More than twenty-seven million pieces of content get posted online every single day. How can you be sure yours is being seen at all, let alone by the right people?

So often, we as marketers think that if we go after the demographics our products and services are most likely to appeal to, we’ll be able to capture the majority of our target audience. This will capture leads, of course. But is it the most effective?

As it turns out, when we rely solely on demographics we actually wind up missing more than seventy percent of potential buyers. Part of the problem is that people often think demographics and personas mean the same thing, but they don’t.

Demographics include things like age, gender, race, and income bracket – pretty basic stuff. Personas, on the other hand, dig into the personality of the buyer, focusing on what makes them who they are, and what drives them to seek out the services or products you offer.

Take the home improvement industry – when you think of the typical person looking to remodel their kitchen, build a deck or spackle a wall, who do you see? I’d be willing to bet you’re picturing a man in his early thirties to late fifties. But this demographic is far from the only type looking to purchase tools and materials to do these sorts of projects.

Actually, women are behind forty-five percent of mobile searches for DIY home improvement projects. So if your content is targeted at men, you won’t see as many women visiting your blog, which means they’ll be less likely to come to you to make a purchase.

How do you take these groups, that fall outside the typical demographic, and incorporate them into your content strategy? You produce content that will appeal to all of them. The key here is to segment your efforts.

Now, I’m not saying you need to have one page of your blog decked out in blues and another in pinks. In fact, steer clear of that option entirely, please.

What you do need to do is get inside the heads of your target buyers and discover their intent when they come to your blog. Are they researching ideas for future endeavors? Do they want step-by-step instructions to execute a project? Are they trying to decide which type of material to use?

Basing your strategy on buyer personas rather than trying to capture the attention of one generalized group will help to draw more people to your blog who are going to turn into customers.

Scroll down to read more about the benefits of moving away from demographics and toward buyer personas to cut through the noise and reach the right audience.