3. Your Audience Is Waiting
What makes good content organic is the idea that it’s a conversation that would happen naturally. To grow your business through connecting, you need a clear picture of whom you’re speaking with.
WHO
You deliver a good/service that confers some value. Who is the person out there who appreciates that value? You also execute your value in some way – who does that execution most speak to? You can go through processes like surveying existing customers, or market research, or you can imagine the guy you went to college with and reflect on his life and why you are creating something to improve it. No matter which way you go, you need a clear picture of who it is you are engaging with your product, in order to plan the content you’ll create to support it.
WHAT
Once you can envision your person, the next step is to decide what sorts of topics, issues, and themes matter to them. This is another instance where reflecting on the people in your life can be enough to get the ball rolling. Are you trying to reach someone like your cousin? What do she and her friends talk about? Post about? If you are just getting started, an educated set of guesses can be enough to start creating and testing.
WHEN
Every piece of content you share is something they consume at some moment in time. Given that, it’s worth bearing down on what a normal day looks like for your audience. What is their morning routine? Do they have a commute, and if so are they driving or sitting on a train? Deciding on these patterns helps you know when and how to engage them, and when to leave them alone.
HOW (pt.1)
The most basic aspect of how you should engage this audience comes down to who they are to you. This is largely conveyed by tone which implies the nature of your relationship. Tone does a lot to establish trust. Does this person (or brand) talk like you? Are you using big, impressive words? Are you making the same cultural references? Are you your audience’s family physician – expert but patient and empathetic? This relational tonality can have extremely tactical implications.
Read on for HOW pt. 2
