Put your audience first

Society encourages us to be selfish. To prioritise ourselves and to do what we want to. Now, don’t worry that’s the end of my commercial capitalism rant - we’re getting straight back to content. Because those traits spill over to how we write and create content. 

We focus on what we like to do, what we like to talk about and we please ourselves first and assume that our audience will be happy. In some cases, that works - but only when you fit the profile of your target audience.

Instead we should be thinking about our audience at every single step to make sure that what we’re talking about, how we’re talking about it and where we’re talking about it is aligned to their preferences…. not ours.

Your content should be unselfish 

The whole reason we’re creating content is to build a connection with our audience. That’s not going to happen if you focus on things that aren’t relevant or interesting to them. 

Think about it in terms of a first date. You both show up, you go for a drink and they instantly start talking about themselves. They don’t ask anything about you. When you try to subtly change the subject they bring it right back to what they want to talk about. How would you feel? Ignored? Frustrated? Bored? We don’t want our audience to feel that way.

Instead we want to love bomb them (but in a good way), showing that we’re interested in their hobbies, in their lives, that we understand how they’re feeling and we want to have a conversation with them. 

Our content can do that, but only when we’re unselfish. When we stop thinking about ourselves and we put some effort into finding out what they want us to talk about.

Find out what they love

This one is often the hardest one to unpick because it seems so obvious. If you’re got a product or service that’s solving a problem for your target audience then you must already be doing this…. right? Wrong. Just because you solve that problem doesn’t mean you’re talking about the right aspect of it, or talking to them at all. 

We need to dig into the pain points and challenges to build a rapport before we even start talking about what we do. Again, go back to the first data analogy. If they start talking about their job in sales and start trying to sell to you before you know anything else about them you’re going to switch off.

Connection first, sales second.

Along the way you might have done some keyword research - this can help uncover what they might like to talk about. But it’s only a starting point. This stage is never finished, you’re always learning and listening. 

Look at your analytics, what topics have done well, what haven’t - use those insights to build that connection.

Use their language

When I write for clients I ask them to fill out a form - tedious, maybe but having access to their language, the way they put sentences together, the exact words and phrases they use is gold. Then I can use those in their content, prompting the client to ask me how I manage to sound like them. 

You can do the same. Look at the emails you receive, the comments on any posts, dig into Reddit threads and find people talking about your topic. Look at the language they use and how they use it and emulate it. 

When we mirror body language we subconsciously build a rapport - it’s called a Gauchais reaction and studies have found positive benefits such as higher tips, people agreeing to help you, increased sales etc. I’m not sure there are any definitive studies but when you mirror your audience’s language back at them they respond positively. It gives you a sense of authenticity, makes them feel you know them and that you’re one of them. 

If you don’t do this already and you only take one thing from the blog - it’s this. Research your audience’s words and use them back to them.

Post where they are

Our most enjoyable content to create is when it’s within our comfort zones. As a writer I love to write so I craft blogs, emails and social posts. I avoid videos and other visual formats. Is that right for my audience? I doubt it but it works better for me. 

Don’t do that. Don’t be like me.

Look at where your audience are, how they digest their content and show up in those places. That’s not to say you can’t repurpose your content across different channels and formats, but you need to focus on the platforms you’re going to convert from.

It’s not good spending hours creating beautiful Instagram posts, if it’s just your mum following you. Again go back to your insights and look at where you’re getting the most interaction, which platforms and content types are generating leads and enquiries and do more of that. 

Respond to what your audience is telling you and you’ll see an uplift in your content performance. 

Bring them into the conversation

Content should never be a one way thing. Go back (again, I know!) to the date scenario. You don’t want to be spoken to, you want a conversation. You want back and forth, you want to build a rapport, you want to ask questions and answer them. You want a conversation. Our audience is the same. 

Offer opportunities for interaction - ask questions, run polls, respond to comments publicly. Not only are you showing that you want to engage but you’re also gathering information for future content ideas (what they’re talking about) and language (the words they’re using). It’s a win-win.

But to do this successfully you have to show your human side, you’ve got to be willing to take criticism or appreciate different perspectives. Your content needs to be humanised and real. 

The best content isn’t created in isolation. It’s not about you, the founder, the marketer. It should always be about your audience. Every post you write, every blog you create, every video you film needs to answer the question - why should my audience care about this. If you can’t answer, then maybe you need to rethink the content. 

Our audience is telling us what they want to read about, we need to be dialled in and pay attention so we can respond. I’m not saying this is easy, it’s not to start with but over time it’ll become second nature. You receive an email about something and note that topic (and the phrasing) down for a future topic. You chat to a client on a call and record it so you can refer back to it later when you’re ready to write a new blog. 

If we want our content to perform then we need to be utterly unselfish and celebrate them at every touchpoint. That’s what will take your content from ok to captivating, and that’s what will bring in the leads.