FUSE

Our head of Strategy, Laurie Dillon-Schalk, has noted a shift towards empathy by many presenting content marketers.

The learning stood out from her years of experience analyzing conversational data looking for true consumer-level purchase motivations, attitudes and behaviors. Even more fascinating, it also connected with her life as a mom.

On a panel about this exact topic, Ben Mand of Blum Organics, drove home an incredibly powerful reminder about using empathy to build a connection with a consumer. “People don't want to be sold a product or service... but they are receptive to buying things.  It isn't about building a product [ad] and pushing them out.  There are so many relationships that consumers do not want to be interrupted with advertising.  It is about embedding and being part of the content.”

Then Ben invoked the parent factor to really drive this home: “Look at what parents are putting out there [in content] vs marketers who are always sharing bright shiny moments.  Most brands portray parenthood & baby years that feature no stains, no crying, no mess. But in truth, that’s just 1% of what’s actually happening. The rest of parenthood is a @#$% show.  No one truly conveys what parenting is like.” However, all parents can relate, engage and even laugh at the reality of being a parent.

The "parenting perfection" content alienates parents, whereas content that tells them they’re not alone, and that doing their best is a beautiful thing in and of itself  – That’s empathy. This is the content they’ll connect with, engage and share.