D I G I T A L

S T R A T E G I E S

A persona is a fictional character

that communicates the primary

characteristics of a group of users

who use your website, social media

feed or application.

Personas help you and your

team understand your audience.

They provide insights about the

attitudes, behaviors, thought

processes, challenges and desires

of those you are trying to reach

and serve.

Personas inform what kind of

content you create and where you

publish it. They also give insight

and direction for wording, images,

tone and design.

WHAT IS A PERSONA?

EXAMPLES1

T h e y h e l p u s l o v e a n d l e a d w e l l By cultivating a deeper understanding of others’

motivations, needs, desires, and practical realities,

we are challenged to question our preferred

methods and channels in order to communicate

the gospel most effectively.

T h e y a r e a k e y pa r t o f a n e f f e c t i v e d i g i ta l s t r at e gyFour key questions to ask when creating

a digital strategy:

1 What are you trying to do?

[Objectives, SMART goals]

2 Who are you trying to reach/engage?

[Personas]

3 Where will you interact with them?

[Channels/Platforms]

4 How will you put these pieces together

in a strategic way?

P e r s o n a s a n s w e r t h e q u e s t i o n W h o a r e yo u t ry i n g t o r e a c h a n d e n g a g e ? ” T h e y a l s o i n f o r m w h e r e a n d h o w yo u w i l l s e e k t o i n t e r a c t.

P e r s o n a s s e t t h e s ta g e t o b e g i n c r e at i n g r e a l i s t i c s c e n a r i o s o r “ u s e r s t o r i e s” f o r p e o p l e yo u m ay n e v e r m e e t fa c e t o fa c e .

Every good story has:

• A main character (who)

• A setting (where)

• A goal (what the main character wants to achieve)

• Actions leading to their goal

• Obstacles

Understanding your audience is the first step in predicting

what will be most helpful for them.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-23For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to

win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the

law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win

those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might

save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

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HOW ARE PERSONAS HELPFUL?“

D I G I T A L

S T R A T E G I E S

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A n yo n e s e e k i n g t o c o m m u n i c at e w i t h a b r o a d a u d i e n c e w i t h t h e g o a l o f m o v i n g t h e m t o a c t i o n .

What do you want them to do?

• Read an article?

• Watch a video?

• Give a donation?

• Download and/or use a resource?

• Provide contact info?

• Ask a question?

• Engage in conversation?

• Pray?

• Share something with their friends?

How do these desired outcomes compare or overlap with

what they want and need?

“

When you are

deciding who

you want to

reach.

When you set

your digital

strategy for

reaching those

people.

When you

decide what

type of digital

tool to use to

communicate

with people.

When you

design your

digital tool,

be it a website,

social media

feed or an

application.

When you post

information

to your digital

tool.

When

responding to

someone who

is using your

digital tool.

WHO NEEDS TO USE PERSONAS?

WHEN WOULD I USE THEM?

A n yo n e w h o c r e at e s o r p o s t s c o n t e n t o n a w e b s i t e o r a p p l i c at i o n

• Ministry websites, including Area, National,

and Departmental sites

• Blogs, including GCX sites and MPD profiles

• Social media sites including Facebook,Twitter, Weibo,

YouTube, etc

• Applications for smartphones, tablets, etc

and web development

• Evangelistic and discipleship resource sites

D I G I T A L

S T R A T E G I E S

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S t e p 1Identify your existing (or desired) audience

D e t e r m i n e g e n e r a l ta r g e t d e m o g r a p h i c• Who do you want to reach?

• Location

• Language

• Spiritual and life background

R e v i e w r e l e va n t e x i s t i n g r e s e a r c h• Industry research

• Missions research

• Organizational research

R e v i e w a n y e x i s t i n g a n a ly t i c s• How many people are coming to your site?

• How long are they staying? Do they come back? What

action do they take while on your site?

• At what point do they leave your site?

(“bounce rate”)

• How do they find the tool? Friend’s referral? Searching?

(What keywords did they search for?) Clicking on an ad?

S t e p 2Dig deeper and identify patterns

F i l l i n g a p s i n k n o w l e d g e a n d u n d e r s ta n d i n g• Assess existing information and identify areas

for further research

• Create hypothesis of different user types

• Create and execute plan for additional research

• User surveys (quantitative)

• Interviews and focus groups (qualitative)

I d e n t i f y pat t e r n s t h at g o b e yo n d s i m p l e d e m o g r a p h i c s• What are users’ likes, dislikes, desires, and motivations?

• What do they value? How do they identify themselves?

• What are their pain points, felt needs, and

potential obstacles?

• What are their preferred methods of obtaining

information and communicating?

S e g m e n t u s e r s b a s e d o n c o m m o n t r e n d s a n d pat t e r n s• Analyze information for key insights

• Determine total number of categories/personas (try to

limit these)

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HOW TO CREATE A PERSONA

D I G I T A L

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S t e p 3Research each category to identify an average desired user in that category

B a c kg r o u n d• Location

• Nationality/race/cultural background

• Languages

• Socio-economic group/occupation/income

T h e i r l i v e s• Values and goals

• Current reality/“a day in the life”

• Previous relationship with you and your tool

or organization

• Who/what sources of information they trust

and how they make decisions

M o t i vat i o n f o r e n g a g e m e n t• Use and familiarity with different technologies

• The pain points and challenges that they are trying

to overcome

• How they found/arrived at your tool

• What they want that will help them achieve their

goals and values

D e s i r e d o u t c o m e s• The results from each type of use of the tool

• The experience they expect in using the tool

• The actions that will be taken following

use of the tool

• Where your tool fits in the process that they

are taking

S t e p 4Briefly describe the average desired user

2 Pa g e s m a x i m u m

I n c l u d e a s t o c k i m a g e o f t h at p e r s o n

D e s c r i b e t h e c h a r a c t e r i n s h o r t p h r a s e s a n d k e y w o r d s f r o m S t e p 3

I n c l u d e a q u o t e t h at B e s t r e p r e s e n t s t h e p e r s o n

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HOW TO CREATE A PERSONA

D I G I T A L

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1 0 S t e p s t o P e r s o n a sPDF

G l o b a l S o c i a l M e d i a S tat i s t i c s 2 0 1 4Link

D e b u n k i n g D i g i ta l S t r at e gy – I n d i g i t o u s K e y n o t e by L i e z e L a n g f o r dLink

N e x t S t e p : D e v e l o p i n g a c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e pat h wayLink

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

D I G I T A L

S T R A T E G I E S

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