My Client Is Secretly Building a Business Around a Fictional Character

And it just might work.

Photo by Paolo Nicolello on Unsplash

“Are you alone?” her voice quivered, and her eyes darted from side to side nervously. This client was about to divulge a major bombshell, and she swore me to secrecy before allowing me into the fold of her new business venture.

I’m no stranger to paranoid founders insisting on executed NDAs before discussing generic, not-quite-patentable ideas. This client, however, was different. She wasn’t afraid of her business idea being stolen; she was afraid of an identity reveal that would unravel her master plan.

It wasn’t her identity she was trying to protect; it was that of the fictional character who sat at the center of her new business. The catch? None of her customers knew she was fictional.

You think you know somebody…

These days, with people sharing their lives all over social media, it’s easy for influencers to cultivate a sense of friendship, trust, and closeness with their audience. That established trust is exactly what enables these influencers to charge the big bucks for sponsored collaborations. The more real, raw, and honest they come across towards their fans, the higher the levels of trust and engagement they can foster, and thus, the greater their influence (and their sales conversion power).

Therefore, it’s no surprise that we often think we know a person based on what they share on social media. However, given the highly curated, edited nature of the miniature slices of their lives we’re served on our screens, it should be no surprise that we often know far less than we’re led to believe.

Building a brand isn’t all that different from building an influencer persona:

1. Brands should attract and resonate with their target audience
2. Brands should establish trust in order to convert leads to sales
3. Brands might take a shortcut by partnering with influencers who’ve already accomplished steps 1 and 2 above

While brands can partner with influencers to expand their reach and expedite their trustworthiness, why can’t they build their own influencer persona instead and own 100% of the audience’s…