Latoya Runolfsdottir

Why this persona fits the audience

Manages the brand's short-form video calendar for a 6-person marketing team, turning founder voice notes, rough scripts, and phone-shot demos into captioned vertical clips for Instagram and TikTok. Uses screenshots from the website and product pages, and coordinates edits through Slack with one designer and one founder approver.

• Age: 29
• Location: Manchester, UK
• Occupation: Social media manager
• Income: £38,000/year
• Education: Bachelor's degree
• Company size: Small (under 50 employees)
• Years in role: 3

“You've got to make it happen, haven't you? There's no point waiting for perfection when you can just get something good out there and iterate.”

Latoya Runolfsdottir's journey into digital marketing began during her Bachelor's degree in Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University. While her peers were exploring broader media roles, Latoya was captivated by the emerging power of social media platforms, particularly their potential for direct brand engagement and community building. After a brief, somewhat uninspiring internship at a traditional PR agency, she sought out roles with a more hands-on, digital-first approach. She landed her current position three years ago at a rapidly growing DTC skincare brand, initially as a social media assistant. Her knack for understanding platform nuances and her meticulous organisation quickly saw her promoted to Social Media Manager. She now oversees the brand's short-form video strategy, a critical component of their growth. Latoya operates with a strong sense of practicality; her income of £38,000 annually means she and her boyfriend are diligently saving for a house deposit, making her mindful of discretionary spending. She values clarity and speed in her work, often finding herself streamlining processes to meet demanding content schedules. Her decision-making is guided by a desire for efficiency and demonstrable results. Recently, she championed the adoption of a new workflow for video approvals, moving from cumbersome email chains to a more integrated Slack-based system, which significantly reduced turnaround times. She’s deeply invested in the brand's aesthetic, constantly referencing their website's visual guidelines and product page screenshots to ensure every piece of content feels cohesive. Her approach to work is proactive, always looking for the next trend or a more effective way to connect with their audience, but she remains grounded in what is realistically achievable for their small team.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Latoya's typical weekday starts with checking her phone for overnight notifications and scrolling through TikTok and Instagram before even getting out of bed. After a quick breakfast, she commutes to the small office, listening to a marketing podcast. Her morning is dedicated to reviewing the previous day's content performance, responding to comments, and planning the day's video edits. This involves reviewing founder voice notes, drafting captions, and sending instructions to the designer. Lunch is usually a packed meal eaten at her desk while reviewing competitor content. The afternoon is a mix of shooting new product demos on her phone, editing vertical clips, and coordinating approvals. She wraps up by scheduling posts and updating the content calendar, often staying a little late to ensure everything is ready for the next day.

Lifestyle

Latoya shares a rented two-bedroom flat in Didsbury with her boyfriend, Liam, a junior architect. Their weekends often involve exploring local markets, trying new brunch spots, or catching up with friends over a pub quiz. She’s mindful of her budget, preferring to save for experiences like short city breaks rather than splurging on impulse buys. Her evenings are a mix of unwinding with Netflix, prepping for the next day, or occasionally attending a local skincare workshop. She tries to fit in a run three times a week along the canal, prioritizing consistency over intensity.

Work life

As the social media manager for a niche DTC skincare brand, Latoya is the engine behind their short-form video content. Her day is a constant juggle of capturing founder snippets, transcribing voice notes, and coordinating edits with the one designer and founder. The pressure is on to maintain brand voice and visual consistency across TikTok and Instagram Reels, often on tight turnarounds. She relies heavily on Slack for communication and uses screenshots from product pages to integrate website elements seamlessly into the videos. The small team size means everyone wears multiple hats, and she often finds herself troubleshooting minor technical issues or suggesting new content formats based on emerging trends.

Relationships

Latoya's primary social circle consists of her boyfriend, Liam, and a close-knit group of friends from university. Her parents, who live in the Peak District, are supportive but don't fully grasp the nuances of her digital marketing career. Her most frequent collaborators are the brand founder, a driven but often time-poor woman in her late 30s, and a junior graphic designer she communicates with daily via Slack.

How they decide

Latoya tends to be research-heavy when it comes to tools or significant purchases, but for day-to-day operational decisions, she prioritizes speed and clarity, often relying on her established process and gut feeling based on past successes. She values peer recommendations within industry circles.

How they sound

Latoya speaks with a clear, articulate Manchester accent, often employing subtle slang like 'buzzing' or 'chuffed' when excited about a project. She is direct and avoids overly corporate jargon, preferring practical, action-oriented language. Her tone is generally enthusiastic but grounded; she’s not afraid to admit when something isn’t working but always frames it constructively. She tends to avoid vagueness and prefers getting straight to the point. She'll often preface a request with a 'quick one' or a 'just wondering'.