Customer-Centric Storytelling: Using the “Who Cares” Approach
FAQ: What is the “Who Cares” approach in marketing?
Answer: The “Who Cares” approach is the question every business owner should ask themselves. The question challenges you to consider who genuinely cares about this topic, this perspective, or this blog post.
Remember: It’s not about you; it’s about your customer.
When you focus on what matters to your audience, you connect with them, which drives results.
When I scroll through social media or read landscaping blogs, some writers get it right, and others get it wrong.
It seems that some marketers want to talk about themselves and don’t have a clear idea of who their readers are. So they either talk down to their audience or bore them to death.
In this blog post, you’ll learn the following about the “Who Cares” marketing approach:
- What is the “Who Cares” approach to marketing?
- Know your audience
- Let ”Who Cares” guide your content creation
- Hacks to build emotional connections in your content.
What Is the “Who Cares” Approach to Marketing?
Steve McGrath says, “If content creators are laser-focused on value for the end consumer, they are less likely to suffer writer’s block.”
The “Who Cares” approach to content creation has existed for a long time. However, in our world of self-centric clips, we focus on ourselves rather than our customers.
We don’t get the clicks we long for on our social media and websites. Remember, the audience you’re targeting is busy. They don’t have time to read about your life. Instead, your audience wants to know, “How will you help me market my business?”
Instead, McGrath advises, “Unless you’re one of the very hottest brands, they (your audience) don’t automatically care about your business, your new product, or your life. They’re not waiting for you to settle on the right adjectives for your offering. You need to help them care.”
Asking the “Who Cares” question helps you focus on getting your audience to care about your products and services because you care for them first.
Know Your Audience
Who is your audience?
If you’re a marketing pro, you probably have that knowledge at your fingertips.
But how can you get to know your audience deeper?
Stefanie Marrone encourages you to analyze your audience. You need to enter into your audience’s world. Here are tips to help you study your audience:
- Send out a survey after sending an invoice
- Collect insights from a poll on your website or LinkedIn
- Dig into social media analytics
- Get feedback from your customers through Google and Yelp reviews
- Get to know your audience through their online behavior, their favorite platforms, and when they’re the most active.
Read more: Web Designers & Digital Marketers: What Are Your Pain Points?
Let “Who Cares” Guide Your Content Creation
So, how do you start implementing “Who Cares?” into your content? Lydia Adams names three points for changing your perspective in your content creation:
- Ensure that your topic is relevant to your audience—Since people have a six- to eight-second attention span, you must create content for your audience to scan quickly.
Lydia recommends answering your audience’s burning questions and ensuring you provide the information when your audience needs it.
- You need to get your audience’s attention through imagery—get your readers to stop to watch your content.
How do you do that? Through videos, photos, graphic design, and color that grab your readers’ attention and keep them on the page. These aren’t photos of you; they are relevant photos that will interest your audience.
- Incorporate frequency in your content—this concept dates back to 1885, well before the invention of the Internet, social media, and content creation. However, Thomas Smith, who wrote “Successful Advertising” at the end of the 19th century, said that a prospect needs to see your ad 20 times before they’ll buy from you.
I heard of this theory nearly 10 years ago, and it is now called touches. The updated theory says your prospect needs three to seven touches before they buy from you.
Learn More: End-of-Year Planning: Content Marketing for Landscaping Businesses
Hacks to Build Emotional Connections in Your Content
According to Stefanie Marrone, your next job is creating a community. How do you do that? Here are three pointers that Stefanie provides:
- Welcome comments to your blogs and social media posts
- Start a conversation on your social media posts
- Respond to those who interact with your content.
You can further build emotional connections with your content by using these tips:
- Developing customer personas (the average person who buys your services)
- Be authentic and compassionate through storytelling
- Use the story of turfgrass varieties, sod installation, and weed control success to create a beautiful lawn
- In addition to responding to comments, also encourage your current clients to weigh in on their lawn and landscape pain points by talking with actual customers
- You can also include surveys and reviews in your newsletters and invoices to get customer feedback
- Make your content personal by using personal pronouns and addressing your audience directly
- Remember your audience when choosing words; while you may think certain words are acceptable, your audience may not.
- Humanize your content by using emotional intelligence, such as controlling your emotions while commenting, and using empathy in your digital content
The above may sound a bit woo-woo, but you can tailor the above pointers based on your customer base. What kind of voice do your customers like? Consider both female and male readers who are interested in your services.
Choose The Landscape Writer to Incorporate the “Who Cares” Approach
If you’re looking for a content writer for your commercial green industry blogs and newsletters, contact The Landscape Writer at 717-381-6719 or get your free consultation here.
Sources:
LinkedIn.com, Content Marketing: How to Take Your Audience from “Who Cares” to “I’m Interested.”
MarketingEvolution.com, Uncovering Your Effective Frequency for Advertising Campaigns.
PRDaily.com, Stuck on Messaging? Start by Asking, “Who Cares?”
SocialMediaButterflyBlog.com, Mastering Content Creation: The Power of Knowing Your Audience.
