We all agree that eCommerce has come a long way, and appears to be much simpler these days. It would seem anyone can have an online store, or service ready for the world of big business.
So, with avenues to reach more people than ever, and everyone throwing a hat into the ring, is it an unfair or overcrowded playing field for advertisers?
No.
The new playing field just requires you to be more strategic in your efforts to out perform the competition.
Google Ad campaigns must be optimized for efficiency and a set it and forget it attitude towards Google no longer plays out well in the long run.
What businesses want to achieve today is more along the lines of shooting fish in a barrel, not throwing a hand line into the Great Southern Ocean.
So how can your buyer personas help?
All The Better to See You With
A buyer persona is simply a description of your best, most ideal customers. They break down demographics, pain points, values, and even their personal goals.
For a buyer persona to work beneficially in any Google ad campaign, you will need to dive deeper into specifics, even to the point of putting names to faces.
Why?
The way a business sees their customers, and more importantly, seeing them as real people, creates opportunities for better ad campaigns.
My, what big eyes you have.
Pinpointing Customer Behaviour
Basic personas are simple. Age, sex, income, location are absolutes, but to truly target with a Google ad campaign, it’s time to dive deeper.
- Pain Points
Customer wants, needs, and any issues they might have in sourcing a product give any business a foot in the door. Reaching out to solve a problem with your product targets a need.
- Shopping Behaviors
When they shop, where they shop, at what times of the week, and what distances they might go to find a product allows the target audience to become real.
- How they Shop
Are people using a mobile device, or do they shop via a desktop. Do they shop predominantly online or prefer in-store. These answers will also allow better targeting of your Google ad campaign.
- What They Buy
Are products purchased similar to yours? How much are they likely to spend on that product? Did they purchase after seeing a promotion?
- Who Do They Listen to?
We can learn a lot about what influencers a person follows. Social media influencers are a reality and shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to targeting sales with Google ads. It all goes to buyer behavior. A social media user who has established credibility within a particular industry, and uses it well, has the ability to persuade like no other medium.
Knowing trusted influencers can give you additional insight into buying behavior.
Truly seeing your customers is a window into their lives. What excites them, what annoys them, and what makes them purchase, and if they are drawn to what others are saying.
Forget orange being the new black, influencers are the new word of mouth.
Resonate with Customers Through Buyer Personas
Understand how you help your customer feel closer to you. Sounds a bit much? It isn’t. Resonating will win you more brownie points than you think.
How do you resonate?
With precision.
- Emotive Messages
Storytelling is one of the easiest ways to get people to watch or listen. Appealing to people’s emotions is a very strong motivator. We all have common denominators. Love, work, acceptance, money, family. Find the stories that may target your customers and use them. Find a way to use emotion to solve their pain and you’ll find more customers.
- Make it Relevant
If your ads are resonating with audiences specific to product promotion, you’ve hit the relevance nerve. This goes back to understanding who they are as people and as shoppers. Keep your posts, and content up to date and current.
- Keep It Simple
There’s nothing more annoying than long-winded campaigns. Keep to the point, and be clear. You need this product and here’s how easy it is to get it. Simple.
- Be the Loudest?
There’s a fine line here. Loud and boastful is one thing, confidence in your messaging is better.
These things can sometimes be more important than the product itself. Engaging with your audience and having ads that are more personalized will win more buyers over.
Help Redefine Your Position
Want to know how customers really feel about you? Do they prefer your competition? Some things are hard to accept, but when the tears are wiped away businesses begin to get better at using buyer personas to change perceptions.
Personas can assist by simply understanding customers’ past dealings with the competition. At the very least this information will almost certainly tell you what not to do.
Businesses should also do their homework on this front. Start by looking at competitors and their customer base. Use social media to your own advantage, and definitely check out sites that sell products like yours.
It may cause you to make some changes in ad campaigns, moving forward.
Sharpen Outdated Demographics
Personas have the ability to create a person in real life. Actually, they are real people, but visualizing your customers is about knowing and understanding exactly who they are.
You may think your existing buyer personas are all you need, but things change. Trends, influencers can all change at a moment’s notice.
What may have been a good target six months ago may no longer be relevant to your business. As an example – A business selling full leather Italian handbags, may have customers who now lead a vegan and animal-friendly lifestyle.
People change.
Change with them.
Personas Can Help Set Future Google Ad Goals
Maybe you’ve gone down this road before, and things didn’t quite hit the mark. Maybe you’re new to this dissection of customers game and need to have certain foundations for your digital marketing strategies for the future.
The deeper you dive the more insight you can work with.
Yes, it can be a time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming task, but the more information gathered, the better targeted your Google ad campaigns will be.
Remember shoppers have alternatives. Always.
One thing is for certain. We need to be smarter about how we target customers, and we need to know them better.
Where you’re ready we are here to guide you through the creation of relevant buyer personas to enhance your Google Ad campaigns.
Are you Ready? Get in touch today.
Resource: Hubspot’s Guide to Buyer Personas