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It’s extremely important to write copy that resonates with your audience, it’s one of the fundamentals of copywriting. But with all the different personalities that each individual has, how do you create content that resonates with everyone? The truth is that you can’t please everyone but you can definitely please your specific target audience, and knowing the unique personality type of your target audience is the key to creating a compelling copy.
But what are the different personality types? We’re glad you asked. When it comes to marketing and copywriting, some brands recognize and categorize their audience according to the twelve archetype personalities of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.
We won’t explore all of them in detail, just the four basic cardinals that all twelve of them stem from. But ultimately, knowing all 12 of the Jungian Archetypes can be useful if ever you need to create content for a very niche market.
Knowing the personality archetype of your target audience is also a great tool for helping your brand find or maintain its voice. TMG Global previously explored Mastering the Art of Persuasive Storytelling in Creative Copywriting, and now we’re going to delve deeper into the type of stories you can tell to tap into your specific audience’s deepest desires.
An example of content that is created to appeal to different personalities is movies. Each genre can essentially be viewed as one of the four basic cardinals, and each movie would be one of the 12 branches. Also, within every movie, there’s at least one character that the viewer can identify with at least one of the personality types, and ultimately themselves. Archetype copywriting plays by the same rules.
When creating copy for different personality types, it’s good to tap into the way people identify themselves, and the way brands desire to be perceived by the world. Carl Jung theorized that most people (or brands) seek:
There are three branches under each cardinal point that most personalities manifest as, but individuals and brands are often a combination of more than one branch. Identifying your audience’s desires is the key to creating copy that provides solutions in a unique brand voice.
Under this category we have the Leader/Ruler, the Caregiver/Provider, and the Creator. These are people who seek to solve problems in the lives of individuals, or the world as a whole. These are the brands that audiences have come to trust and often use as a yardstick to measure quality, what some may refer to as “the real McCoy”. These could be health providers, law firms, banks, and even engineering companies.
Creating copy that resonates with this brand’s audience involves using a voice of authority, providing statistics and facts to back up statements, and using words that drive ambition. Avoid sensationalism and colorful language because this personality type is very structural and analytical.
This group consists of the Hero, the Magician, and the Outlaw. Theoretically, these are fictitious personalities that can’t exist or thrive in our society, but people who challenge these societal norms exist everywhere. Tapping into their desire to change the world and leave a legacy is how most brands connect with the rebels of society.
This audience is curious, adventurous, and imaginative, so if you have a knack for using colorful language, this is the best personality type to create content for. Some of the most captivating taglines for the dreamers come from the copywriters of the National Lottery of the U.K. Here are a few examples different time periods:
Who needs talent? (2002)
What would you do if you won? (2001)
Maybe, just maybe (1998)
It could be you (1996)
These are the people and brands who seek to find (or share) meaning in the world. They are described as the Innocent, the Sage, and the Explorer. They are either the people who are constantly asking questions, or continuously seeking new ways to answer those questions.
Again, this is a personality type that isn’t bound by the rules of society. But unlike the rebel who seeks to carve a new, unexplored path, the spiritual explorer seeks to stick to what is tried and true through finding knowledge. Writing for this audience includes a combination of mystery and fantasy, backed up by evidence.
The Lover, the “Class Clown”, and the Everyman. This personality type exists within every other personality type because it describes the way that everyone connects with each other. It’s the personality that we show to the public, how we want to be seen by the world, what Carl Jung described as “the Mask”. Ironically, pursuing connection is the objective of copywriting, so this personality cardinal point is the one you should focus on to help package your copy accordingly.
For example, a mother can be seen as the Caregiver, but she is also the Lover. An engineer is a creative problem solver, but they are also the Everyman who understands a community’s problems at a ground level. Stand-up comedians present themselves as the Joker, but they often do a splendid job explaining politics and current affairs, like the Sage.
The key to creating copy that resonates with your audience lies in first identifying the target audience, understanding their problems, and presenting your brand’s solution in a voice they can relate to. TMG specializes in understanding different audiences, studying the competition, and creating copy that makes your brand stand out. Get in touch with us for a free brand audit where we’ll analyze your brand’s voice and tone, and provide solutions that’ll help to you connect better with your audience.
