Name: Can specialist industry content still be fun?
Uploaded: 2023-11-06T11:09:10.798Z
Duration: 382.88

RStephenson_v3.mp4

RStephenson_v3.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
I mean, insurance is
boring by necessity, right?

{{00:00:02}}
You don't want to be wondering
whether your insurance policy

{{00:00:06}}
is going to pay out, right?

{{00:00:07}}
But if all of the communication around
that is boring, it's very easy to

{{00:00:13}}
tune out things that are important.

{{00:00:22}}
I think one challenge that we've seen,
from a lot of the other people that

{{00:00:27}}
we're, that we've talked with in this
space tends to be But there's a lot of

{{00:00:33}}
corporate, just corporatisation of the
structure where people feel as though,

{{00:00:37}}
oh, because this is, you know, a niche,
because this is highly specialised,

{{00:00:42}}
we need to have tight control over the
things that we're talking about and

{{00:00:46}}
the way that we're talking about them.

{{00:00:48}}
And so getting past that sort of
initial reticence to take any risks with

{{00:00:52}}
marketing,  can be a pretty big obstacle.

{{00:00:55}}
So for niche industry marketers
who are looking to develop

{{00:00:58}}
their unique brand voice.

{{00:01:00}}
What would you say that they
should sort of consider first off?

{{00:01:04}}
I mean, I always think that it's a
good idea to start with the audience,

{{00:01:10}}
you know, and start with how many,
you know, what, what education level

{{00:01:14}}
are you looking at in your audience?

{{00:01:17}}
Is like if you are working for a product
focused or a service focused thing.

{{00:01:23}}
You know, how aware are they,
even that this product or

{{00:01:26}}
service exists just in general?

{{00:01:29}}
And then, you know, where, where is brand
awareness and, and those kinds of things.

{{00:01:32}}
But starting with audience and what
are they looking for, you know,

{{00:01:36}}
not, not even necessarily focused
on your product, but also just, you

{{00:01:39}}
know, we're in insurance compliance.

{{00:01:42}}
So what are people who work
in insurance compliance?

{{00:01:46}}
What are they looking for?

{{00:01:47}}
What are their daily obstacles?

{{00:01:49}}
Where are they turning to?

{{00:01:52}}
That they wouldn't see content
that we're putting out.

{{00:01:55}}
And what role do you think the
audience research plays in developing

{{00:01:58}}
the right personality and tone?

{{00:02:00}}
And how do you go about
identifying that unique need

{{00:02:03}}
and the preferences of different
audiences, especially niche ones?

{{00:02:08}}
I mean, I think audience research
definitely plays a really big role.

{{00:02:13}}
You know,  you write for the
audience that you have or for the

{{00:02:16}}
audience that you are trying to have.

{{00:02:18}}
And  so, so starting there
and starting with, yeah, what,

{{00:02:21}}
what are their pain points?

{{00:02:23}}
What are they looking for?

{{00:02:24}}
And, and also branching out into what,
what are they lacking, what is their,

{{00:02:28}}
you know,  if you look around, and
again, niche industries, it tends to

{{00:02:32}}
be a lot of sort of very buttoned up
content where people are very stiff

{{00:02:36}}
and stoic, and that's their approach
to content, and so, seeing, okay, What

{{00:02:42}}
are some ways, you know, is this an
industry that could use maybe a little

{{00:02:45}}
shaking up in terms of maybe talking
about things from an angle of empathy

{{00:02:50}}
or things from an angle of humor,  and,
and really trying to, yeah, get a scope

{{00:02:56}}
of what there is already being generated
for that audience and how you can fill

{{00:03:01}}
that, whether that's like a knowledge
gap or just sort of an angle gap.

{{00:03:06}}
And I guess engaging niche audiences
really requires a niche knowledge.

{{00:03:11}}
But at the time, at the same time, you
know, you're trying to develop that unique

{{00:03:15}}
voice and whether that's humor, whether
that's, you know, a different angle that

{{00:03:20}}
you're kind of focusing on what you say,
how do you strike that balance between

{{00:03:24}}
personality and being informative?

{{00:03:26}}
I mean, I do think that we try to focus
first on audience need, you know,  I

{{00:03:35}}
can sit around and be funny all day.

{{00:03:37}}
I like to think of myself
as a very humorous person.

{{00:03:40}}
But,  my, my comedic insight is totally
lost if the audience doesn't care about

{{00:03:45}}
whatever it is I'm being funny about.

{{00:03:47}}
And then once you have that and once
you understand, you know, these are

{{00:03:50}}
the things that these people care
about, these are the things that

{{00:03:53}}
they need, then you can really build
the voice around how you approach

{{00:03:59}}
addressing those, those unique subjects.

{{00:04:02}}
You don't want to be wondering
whether your insurance policy

{{00:04:05}}
is going to pay out, right?

{{00:04:06}}
It is boring by necessity, but.

{{00:04:10}}
If all of the communication around
that is boring, it's very easy to tune

{{00:04:15}}
out things that are important because
you're simply, you just don't have

{{00:04:19}}
the attention span for it anymore.

{{00:04:21}}
We're living in an attention economy
and so changing up the way you deliver

{{00:04:26}}
the message, the message stays the same,
but changing the way that you deliver

{{00:04:30}}
that message is important in maintaining
your audience's focus and then your

{{00:04:34}}
audience's understanding and trust.

{{00:04:37}}
And it helps you keep
important things important.

{{00:04:42}}
Could you share a few examples or an
example of a niche industry that you've

{{00:04:46}}
worked with and explain the creative
strategies that you employed to make their

{{00:04:50}}
content more interesting and engaging?

{{00:04:52}}
So, obviously right now I
work in,  insurance compliance

{{00:04:57}}
and producer management.

{{00:04:59}}
And that's pretty niche industry,
and we tend to take an approach

{{00:05:02}}
of being incredibly informative.

{{00:05:04}}
I like to call myself an
insufferable know it all.

{{00:05:07}}
You know, it's delightful.

{{00:05:10}}
And,  but also take a
humorous approach to that.

{{00:05:13}}
So we tend to rely pretty heavily
on humor or pop culture references

{{00:05:18}}
or anything that kind of breaks it
up when you're talking about things

{{00:05:22}}
like,  managing general agency and
their compliance responsibilities

{{00:05:26}}
when it comes to producer licensing.

{{00:05:28}}
Injecting humor into that
is, is pretty critical.

{{00:05:32}}
But I have also worked in,  financial
services where addressing, you know,

{{00:05:38}}
more,  consumer audiences about things
that consumer audiences really need.

{{00:05:45}}
They need financial education.

{{00:05:46}}
They don't necessarily
want financial education.

{{00:05:49}}
Nobody really wants to spend all of their
day talking about 401k strategies, but

{{00:05:54}}
being able to use lots of analogies,  and
make, you know, emotional, empathetic

{{00:06:01}}
appeals and use ways of talking about
some of those products or like investment

{{00:06:06}}
or retirement strategies in a way that
speaks to sort of their heart and their,

{{00:06:11}}
their core desires,  can get you past
some of those obstacles to attention.

I mean, insurance is
boring by necessity, right?

You don't want to be wondering
whether your insurance policy

But if all of the communication around
that is boring, it's very easy to

I think one challenge that we've seen,
from a lot of the other people that

we're, that we've talked with in this
space tends to be But there's a lot of

corporate, just corporatisation of the
structure where people feel as though,

oh, because this is, you know, a niche,
because this is highly specialised,

we need to have tight control over the
things that we're talking about and

And so getting past that sort of
initial reticence to take any risks with

marketing,  can be a pretty big obstacle.

So for niche industry marketers
who are looking to develop

What would you say that they
should sort of consider first off?

I mean, I always think that it's a
good idea to start with the audience,

you know, and start with how many,
you know, what, what education level

Is like if you are working for a product
focused or a service focused thing.

You know, how aware are they,
even that this product or

And then, you know, where, where is brand
awareness and, and those kinds of things.

But starting with audience and what
are they looking for, you know,

not, not even necessarily focused
on your product, but also just, you

So what are people who work
in insurance compliance?

That they wouldn't see content
that we're putting out.

And what role do you think the
audience research plays in developing

And how do you go about
identifying that unique need

and the preferences of different
audiences, especially niche ones?

I mean, I think audience research
definitely plays a really big role.

You know,  you write for the
audience that you have or for the

And  so, so starting there
and starting with, yeah, what,

And, and also branching out into what,
what are they lacking, what is their,

you know,  if you look around, and
again, niche industries, it tends to

be a lot of sort of very buttoned up
content where people are very stiff

and stoic, and that's their approach
to content, and so, seeing, okay, What

are some ways, you know, is this an
industry that could use maybe a little

shaking up in terms of maybe talking
about things from an angle of empathy

or things from an angle of humor,  and,
and really trying to, yeah, get a scope

of what there is already being generated
for that audience and how you can fill

that, whether that's like a knowledge
gap or just sort of an angle gap.

And I guess engaging niche audiences
really requires a niche knowledge.

But at the time, at the same time, you
know, you're trying to develop that unique

voice and whether that's humor, whether
that's, you know, a different angle that

you're kind of focusing on what you say,
how do you strike that balance between

I mean, I do think that we try to focus
first on audience need, you know,  I

I like to think of myself
as a very humorous person.

But,  my, my comedic insight is totally
lost if the audience doesn't care about

And then once you have that and once
you understand, you know, these are

the things that these people care
about, these are the things that

they need, then you can really build
the voice around how you approach

If all of the communication around
that is boring, it's very easy to tune

out things that are important because
you're simply, you just don't have

We're living in an attention economy
and so changing up the way you deliver

the message, the message stays the same,
but changing the way that you deliver

that message is important in maintaining
your audience's focus and then your

And it helps you keep
important things important.

Could you share a few examples or an
example of a niche industry that you've

worked with and explain the creative
strategies that you employed to make their

So, obviously right now I
work in,  insurance compliance

And that's pretty niche industry,
and we tend to take an approach

I like to call myself an
insufferable know it all.

And,  but also take a
humorous approach to that.

So we tend to rely pretty heavily
on humor or pop culture references

or anything that kind of breaks it
up when you're talking about things

like,  managing general agency and
their compliance responsibilities

Injecting humor into that
is, is pretty critical.

But I have also worked in,  financial
services where addressing, you know,

more,  consumer audiences about things
that consumer audiences really need.

They don't necessarily
want financial education.

Nobody really wants to spend all of their
day talking about 401k strategies, but

being able to use lots of analogies,  and
make, you know, emotional, empathetic

appeals and use ways of talking about
some of those products or like investment

or retirement strategies in a way that
speaks to sort of their heart and their,

their core desires,  can get you past
some of those obstacles to attention.

Content Marketing

Expert Insight

Marketing products to an audience that really needs that product might sound easy, but niche industries are often highly specialised and some might even say a little...boring?
So how can you you market to these audiences in a way that won't send them to sleep?
Regina Stephenson, Senior Content Specialist at AgentSync, shares her insights on effectively delivering creative messages to specialist audiences.

Content Creation

Niche strategies

Content Strategy

Digital Content

Niche

thumbnail_Regina-Stephenson-copy_502251_1694030724.jpg

xsmall_Regina-Stephenson-copy_502251_1694030724.jpg

Regina-Stephenson-copy_502251_1694030724.jpg

Regina Stephenson

Sr. Content Specialist

According to Stephenson, marketers in specialist industries often struggle as the leadership see creativity as a risk.

Niche industry marketing challenges

Stephenson offers valuable guidance for crafting relevant content, emphasising the importance of understanding the audience's needs over fixating on brand awareness.

Building a niche brand voice

According Stephenson, audience research is crucial in content creation, but once you understand the audience's needs you should consider introducing empathy or humour into your messages.

The role of audience research

Stephenson stresses the need to master your niche and tailor your messaging to engage and build trust with your audience in an attention-focused economy.

The impact of audience research on content personality and tone

The speaker discusses their approach to content, which involves blending humor, pop culture references, and informative material and stresses the importance of humor in maintaining audience engagement.