TMI #60: What you don’t know about your audience will hurt you

When creating content, I always work backwards:

1. Who is the audience?

2. What do they want to know?

You’d be so surprised how many businesses get this wrong. ??

I know you’re thinking "This doesn’t apply to me." Hear me out - I bet it does!

Here are 4 audience mistakes you may be making without realizing. Each one signals to your client that you're out of touch with their challenges and needs - exactly the opposite of what you're trying to do:

1. ?Using words like "producer," "client," or "insured" when talking directly to customers. This morning on LinkedIn, I came across a brokerage's "2024 Client Trends Report" (see screenshot above). I haven't read the report yet, but here are two problems with the headline: 1. It's marketing-centric. "2024 Client Trends Report" is the name your marketing team called the Word doc in Asana, not the headline for the final, customer-facing product. 2. The "2024 Client Trends Report" is nondescript. What kind of report is it? It's for clients. ?? In a piece for insureds, make sure to talk directly to them. Use words like "you," "your business" or "your organization." Calling business partners "clients" to their face signals: "You’re just another revenue source."
2. Framing content around product categories instead of customer challenges. Subheads called "Cyber insurance" and "cyber security" reflect your internal product categories, not key trends for your audience. Instead, link the topic to a trend or data point that's relevant to readers. Here are two examples for "cyber:" Top 3 challenges facing cyber security leaders today Balancing data privacy regulations with the need for more data
3. Elevating product to front and center. There’s nothing worse than reading an advertisement or list of features disguised as thought leadership. A list of product features belongs on your website - nowhere else.
4. Unsure of your audience? The majority of content created by brokers and insurers should talk directly to insureds. Why? Because the end user is the ultimate customer and decision maker, and because brokers can also appreciate educational content around insurance. What insureds won’t appreciate is a piece on how to sell a specific product or the intricacies of policy language.

If you work backwards, you’ll never make one of these all-too-common mistakes again! All the best, Mindi :)

INSIGHTS? Stuff worth reading

Orbit Media: 5 AI prompts to guide thought leadership

TalkCMO: Get to know the 3Rs of content marketing to boost the 4th R — ROI

Forbes: 5 tips to use LinkedIn as a powerful branding resource

Digital Marketing Tips: Got press? Here are 20 next steps

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