In this article, we’re going to be uncovering what makes your audience tick and to do that, we have to get to know them a little better! Let’s be real: it is so much easier to speak with a friend than it is to address the entire digital world… right?!

Creating an audience avatar stops the dreaded blanket messaging, helping you speak directly to your people, encouraging you to share your mission in a voice that is uniquely yours.

So, sit down with your drink of choice, and get ready to get to know your new bestie!

 

But first, do you know what an audience avatar is?

To super simplify, an audience avatar is a characterisation of your ideal customer. A, somewhat, made-up person that embodies all of the information you can find about your audience, helping you to better connect with your audience, and answer questions before they’re even asked.

If you’ve already grabbed the amazing RO Trello board that Sarah has so kindly shared curated and shared with us (for free!), you might already have these super helpful prompts and more, but if not, here’s a couple to get you started!

 

NAME: 

Give your avatar a name! As I said, we’re talking to a friend here! Hint: it’s probably best not to give your avatar a name you’re planning to give your future child… Not that I would ever do that and regret it later… 

 

AGE: 

This doesn’t have to be one specific number, but the key is making the age bracket small enough to still define your audience. eg: 22-29

 

LOCATION:

Are they local to you? or International? Do they travel a lot and if so, where to?

 

ACADEMIC STATUS: 

Do they have a bachelor’s degree, and if so, what in? Are they still studying or wanting to further their studies?

 

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: 

Do they have a part time/full time job or currently unemployed? Do they like their job or are they looking for something more? Maybe they’re an entrepreneur like you! Yaaaaas, boo!

 

INCOME/FINANCIAL BRACKET: 

How much money do they make each year? Knowing this will help you create pricing and packages that are not only desirable for you, but also affordable for them.

 

STRENGTHS: 

Think about personal strengths – compassion, creativity, communication, etc.

 

WEAKNESSES: 

Is your avatar the person who always sleeps late, and ends up being late to everything? Do they have phobias that impact their goals?

 

SKILLS: 

Gardening, copywriting, illustration; what is your this person totally amazing at?

 

PAIN POINTS: 

What struggles do they have that you can alleviate/address? How can you help them get rid of their limiting beliefs?

 

DRAWN TO WORDS LIKE: 

When your avatar reads your captions/emails, what words will grab their attention? eg: freedom, authentic, easy-going, bold, adventurous, etc.

 

RUNS FROM WORDS LIKE:  

What words make them switch off? eg: ‘fit the mould’, obligation, systems, processes, etc.

 

So, Why an Avatar and not Just Use Some Stats?

Don’t get me wrong, statistics are super valuable, especially when getting to know your audience as a whole, but forming an individualized avatar helps to keep the stats from becoming stale in your decision-making.

An audience avatar is something you can connect to, that you can ask questions and analyze, helping you make better decisions.

One of the dangers of relying on simple stats as your target audience is that you can all too easily create too broad of an audience for your brand.

When you target everyone, you attract no one.

 

 

Here are a couple of the key reasons you should be creating and using audience avatars:

1. It saves you money

Using an audience avatar will make your marketing cheaper because you will know who your audience is and won’t waste money advertising to people who are not interested in your brand.

 

2. It saves time

You will save time by using audience avatars because you have more knowledge of who and where your client is. For example, you will not be wasting time on Pinterest because you know that your audience uses Instagram.

 

3. You can tailor your messaging

If you have an audience avatar you will be able to tailor your messaging to your different audiences, for example using different selling points and keywords to reach female entrepreneurs or college students getting ready to enter the workforce. If you know what your audience’s challenges and/or needs are, you can refine your tone to become more effective in generating higher conversions of sales and creating a flow for your clients.

 

Is it okay to use multiple avatars?

Absolutely, multiple avatars are perfectly okay. In fact, most businesses will have more than one avatar, especially if they offer more than one service. If you are thinking of using more than one avatar, you just need to know that, the more avatars you have the harder it’ll to focus your marketing efforts towards any specific group.

The more you can target a well-defined audience, the greater the success rate you will experience, and the less likely you’ll be to hit burnout point.

If you’re interested in diving in deeper into this topic, jump on over to our Rebel Office Resource Library – we have all the support, info, tools and templates you need to get as clear as you possibly can on who your new bestie/audience avatar is!

 

If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments section below!