Empathy Marketing
Why empathy while promoting what you do, what you think, or yourself?
If you’ve ever seen an influencer that doesn’t have the certifications or care to help that you do, you may have rolled your eyes and felt angry that some people get more attention than you do. You may have felt awkward to tell your boss, your prospects, or even your family about your expertise or efforts. You may have deeply felt what I wrote about Imposter Syndrome.
I have THE solution. Just one. It is simple, but intensely difficult. I know you can handle it.
Empathy marketing is a term popping up everywhere by marketers and agencies I look up to. It’s sometimes referred to as Emathetic Marketing or Marketing with Empathy. It’s the most impactful for your personal brand because it does two things at the same time:
It gives you clean renewable energy.
Empathy marketing washes away doubt, fear, and the limiting beliefs that self-promotion is only for arrogant show-offs.
Is there room for emotions like empathy in business?
A quick timeline of marketing
The following were used interchangeably throughout time, but I’ll be focusing on the trendiest marketing that advertising agencies made a big deal about.
Broadcast marketing – With radio and then TV, all advertising agencies doubled down on the how the psychology could inform them to influence consumers to buy. It was the first time consumers were glued to a channel they were emotionally invested in since the newspaper came out, and advertising wasted no time in using visual and sonic elements to get audiences to do what they wanted.
Authenticity marketing – I credit reality TV and the Kardashians with the rise of authenticity marketing. Social media made it so easy for celebs to give audiences a feeling that they’re in each others’ lives. This morphed into influencer marketing and can be seen everywhere with brands saying, “Look! We’re real people too! We don’t wear makeup sometimes and we can tell you secrets!”
Empathy marketing – (Warning, I’ll be using fancy words and then telling you what it means after) Building up a persona to inform user case studies was the basis of any unicorn startup coming in from Silicon Valley. It was the base of the Lean Startup movement and tech folks were floored they could build a great product and get it to market ASAP by using iterative design and MVPs.
Translation: With the rise of apps and websites being products in themselves, tech folks figured out quickly that it’s better to get in touch with users ASAP by providing the simplest app and adding features as needed when the user themselves needed it.
Think Instagram, with its earliest version being JUST images with a handful of filters and a comments section on each. That’s it! It was a Flickr. But then they added hashtags as used on Twitter, then stories when Snapchat showed up, then cross-functionality with Facebook when social media advertising became a big deal, then IGTV, then… You get the picture. This wasn’t because they had today’s Instagram in mind and released features on a schedule, it’s because they really understand their user and provide them with what they need.
What business leaders think of feelings
Feelings are wildly acceptable in business despite what people think. The basis of behavior economics says we as humans are not efficient consumers; we don’t make decisions just on value and price. A century ago, Dale Carnegie started monetizing what would later be known as Emotional Intelligence that he honed as a salesman. In all the leadership and sales trainings, there’s always some version of Social Styles that is taught – a means to understand how people perceive asks, direction, relationships, and goals. Productivity super depends on self awareness, too.
When you know who you're talking to, you'll be given what to say.
How to put this into practice in empathizing with your dream audience
What a persona is
Creating a persona is a means to empathize with people you haven't yet met. You create a fictional representation of your dream audiences. Don’t fret if you don’t know who your groups of dream audiences are (you will defo have more than one), this is most of what I help my clients work out. You’re welcome to an Intro Call with me ☺️
Here’s a basic guide on identifying your audiences:
Who’s attention do you want? This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how wide your net is by default. If you’re looking for a job, for example, you don’t need the attention of hiring managers, you need the attention of recruiters. If you’re a freelancer, you don’t need attention from your peers or fellow creatives, you need potential clients. Perhaps you’re having a tough time climbing the corporate ladder, so you’ll need the attention decision makers of promotions, which is different in every organization.
Who’s attention do you have? Here’s one you have but don’t know what to do with – Supportive friends or family that have no idea what you do. Regardless of what you want, they are an audience that pays attention to you, so it’s time to see what they see.
Build your dream audience persona
A high-res template can be found in my resources, and I highly advise filling every bit of it with your intuition. Don’t think, analyze, or check! The power of this exercise is that you’ll be able to confront your own thoughts about who you’re thinking about. You will face really uncomfortable feelings that could be tied to imposter syndrome, comparison to influencers, or comparison to yourself. I implore you to behold what comes up, because there is intense wisdom in your flaring emotions.
While the template is self explanatory, you will feel shy or silly for writing down such obvious points about the people whose attention you’re seeking. If you do feel one of these ways, notice it and enjoy this weird exercise we’re experiencing together. I’m with you 🥰
Take a real look at the following:
How might you accidentally add to or become this beautiful person’s frustration?
How are you meant to serve this awesome human to reach their goals?
How can you add a healthy boost of motivation in their life that will help them reach their goals?
Act on your newly generated empathy
This is the biggest secret I’ve been keeping for my clients for the past year. The quickest way to get out of overthinking and dread about your self-promotion goals is to do what you do best naturally: Empathize and help.
What does your dream audience, who desperate to get out of their frustrations, longing to get to their goal, and confused about how to motivate themselves… What do they need to hear from you right now?
Yella, go tell them 💕