Unless you’re programming mass produced robots fresh off an assembly line, communication is never a by-the-numbers task. No two people grasp the same information the same way. As a small business owner, you need to understand how your audience thinks and how they learn before you can deliver content that satisfies their needs.
Creating content is not just a matter of deciding to start a blog or website, hiring writers and watching the page views roll in like waves crashing on a beach. You need to create the right formula for effectively communicating with your audience. You need to tailor content so that it can spread your message while incorporating diverse learning styles.
Formula for Learning
Content best serves its purpose when it can cover all the bases in communicating to the target audience. It must be structured to address a diverse range of learning styles.
People typically embrace one of four major learning styles:
- Innovative learning
- Analytic learning
- Common sense learning
- Dynamic learning
Innovative learners are focused in knowing why they need to learn specific information and how it will benefit them. Analytic learners are focused on absorbing facts alone. Common sense learners want to discover how things work. Dynamic learners rely on their own intuition to learn information and, after accepting it, seek to share what they learned with others.
Blend Learning Styles When You Hire Writers
Your content can have a greater impact when it is designed to offer something for everyone in your target audience. This principle is true whether you are writing a complex technical manual for a product you offer or a simple blog post.
Structure your content so it incorporates all four phases of learning and engages both sides of the brain among your target audience. Your content should answer four basic questions:
- Why?
- What?
- How?
- What If?
Offer reasons for why the information you’re sharing matters. Build this foundation by showing your audience in the headline and opening paragraphs how this information will improve their life. Once you have established why the information is important, provide facts and data to back it up. This will reinforce the content’s value.
At this juncture, show your audience how they can apply the information you have shared in the real world. This phase is critical for a small business owner because it shows a potential customer how to use their product or service and lets them answer questions that might arise along the way.
Learning After Posting Content
The learning cycle is not complete with the publishing of content. Small business owners should make it a priority to get involved with their audience. This means responding to feedback through answering questions and offering comments or suggestions.
Making content interactive in this manner helps your target audience continue to learn new information. You can reach beyond what is presented in the original content and turn your blog or website into a comprehensive informational hub.
John C is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
