What is a Bot Persona & How Do You Create One For Your Business?

If you're considering creating a bot or using automated texting for your business, something you need to ask yourself first is: do you need a bot persona?

If you're not sure what a persona is, why it's important, or how to create your own, you're in the right place. This post will help you determine if your business needs a persona, and a simple 3-step exercise to create one.

What is a Bot Persona?

A personality is a set of characteristics that set you apart. A persona is the part of you that is seen by others. There may be personality traits that are not as visible, like a celebrity in their private life, which are not part of the persona. A persona can be thought of as an avatar, mascot, or the public representation of yourself or your business. Popular personas are Flo from Progressive and the Geico Gecko.

Most people get this wrong. They assume that a persona must be a comedian, something over the top entertaining. This is a common mistake. Remember that there are many degrees of personality, and there are many characteristics that may be a better fit for your audience and their attitude towards you during the interaction with your bot.

Why Do Bots Need Personality?

Good conversation design should be invisible and uncomplicated. The conversation should feel natural, like the one a user has with a human. This helps them relate, trust, and tells them what to expect from the experience. The best way to create that natural, uncomplicated conversation is with personality. The personality is what separates a helpful assistant from a robotic sales machine. A persona is what brings that helpful assistant to the next level, by creating something that is 100% identifiably you.

Now that you know what a bot persona is and why (or why not) your business needs one, how do you create one?

How to Create a Bot Persona

This simple 3-step exercise will help you create the persona that best fits your business and experience of your bot. By answering these questions, you should be able to develop a profile for your persona and start visualizing the conversation of your bot.

1. Start with your audience

   The audience should be the central focus for your persona. After all, they are who you want to help! Consider their level of understanding of your topics and what challenges they currently face when deciding to buy something.

2. Consider psychology and sentiment

   According to psychology, every personality falls on a spectrum of five dimensions called "The Big Five": Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Extraversion and Openness. Where would your persona fall within these traits? How would these needs change based on what your audience needs? How happy or upset will your audience be during the interaction?

3. Create a profile - name, gender, core personality traits

   Creating a profile of your persona will help you get into character. What would this persona's name, gender, and core personality traits be? What would their Twitter bio say? Are they a person, animal, bot? Have fun with it!

Are you ready to add a bot, with a persona, to your sales team? Leave a comment and let us know!