There are many sources of information on your audience. Here are three places to start:
1. Check your analytics
See where your visitors came from, what keywords they used to find you and how long they spent once they arrived. This can reveal the desires that led your audience to your site as well as the tools they used to get there.
2. Involve your team
Get your extended team together, including marketing, fundraising, tech team and any people who directly deal with the problem your organisation is dealing with. Anyone who interacts with customers or customer data should be involved in sharing their perspective on what makes your customers tick.
3. Social media research
Use social media to ask questions or interact with your content by answering a question
Next, you'll want to bring your persona to life so it's relatable and useful.
Give your persona a name and a job title
Giving your persona a real name and role helps anchor them in reality. Using a real person is even better. Describe their demographics, relationship with your charity, and the basics about the campaign.
Identify their needs
You want to try to identify needs for the persona. What do they really want? What decisions will they make? These questions help you focus on delivering content for your targeted personas.
Positive trends
What are the positive trends the persona experiences in their life or external environment?
Opportunities and Interests
What are positive opportunities the persona experiences in their life or environment? This could be in both a professional and personal context.
Hopes
What hopes does the persona have for the future?
Negative trends
What are negative trends the persona experiences in their life or environment?
Headaches
What are negative headaches the persona experiences in their life?
Fears
What fears does the persona have for the future?
Donations
What is their motivation to make a donation to your charity?
What type of stories or content will capture their attention and inspire a donation?
What are their preferred channels for giving?
Social media
What social media channels do they use and what needs does it fulfil?
Where do they hang out on social media? What type of user are they?
What type of information is being sought on social media channels?
Example Persona
Name: Justice Warrior Jess
Age: 25-35
Location: West London
Job: Lawyer
Politics: Labour
Positive Trends/What Motivates her: Loves her job. Wants to launch her own practice one day.
Fears/Headaches Negative Trends: Worried about Brexit and about not being able to afford property
Donations: Something different. Wants an organisation with real sustainable change. Keen to set up a regular donation. Would also be happy to volunteer to share a passion for justice and women’s rights.
Social Media: Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn
Objectives/Measurable Results: Makes a donation, regularly likes our posts, does a small scale challenge event, donates her birthday via Facebook Fundraiser