As marketers, we assume WAY too much.
There’s one big assumption a LOT of marketers make, and it’s a BIG mistake.
They assume that their piece of online content will be the highlight of someone’s day. And that the receiver will have full attention for it.
But here’s the truth about communicating online:
Whatever content you post online isn’t gonna be the highlight of anyone’s day. At most it’s a tiny speck in the day-to-day reality of our audience.
If you want to improve results on your content, you have to accept these truths:
- ❌ People don’t really pay attention to your communication – they glance, swipe and scroll.
- ❌ Everybody is pre-occupied with their own life first – if our communication doesn’t IMMEDIATELY catch their attention and shows them how it helps them – you’ve lost them (and rightly so)
So stop assuming:
- ❌ Stop assuming your communication is the highlight of their day
Look, I’ve been there too!
When you’re developing a campaign, email, script or presentation… you spend hours, days or sometimes even weeks preparing it…
It consumes your whole day! It’s all you think about, for hours on end!
But when that communication goes out the door…
To the receiver, it’s just one more ad, email, video or meeting to them…
People are constantly tuned-out to filter all the noise…
So your job is to communicate in a way that makes them tune-in.
Accept that reality.
How to approach online content marketing:
Instead of thinking people will have all their attention and focus available for your content, know the opposite is true.
People are tuned-out by default. You have to fight to get their attention.
Luckily, there are rules to follow that will help you actually get their attention and help them tune-in to your message.
When developing your content, obsess about these 3 things:
- 1️⃣ Standing out. –> Will this even get noticed in the first place when people scroll by?
- 2️⃣ Storytelling. —> Does my communication follow psychological rules of story like the hero’s journey framework so people will actually listen?
- 3️⃣ Serving. —> Is it crystal clear why consuming this content is beneficial for my audience or am I blabbing too much about myself?
I noticed these benefits years ago when I accepted this reality and started obsessing about the above 3 things:
- I produced more (and stressed less about perfecting 1 piece)
- I improved results on ads (cheaper leads, higher CTR’s & CVR’s)
- My powerpoints & presentations actually convinced people of the plans I was proposing to them (because a good story MOVES people)
I believe all communicators would experience these benefits if we just stopped assuming so much.
I ASSUME you agree? 😉
