You understand why it’s a good idea to think about your audience when you write marketing content for your small business (and if you don’t, this is for you). You’ve done your research, and you know who your ideal clients are, what they need from you and where to find them, but what next?
Here’s what knowing your audience and translating that into content looks like, so you can create marketing that the right people want to read.
Listen to their language
Listening to the way your customers talk lets you use their language when you write. They’ll describe their challenges or goals using particular words or phrases that might differ from the ones you’d use. This is especially true if you work in professional services, where legal or financial terms provide a handy shortcut for you and your colleagues, but aren’t part of your customers’ language. Technical terms create distance, while familiar language builds trust. Understanding how your customers talk lets you reflect their language back at them, helping them feel understood.
You can do this in several different ways. It can come straight from the conversations you have with clients, prospects, or at networking events. You can also read what they write on social media or see what phrases they Google. (Answer the public is a great resource for this.) Think about the difference between the language you’d use to describe your services and the way a client described the problem they had when they contacted you.
What are they thinking?
Understanding what your future customers are thinking helps you talk about the right topics. Some might be evergreen, while others change depending on the season or what’s happening in the world. Answering a question or raising a topic at the right time increases the chance that your content will strike a chord. Your post pops up, and people say, “That’s funny, I was just thinking about that.”
The techniques you use are similar to the ones that let you listen to your customers’ language. What questions are people asking in person or online? How do the conversations change over time? Google Trends provides search data to show which topics come up more often at specific times of year. The information you gain from your research gives you content prompts that you can turn into weekly or monthly themes.
Getting the knowledge level right
Pitching your content at the right level can be a challenge. Your audience might be made up of experienced readers and complete beginners. I know that you might be reading this as someone who’s been in business for years and knows what works in your marketing. You still read my blog posts because you specialise in something completely different and want to keep up to date. You might also be a beginner who’s just started a business, and you’re trying to find your way. The language I use will generally stay the same because I trust your intelligence, but I know that you’ll probably be looking for different things from me.
I generally recommend creating some guides covering topics that might be new to beginners. The title makes it obvious who they’re for, so more experienced people will skip to something else. If you write something else and use a term a beginner might not understand, you can link back to the post so they can read it if they need to. That way, you can tailor each post to give the right amount of context and information. It can also help you shape your introduction, making it clear that you’re going to cover the basics or offering resources for anyone who needs more background.
What makes them hesitate?
Answering a potential client’s question before they’ve asked it is a great way to connect, but they might also have objections that they’re hesitant to tell you about. Explaining how you solve a problem or help them achieve a goal lets them visualise the solution, but there might also be obstacles in the way. It could be that they feel they’d benefit from therapy, but they’re worried about being judged. Maybe they think your product would be the perfect birthday present for their spouse, but they don’t understand the process or worry that it won’t arrive in time. Understanding and addressing your customers’ objections, whether large or small, helps your content feel like a conversation because it shows people you’ve listened to them in the past.
Checking your work
Before you publish something new, ask yourself these three questions:
- Have I chosen a topic my customers are actually thinking about?
- Will my ideal customer recognise themselves from the way I’ve started the post?
- Have I used the words they’d use, instead of the ones I’d use?
If you’ve answered no to any of these, think about what you’d change.
Ready for a chat?
If you need some help finding the topics that resonate with your audience, my content clarity sessions help you get your knowledge out of your head and into a plan. If you know what you want to talk about but struggle to put it into words consistently, I can help with that.
When you work with me, I’ll get to know you and your business and write content that showcases your best self, helping you connect with your ideal customers and talk about what matters most to them.
You can email me to arrange a chat or book a Zoom call to find out more.
Alternatively, sign up for my mailing list, and I’ll send you a free copy of my eBook with fifty (yes, 50) topic ideas for your marketing as a thank you. It also includes hints and tips to help you structure your posts if you’re currently writing your content yourself.
