Empathetic Marketing

If you were around on that 30th August, you could easily have felt the deep sense of loss hanging all over the room as I sat there on the reading chair with my back against the wall.

Unlike my usual self, I was lost to everything! I didn’t notice her presence in the room until I felt a warm hug from behind me.

She placed her left hand on my shoulder as I tried hard to stop myself from sobbing.

Of course I couldn’t care less about whoever was in the apartment. I’d lost it all. So what’s more?

The moment she brought out a piece of cloth to dab my tears, I realized she had this un-shed of tears hanging from her eyes.

Seeing I’d noticed her tears, she gently squeezed my palm while rocking my back throughout the banging silence that seemed to last forever.

I didn’t know what else to do. The tears kept flowing. I’d lost it all so what’s there even if I cry like a child.

I was in this state. Those tears flowed through my face unhindered like a river on its course.

I was not interrupted in my sorrows until I felt the chord of connection between the two of us…

Then I realized what it is to have someone connect with you at your own level of need. I was overwhelmed. That feeling, is better felt than expressed in words.

Not long after that, I felt the pains ease with a deep sigh. Courage surge through my chest. Then it dawned on me that thousands have gone through this and came out stronger!

That was when I first felt the power of empathy.

Here’s the truth; If you were able to see yourself through this story, then you’re not far from understanding the concept of empathy as an individual.

You see, most people think empathy is about that familiar feeling you evolve when your best friend losts her mom because at some point you also lost yours. That’s far from it.

While sympathy acknowledges your circumstances as being unfortunate, empathy does same but goes ahead to put itself into your shoes thereby helping you realise you’re not alone…

And that is because other people have pulled through this, you can also get pass it.

What is Empathy?

According to popular usage, empathy is the ability to understand other people’s emotions, relate to their feelings and be able to sense or think about what they are thinking.

The Cambridge dictionary defines empathy as the the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.

In a simple everyday usage, most people refer to empathy as being able to walk in other people’s shoes.

Whatever it means to you, when it comes to Content Marketing, Empathy means being able to understand, feel, get into the head and emotions of your audience and then create the kind of content that really reflects these feelings (needs).

No doubt, getting to create an empathetic content can be a tough call for you as a content creator. But, getting to know your audience thoroughly, understand their needs and put yourself in their shoes can also make the job a bit easier.

Talking about putting yourself in your audience’s shoes can sound quite cliche but in this case i am referring to putting yourself in their shoe and actually feeling what they feel. Not what you feel.

This is the first steps to creating empathy content; Creating Content from the eyes (perspective) of your audience.

What Empathy can do for your Content

Empathetic marketing gives you the chance to build content that reflects the real needs of your audience.

It starts with walking in their own shoes and making it all about them. So when you’re able to do this, you automatically get yourself ready to creating content that wows them.

Why You need to use the power of Empathetic Content

First of all, understanding and utilizing the power of empathy is not only going to help your audience benefit from your content, it will help you to create better content that they can connect with at a deeper level.

Secondly, it will give you the chance, to crate an effective call to action that will generate results.

It will help you in building a more loyal and engaging audience and a sort of brand evangelists that believe in you and your brand.

As you already know, real empathetic content is part of what makes your audience feel wowed by your content.

It’s what sweeps their feet away, making them say things like; ” This is exactly what I’ve been looking for,” after interacting with your content.

It doesn’t matter who you are, you’ll have to utilize the power of empathy if you’re interested in creating the right experience for your audience in the new economy.

Using Empathetic Content to Build Deeper Connections

Empathy starts with seeking to understand your audience’s needs by allowing yourself to be cognitively immersed in their own experiences, while affirming the validity of their unique perspectives and then working towards creating content that aligns with that perspective.

When you’re empathetic, you do not only have valuable insight into what matters most to your audience, you’re also able to key into their motivations, align your content and create better outcomes for your content. This is what we’re here to do.

At the end of the day, whether it’s your family, colleagues, business associates, clients or your tribe,…

If you’re ever going to give them the right experience with your content, you’ll need to understand the power of empathetic marketing and use it as part of your content marketing strategy.

4 Responses

  1. Thank you for sharing this.

    This is no doubt one of the most neglected hinge to the door of creative writing that has hindered many writers from porting into the emotional window of their audience.

    I especially learnt a lot from this.

    • Thanks for your comments Daniel.

      I agree, a lot has been neglected about empathetic marketing. And it’s high time we key into this for a more effective and result driven content.

      I’m glad you learned something from this.

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Victor Winners

Victor Winners

Award winning Blogger, Author, Web Developer, Senior Digital Strategist and Founder of Africa's most widely read blog on Content Marketing and Digital Strategy, VictorWinners.Com.Named as one of the top 50 design influencers globally, since 2014; Victor Winners has helped over 2 million readers to understand and use digital technology to transform their lives and businesses.

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