Content Marketing Personas
How to Effectively Reach Your Audience
Writing for personas often falls short of expectations.
This isn’t because the concept is flawed, but because it’s usually not implemented in a way that leads to effective results. Typically, personas are created in a predictable manner:
“SaaS Joe” is a marketing manager at a 30-person startup. Her company has raised $2 million and is eager to scale quickly. With a limited marketing budget, she needs cost-effective and efficient solutions. In her early 30s, she also enjoys reading Fast Company and Buffer.
• Companies often give personas quirky names, making them feel fictional.
• Personas tend to represent the average rather than the median, resulting in content that targets an audience outside of the intended demographics.
• Writers and editors often struggle to differentiate between “SaaS Joe” and “Techie Tom,” leading to content production that isn’t meaningfully influenced by the persona exercise. The process becomes too aspirational.
The biggest issue is that personas are frequently filled with buzzwords that lack real significance to those responsible for creating the content. This often results in wasted effort. Instead, we suggest an alternative to traditional marketing personas, one that guides both the style of writing and the quality of ideas. Rather than asking, “Who is our target reader?” consider asking, “At what level is our target reader thinking?” Let’s delve into that concept.
Focus on Pay Scale, Not Just Demographics
The hierarchy within a company offers more than just a pay scale; it’s a valuable starting point for developing personas. People at different levels within an organization think differently. Higher-ranking individuals generally think more strategically, while those at lower levels tend to focus on tactical concerns.
The tactical-to-strategic spectrum isn’t perfect, with plenty of grey areas. However, strategic thinkers need frameworks, while tactical thinkers need information. Sometimes, there’s overlap—someone like “SaaS Joe” may require both tactical content, like which email provider to choose, and strategic content, like how to allocate her 2025 marketing budget.
Before deciding to tailor your content strategy to reach strategic thinkers, remember that software adoption often involves multiple roles within a group. Effective content marketing can engage different individuals within this group by providing a mix of tactical and strategic content.
How to Write Strategic Content
Strategic writing is designed to reach strategic thinkers.
While this may seem obvious, it’s a principle that underpins effective content. Strategic thinkers face more stress and tougher decisions. Leaders, who have more ownership and risk, require more than just information. They need frameworks to help them navigate complex issues.
When presented with a principle or mental model, strategic thinkers can apply it to their own ideas and explain complex problems to peers. Strategic thinking is broad and adaptable, often borrowing frameworks from other industries.
For instance, Scott Adams’ Goals vs. Systems concept is popular in self-improvement. It suggests that goals can be limiting, as momentum is easy to lose once they’re achieved. Systems, however, are the mechanisms that lead to those goals, like a training plan for completing a triathlon.
A strategic thinker might apply this framework to their business. Imagine a company spending heavily on social media ads with diminishing returns. The leader might realize this was a goal, not a system, and then develop a growth system that allows for experimentation and learning from failures.
Key Rules for Strategic Writing:
1. Principles, Models, and Frameworks: Strategic writing distils complex ideas into simple principles that may require time for the reader to fully grasp.
2. High-Level, Peer-Appropriate Writing: Strategic writing should feel peer-to-peer and often benefits from the input or ghostwriting of a CEO or other leader.
3. Authenticity and Understanding: Authentic strategic writing requires a deep understanding of the frameworks being shared. This ensures credibility and avoids the pitfalls of novice attempts.
4. Sporadic but Impactful: High-level ideas are harder to come by and shouldn’t be forced. Quality over quantity is essential in strategic writing.
5. Productizing Ideas: Naming and packaging ideas like “Blue Ocean Strategy” make them easier to communicate and share.
How to Write Tactical Content
Tactical writing targets tactical readers.
Most content marketing is highly tactical, which isn’t inherently bad. Articles like “5 Tips for Better Video Production” appeal primarily to tactical thinkers.
While tactical writing has its place, it’s important to recognize that it’s often the default for blogs because the creators themselves are tactical. Less experienced writers might struggle to produce content that resonates with a seasoned CEO, leading to content that feels superficial.
For content creators who aren’t subject matter experts, admitting their limitations is the first step toward producing honest, resonant content. Here are three strategies for non-experts to create valuable content:
1. Take Them on a Journey: Share your company’s experiences, successes, and challenges as you experiment and grow.
2. Run Experiments: Use data-driven experiments to explore new ideas and share findings, offering unique insights to your audience.
3. Interview Experts: Leverage the knowledge of others by conducting interviews and weaving their insights into your content.
Conclusion
Understanding the mechanics of great content makes it easier to create and distribute. Knowing who your content is for—and how they think—ensures that your efforts resonate. By shifting focus from traditional personas to strategic and tactical thinking, you can elevate your content marketing strategy and truly engage your target audience.
