
The persona refers to specific and detailed information about the ideal customer aimed at a marketing strategy or optimized sales. The target audience collaborates with general data and broader definitions..
Many people still have doubts about the difference between persona and target audience, But the answer to this question is quite simple. The distinction between the terms lies in how in-depth the research is about a business’s customers and leads.
That said, read our text and learn what persona and target audience are, understand the main differences between these concepts and how to apply them in your company. Check it out!
Go further in understanding persona and target audience
Even though the concepts are similar, it is important to understand the difference between target audience and persona to carry out adequate marketing planning.
Audience
Target audience, also known as target audience, is a widely propagated and well-known concept in marketing and corporate communication. This expression is nothing more than a demographic, social, economic and behavioral categorization of who the organization understands to be the brand's loyal consumer.
It is worth noting that the people who are part of this group will be the targets of marketing and sales actions, that is, it is through a series of surveys and questionnaires that are carried out over a certain period of time that the predominant characteristics in common of a group are found.
Discover the main characteristics that indicate who the target audience may be:
- Gender;
- Age group;
- Social class;
- Geographic location;
- Level of schooling;
- Average monthly income;
- Consumption habits;
- Objectives and needs.
However, Even though every brand analyzes this data, the concept of target audience is very broad, as it includes a large group of people and does not consider personal details. of these individuals, in addition there may be conditions that could compromise the purchase and sale procedure.
Therefore, in some cases, defining the target audience is not enough to reach the end consumer. For this reason, if the business wants to be accurate and create much more objective communication, it is also necessary to work with personas.

How to define the target audience?
Once you understand the meaning of target audience, it is essential to understand how to determine it. That said, the first step is to create a questionnaire to facilitate the process of finding the brand's audience.
Nowadays, there are already some common and basic questions that are essential, but depending on the segment of activity, they can often be changed according to needs. Find out what they are:
- Is your business aimed at companies or individuals?
- What region, city or state do your potential consumers live in?
- What is the age range of your customers?
- What is the average salary?
- What is your marital status?
- How often do they consume the products or services?
It is extremely important to carry out market research to gather information about your sector of activity.
Human
Persona, also called buyer persona, is the profile of the ideal customer, that perfect individual to whom your organization can offer its products or services, that is, refers to the creation of a semi-fictional character based on customer or market data and information.
Generally, many companies have difficulty understanding exactly who their persona is and, therefore, there may be some errors when providing customer service instructions.
However, even if it is not a “real person”, by defining the persona, it is possible to better see who the standard consumer is, giving them a name and providing representative characteristics based on information from real customers.
Furthermore, it is possible to separate the persona into different types, which are:

Therefore, by creating a semi-fictional ideal customer, companies will be able to develop more strategic actions, both for the marketing area and for customer service.
Persona benefits
The truth is that the main benefit of the persona is to offer more precise guidance for your company, as it provides powerful information and data to improve results, such as:
- Understand the pain, the problem of that consumer;
- Better language;
- Understand which social networks are ideal for investing in advertising;
- Know what topics to address;
- Arriving at the perfect content format;
- Obtain keywords relevant to marketing planning;
- Know which are the best means of communication to invest in;
- Upsell and cross sell opportunities;
- Stay informed about the best times to offer your services.
It is worth noting that the persona can and should be used at all stages of the content funnel and sales, and even in the prototyping of a product or service.

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What is the difference between persona and target audience: examples
The difference between a persona and a target audience is basically the quality and quantity of details in the research carried out to identify the ideal customer. While there are different consumer profiles within a target audience, a persona symbolizes, through a semi-fictional character, a profile that encompasses the characteristics of an exceptional customer.
Although there are differences between persona and target audience, both can be used together and be complementary, depending on the company's objectives.
In other words, the target audience is responsible for helping to create more comprehensive actions and services at an earlier stage within a sales funnel. Of course, when we are referring to marketing and sales situations.
However, creating an ideal persona facilitates more specific groups, allowing you to capture the attention of a specific customer, thus building loyalty and making their service experience unique.
It is also worth noting that within a target audience there are several personas. Returning to the example of the target audience of parents looking for a school for their children, we can have the persona of a mother who works outside the home and has specific characteristics and pains of this reality, a mother who does not work outside the home, a widowed father who relies on the help of his grandparents to raise his children, a divorced mother, among many other realities that must be explored and analyzed in the personas that will be designed for the company's objective.
Additionally, we bring storytelling can help provide personalized service. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is the art of telling, developing and adapting stories using specific elements in events with a beginning, middle and end, with the aim of conveying a message in a memorable way by connecting with the reader on an emotional level. With this, your business will:
- Have an understanding of how your customers think;
- Possibility of creating an identification with the client;
- Involvement with history;
- Opportunity to generate more connection with the consumer through a strong emotional appeal.
See below an example of a persona and target audience:
Human
João Carlos, single, 40 years old, lives in the city of Salvador and is the owner of a medium-sized transport company that provides logistics and freight routing. He needs new tools that can help his company during the crisis, implementing innovations with the aim of generating more authority in the market.
Audience
Men, between 20 and 40 years old, who live in the metropolitan region of Salvador and who own companies related to logistics and transportation. Their businesses need process improvements to increase profits.
GS2 Digital Marketing
We are experts in helping our clients define their personas and target audience, as well as assisting in generating leads and nurturing a good relationship with the customer until the moment of purchase.
Our success strategy is based on the design of your company's purchasing journey. We gather data and analyze our successful clients from different segments to come up with a methodology that will increase your sales.
We have the best marketing strategies to make your business grow!
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