A corporate video script may be well written, it may be beautifully shot and the final video may be perfectly edited

…and yet it doesn’t achieve its intended goal.

Why? Because it failed to connect with its intended audience. When creating a corporate video there is a particular group of people that you want to appeal to. Understanding exactly who this audience is and what motivates them is the first step to creating an effective video.

Why Define A Buyer Persona?

Any product or service has a specific target audience. There is an ideal buyer we would like to reach. In some cases you may have only a broad idea of who this ideal buyer is and other times it may be much more specific.

There is a temptation when marketing a product or service to try and appeal to everyone. While your product could potentially be used by a wide range of people, there will be one group of people that it is perfect for. A buyer persona is that person whose problems are solved, or aspirations are best met, by your product.

The Different Elements Of A Buyer Persona

It’s important not to make assumptions about who your buyer persona is. Often the things we assume about our buyer persona will turn out to be incorrect. This is why it is critical to perform research.

One of the key elements of the buyer persona is their demographic data. This can include factors such as

• age
• gender
• geographical location
• occupation
• salary
• industry

We will also look at their psychographics. These can include factors such as:

• religious / spiritual beliefs
• values
• attitudes
• behaviors

While psychographics can be harder to identify they do allow us to connect with our buyers on a much more personal level. Therefore it is well worthwhile committing the time and effort needed to find this information.

Another factor to consider is the buyer’s goals. What is it that they hope to achieve by purchasing our product?

For example, a young & affluent car buyer might have aspirations of status, a sense of freedom and comfort. A car buyer with a family may be looking for safety and reliability. When we understand what the ultimate result the buyer wants to achieve we can create a much more targeted video.

Researching The Buyer Persona

There are a wide range of methods and resources that we can use to unlock our buyer persona.

Interviews

Interviews can be conducted with both current customers and prospective customers. Often it is easier to interview current customers as they like to have their opinions heard. They will also be a direct beneficiary of any improvements that you make as a result of your feedback.

Don’t just interview customers who love your product or service. Dissatisfied customers can also be a good source of information. Talking to prospects is also useful because they will often bring a fresh perspective on what they hope to get out of your product or service.

When conducting interviews jot down any notable words, slang, phrases or quotes that they use. This language can be crafted into the video script so that it connects on a much more personal level.

Website Research Tools

Another useful source of demographic information for your buyer persona are other websites. If you know that there is a website which is attracting a similar visitors as your own intended target audience, then you can use a website research tool like Quantcast.

By entering the URL of the website you will be provided with an overview of their visitors including education, gender, age, ethnicity, and income.

Social Media Research

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can be a rich source of information about your buyer persona. Look at Facebook Fan pages and LinkedIn Groups which are likely to be frequented by your target audience. You can see the type of users, the questions that are being asked and language they are using. Because social media is a two way conversation you can pose your own questions to dig even deeper into the goals and problems that this group faces.

By developing a buyer persona you can implement a much more targeted video marketing strategy. This can help avoid the problem of creating fantastic content which still fails to connect with the audience that you want to reach.

Need help defining your buyer persona for your next video?

Then reach out using this contact form or call us at 0203 637 1467.