What Is a Persona, and Why Should Your Firm Have One?

For most people, business and personal are two entirely different sectors. However, businesses have operated on this model for quite some time, and many are surprised to find that it isn’t always true. While you certainly shouldn’t speak to your firm’s chief counsel about your relationship woes, your law firm must know its client base on a personal level.

For marketers, this means creating a persona for your business. This process allows you to better understand your client base as a whole and gives you an advantage when marketing to them. If you have never used a persona in your firm’s brand strategy or marketing, the idea likely seems foreign and daunting. However, with a little bit of understanding, your firm will have the advantage of this incredible marketing tool in no time.

What Is a Persona?

In the product management and marketing sectors, a persona is an amalgamation of a company’s typical client base. This is to say that it is the summary of your firm’s average client in the form of a profile of a fake person. This gives you a well-rounded idea of what your clients want, need, and look for based on the persona you’ve created.

For example, let’s say that your firm specializes in domestic violence cases. In this situation, based on statistics and firm experience, you create a persona named Martha. Martha is 35, a mother of one, and unemployed. She would like to be divorced from her abusive husband, employed, and saving for a home within a year. She is frugal with her finances.

Though Martha isn’t a real person, she represents the typical client base of domestic violence cases.

Key Aspects of a Persona

When creating a persona, there are vital aspects to keep in mind. After all, a person is ultimately the intersection between many different traits and ideas.

To create a persona for your law firm, consider your clients’:

• Ages
• Genders
• Wants/needs
• Goals
• Responsibilities
• Behaviors
• Motivations
• Socioeconomic status
• Values

You may not be able to come to a single conclusion about all these traits. However, the more you can pinpoint your average client, the more accurate your marketing becomes.

What Are Personas For?

Personas are commonly used in marketing and digital advertising techniques. They help narrow your targeted audience based on who is going to be interested in what you have to offer. A marketer knows who will be interested based on who is already interested, i.e., your existing customers.

It is important to remember that casting a wide net is not preferable in marketing. Putting your information and ads all over social media and other marketing spaces simply saturates the market, and it is generally not effective financially or strategically. Instead, it is best to aim at a group of people who will be receptive to what you have to say. A persona allows you to pinpoint who those people are.

For example, if you are looking to advertise on social media and your persona shows that your client base is middle-aged people, you will be better off using Facebook and LinkedIn rather than Twitter and Instagram. This is because your persona gives you an indication of which sites your clients are using.

Content for Your Persona

Personas are not just helpful when it comes to advertising platforms; they are also helpful for advertising content. By homing in on specific wants, needs, and values, you can strategically present information to your audience. Of course, everyone will respond to content differently. Personas allow you to control that response by giving you the opportunity to create content specifically tailored to your key demographic.

For example, if your persona is a bachelor in his 20s, you may not want to create ads that focus on the home and family. In addition, you will want to omit images, language, and topics that don’t resonate with most 20-something bachelors.

Why Are Personas Important?

Specificity is critical in marketing because it is what creates a connection with your audience. This connection is what drives your audience to do what you want them to do, i.e., hire your firm, buy your products, visit your store, etc. In the case of law firms, this connection makes your audience feel seen and heard. When they feel this supportive, human connection, they are more likely to call your number when they need legal help.

Personas also present you with information about your clients’ needs. While you may believe that they simply need legal advice when they walk through your door, the reality is much more complex. Most people want a variety of different things at once. For example, your clients could want support, direction, understanding, empathy, or myriad other things. By understanding their persona, what drives them, and what they want, you can market them based on those wants.

When you solve your clients’ need for legal counsel and instead cater to their other needs and personality traits, they will feel more drawn to your firm. The result is an increased business for you.

Developing Your Persona

It is important to avoid stereotypes and generalizations when creating your persona, as this often results in an adverse effect. Instead, develop your persona through market research and surveys of your clients. Gain as much accurate, tangible information as you can so that your persona is based in fact rather than conjecture.

Email surveys are a great way to gain this information, as you can ask direct questions and receive definitive answers. Some firms even offer a small gift card if past clients complete the survey. Once you receive the information, you can analyze your results, create your persona, and begin marketing from there.

RizeUp Media Can Help

Analyzing data and creating a successful marketing campaign from a persona is a very involved process. There is significant room for error, and specificity is required to achieve the desired results. Unfortunately, many attorneys don’t have the time or space to navigate this process alone.

We specialize in creating successful marketing campaigns for law firms based on personas and other market research. So, allow us to step in and revive your marketing campaigns and watch your business grow.

For more information, please contact us online.