can really achieve outstanding results.  In my next post, I’ll give you some great real world examples of  Persona Marketing in action.

(Look for my second post on Persona marketing next week.)