The Best Persona Tool On the Web Is Now Live

Starting today, SparkToro’s persona-generation tool is now live and available to all our business and agency-tier subscribers, and it really is the best product in the space for solving this problem. I’m not prone to hyperbole, and I take seriously my responsibility to defend this subjective, almost outrageous claim, so let me explain exactly why it’s demonstrably better than anything else out there:

1. We built everything marketers asked for. Literally. In May, I ran a survey to our customers asking about 26 different kinds of data that can be found in various persona models (everything from fictional, alliterative names — which folks told us they definitely did not want — to common user journeys and content consumption preferences — which they absolutely did). Of these 26, 21 received at least a handful of votes for inclusion, and we built every single one of those data elements into the persona tool.
   
2. Unlike (almost*) every other persona tool on the web, SparkToro’s uses confirmed, passively-collected-at-scale, audience data — the kind that comes from our clickstream panel, social profiles, and crawls of web communities. Real data means you can actually put your money where the persona’s mouth (and behavioral traits) are. It’s not just the HIPPO’s best guess or AI’s spicy autocomplete.
   * I say “almost” because a few tools use customer email lists plus email resolution services — we have this tech, too, but it’s <1/3rd of what powers our product (because email associations can’t show you web browsing/usage behavior)
   
3. It’s editable, exportable, and visually-friendly, with the added bonus that for any particular piece of data in the person, there’s a corresponding graph in the audience research report you can download or export for inclusion in whatever report format you need. Need to wow a potential client at your next pitch meeting? Or explain visually to your boss why you need budget for that new marketing investment? We got you, fam.

After exhaustively testing almost two dozen other online persona builders (and quickly browsing/dismissing many more 🙄 ones), I’m confident this is a substantial upgrade to anything you can find in Google’s results.

Here’s a full rundown of what you’ll find inside SparkToro’s persona generator tool:

• Editing access – The ability to edit the name, and any details in the report, right inside the tool’s output and save it inside your SparkToro account.
• Pain points & goals – the psychology behind this persona’s interest in the product/service (or their general needs/risks/goals if you’ve analyzed a non-action-oriented audience)
• Search behavior – the keywords and questions they enter into search engines and AI tools
• Buying behavior – triggers, objections, and decision criteria
• Content preferences – the types of content they consume, prefer, and tend to engage/resonate-with
• Common user journeys – how this audience tends to discover, research, and convert
• Values and mindset – psychological tendencies common to the group, including the “why” behind their actions
• Professional background – when analyzing a consumer audience, this won’t be present, but if analyzing a B2B group, you’ll see employment, job history, and other professional demographic traits
• Responsibilities & tech savvy – what they’re responsible for (if B2B) and their general level of tech experience
• Messaging – tone, keywords, and resonant style that’s been effective in reaching this audience
• In their words – AI–interpreted expressions of the behavioral and demographic data to help illustrate the “who” behind this group
• LinkedIn bio keywords – the words and phrases commonly found in the bios/profiles of this group on LinkedIn (when available; not commonly found for consumer audiences)
• Demographics – age, gender, education, income range, and location
• How to reach – campaign ideas based on the behavioral data and common marketing strategies to be present in those places they pay attention
• Media habits – websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, and subReddits this group frequently visits/subscribes-to
• Brands & influencers – the brands, social accounts, creators, and press/media this group follows
• Platform behavior – what social networks, search engines, and AI tools they use heavily (and more than average)

And here’s a quick screenshot inside the product:

I also made a short, video walkthrough:

If you’re on a Business or Enterprise/Agency-tier SparkToro account, you’ve already got access. And if not, the next time your work calls for a persona, might we suggest getting access? 😉 After experiencing the alternatives first-hand, I can promise it’s an upgrade.