# Set up your brand, personas, pillars, and markets

> Fill in and confirm your brand, then add the personas, pillars, and markets your posts build on.

Source: https://docs.use-mark.com/docs/set-up-your-strategy

Your posts and angles build on your brand, personas, pillars, and markets,
so set these up first. Each has its own page in the sidebar under
**Strategy**: **Brand**, **Personas**, **Pillars**, and **Markets**.

Many fields are lists that take one entry per row. Select **Add** plus the
field name (for example, **Add Tone**) for another row, and the **×** next to
a row to remove it.

Create personas and pillars before you create **Angles**, because angles
build on them. [**Targets**](/docs/set-kpi-targets), the last page in the
group, has its own guide.

## Brand

Brand holds the facts and voice your posts should follow, plus your visual
identity. The page has two groups, **Brand and voice** and **Visual
identity**, and each one is saved and confirmed on its own.

1. Open **Strategy** > **Brand**.
2. In **Brand and voice**, fill in:
   * **Positioning**, **Differentiators**, and **Doctrine**.
   * Under **Voice**: **Tone**, **Principles**, **Do**, **Don't**,
     **Example posts**, **Hashtags**, and **CTA defaults**.
   * Under **Company facts**: **Company name**, **Website**,
     **Headquarters**, **Product range summary**, **Factory locations**, and
     **Languages**.
3. Select **Save and confirm** at the bottom of the group. The page shows
   "Saved and confirmed."
4. In **Visual identity**, set the **Logo**, **Favicon URL**, **Colors**,
   **Heading font**, and **Body font**.
5. Select **Save and confirm** at the bottom of that group.

To set the logo, select **Choose logo**, pick one image or upload one, and
select **Done**. To clear it, select the **×** next to the logo. Either way,
select **Save and confirm** for **Visual identity** to keep the change.

### Confirmed or not confirmed

Saving a group is how you confirm a person has reviewed its values. Under
each group's name, the page shows "Confirmed" with the date and time of the
last save, or "Not confirmed" if nobody has saved that group yet.

Saving one group doesn't touch the other. Saving **Brand and voice** leaves
**Visual identity** and its confirmation as they were, and the other way
around.

## Personas

A persona is an audience your content is built to help and persuade.

1. Open **Strategy** > **Personas**.
2. Select **Add persona**.
3. Fill in:
   * **Name**: what you call this audience.
   * **Slug**: a short, unique label for the persona.
   * **What they want**: the outcome this audience is after.
   * **What convinces them**: one entry per row.
   * **Objections**: one entry per row.
4. Leave **Active** checked unless you're adding it for later.
5. Select **Save persona**. The page shows "Persona saved."

To change a persona, select **Edit** on its row, update the fields, and
select **Save persona** again.

## Pillars

A pillar is a theme your content returns to, with the formats that make it
useful.

1. Open **Strategy** > **Pillars**.
2. Select **Add pillar**.
3. Fill in:
   * **Name**: the theme.
   * **Slug**: a short, unique label for the pillar. It's fixed after you
     save.
   * **Formats**: the kinds of posts that suit this theme, one per row.
   * **Notes**: anything else the team should know.
4. Leave **Active** checked unless you're adding it for later.
5. Select **Save pillar**. The page shows "Pillar saved."

To change a pillar, select **Edit** on its row, update the fields, and
select **Save pillar** again.

Each pillar's row shows its slug and formats, or "No formats yet".

### A pillar's slug is fixed

After you save a pillar, **Edit pillar** shows the slug as text instead of a
field. The app explains why: "Set when the pillar was created. Tracking
links already built from it carry this slug as their campaign, so changing
it would split this pillar's reporting in two."

Pick the slug with care when you create the pillar.

## Markets

A market is a place you prioritize, with the local time zone it uses.

1. Open **Strategy** > **Markets**.
2. Select **Add market**.
3. Fill in:
   * **Name**: what you call the market. Each market needs its own name.
   * **Country**: open the list, type part of the country's name, such as
     "korea", then pick it.
   * **Location** and **Language**: where AI search volume and the weekly
     answer-engine check look. Picking a country fills in its location and
     language when there's one clear match, such as United States and
     English. Change either one if you need to. Language only lists the
     languages the chosen location offers.
   * **Time zone**: the market's local time zone, such as Europe/Berlin.
   * **Priority**: a whole number. The list shows lower numbers first.
4. Leave **Active** checked unless you're adding it for later.
5. Select **Save market**. The page shows "Market saved."

To change a market, select **Edit** on its row, update the fields, and
select **Save market** again. A market saved before the country list existed
may show "Saved as" under **Country**. Choose its country from the list to
save it.

Each market's row reads like "Germany · Europe/Berlin · Priority 1", with
its search location below, such as "DataForSEO: Germany · German". A row
that shows "No DataForSEO location" has no location and language yet, so
AI search volume and answer-engine checks skip it. Select **Edit** to set
them.

If the location list can't load, **Location** and **Language** show
"Locations unavailable". You can still save the other fields, and the
market keeps the location and language it already had.

## Deactivate or delete

Personas, pillars, and markets work the same way when you're done with one.

* **Deactivate** keeps the item but marks it **Inactive**. Inactive items
  move to the bottom of the list. Select **Reactivate** to bring one back.
* **Delete** removes it for good. Mark asks you to confirm first, because
  it can't be undone.

Mark refuses to delete an item while something still uses it, and tells you
to deactivate it instead:

* A persona or pillar can't be deleted while posts or angles still use it.
* A market can't be deleted while posts or answer-engine checks still use it.

When you see "Can't delete this persona because posts or angles still use
it. Deactivate it instead." (or the same message for a pillar or market),
select **Cancel** and use **Deactivate**.