That Should Be Your Goal when You Write Content with Empathy
Consumers are bombarded with content. It’s not just text-based content like blog posts and web pages. It’s estimated that over 95 million photos and videos are shared every day on Instagram. Over 500 million Tweets are posted each day. The average office worker receives upwards of 120 emails per day. Making your content stand out is getting more difficult by the day. Creating content that resonates with your audience is even more challenging. When a reader reads your blog or email, what is the takeaway? If you can’t make them remember the words, you can leave them with a feeling that you understand their needs. Empathy is a powerful weapon in the content toolbox.
Understanding Empathy
The pandemic has taught us to be more understanding of what others are going through. We may not all grapple with the same issues, but we can be responsive to how another person is feeling. That’s empathy. We understand the emotions of another person. Dr. Brené Brown says it best, “Rarely can a response make something better, what makes something better is connection.” Empathy is the connection that affirms the feelings of another individual(s).
Using Empathy in Content
Your goal of content marketing may be to make sales, but the reader who is consuming content wants to make a connection with your brand, product, or service. Empathy reaches deeper than just solving a problem. It connects to the reader’s emotions to get the person to take action. Proctor and Gamble did it beautifully in this ad that first appeared during the 2012 London Olympics by showcasing parents (mothers) who sacrifice a lot to raise young athletes. Moms around the world could connect to the storyline. You might not remember the faces of the kids in the ad, but you certainly remember the feeling that the ad evokes. When your child triumphs, it’s worth all the hard work.
To create empathy in your content:
- Think about your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your content?
- Set an intention with your content. Where are you taking your reader?
- Tell a great story for your reader. How can you pull your audience into your narrative?
- Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Can you bring your own experiences, struggles and feelings into content to relate to your readers?
One way to create empathy in your content is to stop promoting. Create content that relates to a bigger picture. One of Hyatt’s ads uses the song, “what the world needs now is love,” which promotes the idea that travel can be meaningful and bring people together. They’re not selling a hotel room, but a memory that will last for years.
Empathy Creates Relationships
When you leave an impression with your audience that goes beyond the words, you create a relationship. Whether we’re in a pandemic or not, its our relationships that drive us. Your audience will remember how you make them feel, good or bad. Positive feelings will keep them coming back for more content. You don’t need to sell when your audience is already ‘sold’ on your brand and trusts your company to deliver what they want.
Contact MintCopy for help with creating content that resonates with your audience. We can give your content strategy a boost to let you focus on your brand and business. Our team of SEO writers can help you connect with your readers. Ask us for more information.
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