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What Happens When Your Humanity Befriends Your Knowledge

written by Stefanie Flaxman
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What Happens When Your Humanity Befriends Your Knowledge

Like.

It’s easy to overlook that one, right?

When it comes to the know, like, and trust factor that creates an effective sales environment, know and trust get a lot of attention.

Like almost becomes a part of know and forgotten. Similar to that seventh dwarf whose name always slips your mind. (I’m looking at you, Bashful.)

But like is not only separate from know, it’s an important bridge to trust that you’ll have trouble building if you don’t give it its own spotlight.

The difference between know and like

They’re similar on the surface, so I’m certainly guilty of grouping know and like together: know-like and trust.

However, the difference is obvious when you think about how your target audience may know who you are and what you do, but they don’t necessarily like you … yet.

For instance, I’m aware of a lot of cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics. I’m their target audience, so I know them through their marketing, but which ones do I end up buying? The ones I’ve grown to like (and eventually trust) because of their marketing.

We don’t buy every brand we know; like helps us narrow down our choices.

How to develop like

Some writers don’t like to work while music with lyrics plays, but it’s part of my practice.

When it’s time to put the finishing touches on a draft I’ve been working on over multiple writing sessions, I often listen to the album Original Pirate Material by The Streets.

“You won’t find us on AltaVista — cult classic, not bestseller.”
– The Streets, “Let’s Push Things Forward”

Yes, AltaVista. The record came out in 2002.

I love how that lyric simultaneously makes a statement about the artist and defines their audience.

It’s a sentiment that pushed me from know to like.

Without knowing your perspective, values, and experience, how will people like you?

The intersection of your humanity and your knowledge makes you likable.

Clarity has a ripple effect

If you don’t have a distinct style, it’s difficult to attract anyone.

If you do have a distinct style, you’ll attract a certain type of person and unexpected people as well.

For example, let’s say you sell a product for male college students. By speaking directly to that audience in your marketing and incorporating the elements that make you likable, you accomplish more than just attracting one type of person.

When a grandmother is looking for the perfect gift for her grandson, your clear content marketing will make her feel confident that she’s purchasing wisely.

You didn’t intend to attract Grandma, but your strong point of view helped her select a present and you gained a customer.

Clearly expressing who you are and who you serve benefits your business and different types of prospects.

Experience helps you add the right details

Content marketing is always a creative challenge.

Your goal is to stand out, whether there is a bunch of other interesting content in your niche or content about your topic is typically dry.

You make the competition irrelevant when you demonstrate over time why you’re the only reasonable choice for your prospect.

Here are two helpful truths/disclaimers I always reference when discussing how to implement like:

  1. You don’t have to compromise your professionalism.
  2. You don’t want to distract readers from your message with nonsense.

It’s natural for a beginner to add color to their writing by using:

  • Flowery language
  • Excessive exclamations or unsupported proclamations
  • Tangents

As a writer matures, they show their perspective, values, and experience through:

Try this simple exercise

Pick three content creators you regularly follow. They could be writers, podcast hosts, or video producers.

Name at least one reason why you like each of them, and then brainstorm ways to add similar elements to your content.

Of course, don’t take this as a license to copy them; the exercise will help you uncover your version of those appealing qualities.

It’s not a time to be Bashful.

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Reader Comments (13)

  1. Wow! This is just superb. From the way you write to the organization, i’ve learned a lot Stefanie.
    I’m definitely going to try out the simple exercise you suggested. I think that will be very helpful too.
    Thanks

  2. Hey Stefanie!

    You are so right. We often go with the brands we actually like and not just because we know them. We can know all of the brands and service providers, but at the end of the day, we will go with the one we like.

    It is important to develop your own style and shine your own personality through your written words. This has a lot to do with self-confidence, I believe. If you are not self-confidence enough to not care what others think of you and your personal style of writing and skills, you might not have many truly like you in order to influence to achieve success through them.

    Thank you so much for sharing your tips here!

    Best regards! 😀

  3. This was a great thought-provoking post. I found it very enlightening to discern the difference between knowing and liking. Yes, it’s subtle, but there is a real difference. I can see how recognizing that difference can actually be very helpful in building relationship with your audience.

    I was also quite taken with “The intersection of your humanity and your knowledge makes you likable.” That is just powerfully true. Well said!

    Thanks for sharing yet another helpful look into writing effectively!

  4. That’s so true.

    It might be a big risk when you approaching a brand just because you like it, without even knowing the actual facts, experience, and potential.

    I have personally experienced big lose in my ventures just because I like something, without knowing.

    • A product I was considering buying recently had a lot of “like” factors for me, but at the last minute I decided to check out some reviews before making my purchase.

      There were a lot of negative comments and even one that said the website I was going to buy from had a history of not being secure. That was enough to stop me from getting the product — “like” was achieved, but not “trust.”

      “Know, like, and trust” are definitely interconnected.

  6. I love this idea! It’s a really good point that you can know brands, but you don’t necessarily like them. And once you hit ‘know’ and ‘like’ then ‘trust’ is sort of inevitable…

  7. Stephanie, what a gift you’ve just bestowed upon all who read this piece.

    So much sense within every sentence. I paused most thoughtfully.

    Ah writing. ‘Tis our own unique voice being heard, and a will to allow it to be written without being coy.

    Oh, and by the way, Bashful is always the one I leave out. Don’t know why, poor little fella.

  8. Awesome! Thanks Stephanie, this is a great read and a seriously good point. And I love Mike Skinner. Did you ever hear From the Edge of a Cliff?

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