More Content Doesn't Matter UNLESS...
More content = more eyes on your brand...right?
Unfortunately not.
As of data collected in 2020, up to 1.5 quintillion bytes of content is created EVERY DAY. According to research conducted by Tech 21 Century, a human brain can absorb 34 Gigabytes of information per day.
Here's the difference in visual numbers:
Content Created = 1,500,000,000,000,000,000
Human Brain Absorbed = 34,000,000,000
Ergo, a single human brain can't come CLOSE to absorbing all of the content generated in a day. And this happens DAILY.
It's a primary reason why AI exists...because a human brain can't possibly process all the available data.
The bigger question is, do we NEED to process all that data?
No.
An individual human on a daily basis has no need to process all that information. In fact, if we add up all 8 billion people on the planet, and we split the daily content out evenly, the human race COULD actually absorb all that information in a day.
The problem is, the data distribution ISN'T managed for us. We're not being fed information unless we CHOOSE it. So the challenge isn't actually CREATING the content. It's in getting people to CHOOSE to consume it.
THAT's what we'll be exploring together today in this article.
How to get YOUR content in front of the people who matter to YOU.
Step 1: Know WHO matters to you
One of the biggest marketing fails is focusing on getting your content in front of everyone and anyone. The more eyes the better. But there's two issues here:
You're misrepresenting your visibility to yourself, and
The experience you're creating for people is completely ignored.
Let me ask you this...how many ads do you scroll past in a day? You know, those ones you technically "saw" (or at least it will be reported that way as an impression), that you can't remember what they were for? Whether it's a billboard, a political candidates sign, or a digital ad, MOST of those things go by without making an impression on us.
Because they're targeted at everyone.
Which really means, they're targeted at NO one. Regardless of the demographic information you used to place them 💡
When you speak directly to your people, something different happens.
They FEEL it.
They see themselves in the message. And they want to be a PART of what you're doing. They see a place they could BELONG.
Not everyone will feel like they belong in every place. I don't feel like I belong in the Apple crew, even though many people are raving fans. I don't feel like a belong in a particular political party. I don't feel like I belong at my son's dance school, because everything is too competitive.
But I DO feel like I belong with my crew on LinkedIn. And on my slo-pitch team. And in my Cardio Dance class. And at karaoke. And at a Farmer's Market. And I'm a Disney gal through and through (I may or may not be listening to the Encanto soundtrack right now) 💖
You too have places where you feel you belong. And likely BRANDS you feel are a good representation of you. And ones that AREN'T.
So, which content do YOU find yourself interacting with?
You have to CHOOSE who your people are. Or they'll never know they're YOUR people. And in so doing, there will be people who are left out.
NOTE: in choosing your people, demographics are MOSTLY unhelpful. Ages, household incomes, gender, job titles only tell you ONE thing about a person. And none of the IMPORTANT things that contribute to belonging.
Step 3: Build a RELATIONSHIP with Your People
95% of the time, content creation is a Marketing Strategy, while building relationships is left to the Sales Team. And as was demonstrated a few weeks back on the Digital Download, there is still a LOT of competition that goes on between these two teams.
To the detriment of EVERYONE.
What if, instead, Sales and Marketing worked together on this?
People building relationships with People.
Creating content that OPENS a door to a conversation; instead of just TELLING people what you think they should know.
Here are some common marketing efforts that DON'T open a door of conversation:
Advertising (let me decide your paint point and agitate if for you OR let me show you what I have that you probably want)
SEO optimization (let me pay more than my competitors to rank on highly searched terms so MAYBE someone chooses us)
Whitepapers & Case Studies (let me tell you what we've done before because you'll probably find it convincing enough to choose us).
PR (let me get someone else to tell you how awesome we are)
Email Marketing (let me get in your inbox daily so you don't forget about me)
Marketing Automation (let me take my people FURTHER away from a connection with another person)
Ok, yeah, I'm being a little bit sassy here, but be honest with yourself. Maybe you click on an ad, but it's probably for something you already wanted. Maybe you choose the top website on your search. Honestly, I've never read a case study for a company I chose to do business with (testimonial maybe, reference definitely, but written case study, NO). In a world where anyone can buy an award, what does that PR announcement actually tell me? I delete 95% of my daily emails (which are only from companies I chose in the first place). And people can TELL when something is automated, no matter how good you "script" is.
You know it's true. Because that's how YOU receive things.
And how do you receive something DIFFERENTLY when you have a relationship with someone? Or with a brand?
I look at pretty much ANYTHING that is related to Disney...because I'm interested in it. If I get an automated email from Filip Fucic or Sarabeth Berk, Ph.D., I ALWAYS open it (yes they are THAT good, but also, I adore the people behind the messages). And if I get an email from Jacek Chocolate, you better bet I'm planning my next trip to Canmore to get the newest collection.
These people, and these brands have invested in ME over the years. In different ways. My Disney park experiences have ALWAYS been magical. Every conversation I have with Filip and Sarabeth is ALWAYS a good way to spend my time. And every time we go to get our Jacek Chocolate, the lady at the till ALWAYS remembers Nicholas.
It's THOSE relationships that matter.
And if you're not building them as part of your content strategy, your content isn't doing it's job.
Step 3: Build a Community of Your People
Inviting people into your conversation is ONE thing. KEEPING people there is another thing.
Often, in business, we're most concerned about the people who need to buy our solution TODAY. But that is a VERY small percentage of people.
Let's look at some numbers to demonstrate this from the B2B perspective for an agency style service:
Registered companies on the planet = 333,340,000 (according to Statistica)
Number of New Clients desired = 10 (assuming 10 active clients)
% of all companies = TEENY TINY
When it comes to B2B, companies often get distracted by B2C strategies. But most B2C businesses, especially those selling products, NEED to get in front of a lot of people, because they need to sell a LOT of things. But in the B2B service industry, this isn't the case. In fact, generally the quality of our work goes DOWN if we sell too many things.
So, if I want to do business with a teeny tiny percentage of overall businesses, isn't it easier to find them in a smaller pond than in the ocean?
Especially if WE have consciously curated that small pond?
When you find YOUR people, they WANT to stay in community with you. Even if they don't need to buy what you have today, they BELIEVE in you and your solution. Can you say referrals?
And this is different that just "hoping" for referrals because you gave a past client great service. Nurturing a community is all about STAYING connected to the people who WANT to stay connected to you. And making sure they know how they can support you in your growth goals.
It's about maintaining a connection. Which CAN be done with content. But only if the intention is in the right place.
Bringing it all together
Most of the content you've created to date DOESN'T matter. To your business or to your potential clients (or current clients for that matter). And automating the creation of THAT type of content - even though you CAN with tools like ChatGPT - doesn't change that.
What DOES change that is changing your INTENTION with your content, by focusing on creating content that:
Helps people identify as one of YOUR People,
Invites YOUR People into the conversations that matter to you both, and
Nurtures a community that keeps YOUR People connected.
All of this is POSSIBLE with your content.
But it doesn't happen JUST by creating content.
If you're interested in chatting about what could take your current content strategy to the next level to ACTUALLY drive sales, let's chat.
