Feeling uncomfortable yet

Feeling uncomfortable? 

You should be. 

And I'll tell you why.

We post content that suits us, that suits our business and often we try and get inside the head of our customer, but most of the time the content we produce is for us, not for them.

And the reason for that is that it's quite uncomfortable when you stop posting content you like and start posting content that they're going to like, because you're not speaking to yourself, you're speaking to somebody else. 

And so the content doesn't quite resonate with you. 

But here's the thing, you're not the target customer. 

If your content resonates with you, can you see how you've got a problem? 

It doesn't make sense does it? 

You've got to be uncomfortable with the content you're posting, it's not got to sit right for you, because you're not the target. 

Precisely because you're not the target. 

You have to know your customers so well that you know the content will sit right with them. 

The problem is all to do with ego and intuition, our head versus their head. 

The bottom line is we either put ourselves first or we put them first when we're writing and creating content. 

A famous copywriter once said; 

“You've got to get out the conversation you're having in your head and get into the conversation, join the conversation the customer is having in their head.” 

This is so profound and so totally true because it's the customer that gives us engagement.

It's the customer that gives us business. 

Engagement in business is some not something we go and get, it's something they give. 

If you're uncomfortable it's because it feels like you're in the wrong conversation and you are, because you're not in your conversation, you've joined them in their conversation and there's immense power in that discomfort. 

You feel vulnerable. 

It's not your conversation. 

This isn't your house.

You're somewhere else, talking to customers, not in a comfortable space of your creation and management, but in a risky space where anything can happen. 

So the discomfort comes from an insecurity around owning and controlling the conversation.

It is really that simple.

We overcomplicate it though. 

You'll know when you're doing a great job because you will see engagement start to go up. When you start talking to people about things that matter to them, guess what will happen, well they will start talking back. 

Precisely because you're talking to them about things that matter to them. 

It's a very difficult thing to start thinking about but once you start doing it, it's almost impossible to stop thinking about it. 

There's a cognitive bias in play. 

It becomes obvious; 

Why didn't I do this before? 

I want you to think about things that you should be talking about, that they care about. 

I want you to maybe create a list of the conversations you think they're having, ask customers, run a survey, do a poll; 

What do you care about most? 

Nothing to do with our business, but what things matter to you the most? 

And here's the secret, whatever they say, try and find a way to relate that to your business.

Because if you can relate their conversations to your conversation, that's when you really start to win. 

You will see engagement go up. 

They will feel heard and you will be more in the middle of your marketplace, and that's exactly where you want to be. 

That discomfort from being in the middle of their marketplace, is the normal level of discomfort you should be feeling, otherwise you're just preaching to the converted in a room all on your own.