Persona Development: A Quick Start Guide.

The term “persona development” has become a big buzzword in higher ed marketing – for good reason. Personas can help take audience segmentation and targeting to the next level, making marketing campaigns more efficient, and increasing ROI.

Audience segmentation is crucial for any college marketing strategy – knowing specific information about your prospective students allows marketers to develop strategies, craft messaging and select media that will reach the right person with the right message at the right time. And while there are certainly benefits to casting a wide net, most institutions have to prioritize efficiency to eliminate waste and make the most of a limited budget.

Enter persona development. Personas go beyond broad demographics and delve deeper into the behaviors, interests, emotional triggers and pain points of your target audience. Not sure where to start? Here are a few steps to get the process started.

1.       Mine your own data. Surely your school has a wealth of data about your students – probably more than you realize. This data is an excellent starting point to make sure the demographics you are using for your targeting are aligned with the prospects that end up becoming applicants and admits. If there is a misalignment, this step will help you uncover it and make decisions on the ideal target audience. So start your analysis!

2.       Layer in external data sources. While your internal data will provide information about who your target audience segments are, accessing external data sources and white papers can help fill in gaps and provide additional insights to build your persona more comprehensively. Information such as media consumption habits, targeted majors / careers being considered, education level and employment information are extremely valuable in gaining deeper insights. For example, did you know that Veterans are 38% more likely to watch television and 25% more likely to read the newspaper than the average U.S. adult (according to Nielsen Scarborough, 2018)? These media channels may seem dated when you are developing your marketing plan to reach millennials – unless veteran student populations are a key audience segment.

Although it may take a bit of extra research and effort on the front end, persona development is a valuable exercise that can pay off significantly on the back end, when your marketing plan, and your budget, is working smarter – not harder – to find the right prospects.

At Furman Roth, we understand the importance of the students’ decision-making process, and our expertise lies in helping our clients take full advantage of strategic opportunities and maximize their brand’s potential. If you’re looking to reach the right audience with the right message, contact us today.