Here is a basic truth by which we Web marketers abide: content drives action. But content can only work its magic if it reaches its intended audiences. Otherwise it's like the zen thought experiment, "If a tree falls in the middle of a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Unfortunately for marketers, we need to push our content out there; it does not automatically promote itself.
But when we do manage to push our content out to people, here is what happens.
Content Drives Engagement
"Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come," said the novelist Victor Hugo. Conversely, nothing can keep anyone away from your site once the ideas you write about have taken root in that person's mind. Communication is man's ultimate core competency and nothing stirs him up like a compelling thought or a brilliant idea.
Engagement Fosters Trust
If you continuously and consistently dish out messages that people find useful or relevant to their concerns, you will eventually build a cadence that people will come to expect, and even rely on. This consistency is the foundation upon which you can build trust between yourself and your audiences. Every bit of information you share is like a piece of brick that builds up and strengthens that trust.
Trust Induces Emotions
When people trust you, they will naturally open themselves up to you. Because they know they have nothing to fear from you, they will get into a state of openness that leaves them vulnerable to your ideas. This is the "sweet spot" you want to get to for every prospect because now you are no longer speaking to their minds, whose logic may elude you. You are speaking to their hearts and tapping into that most powerful of forces - human emotions.
Emotions Drive Action
Whether people are aware of it or not, and whether they like it or not, emotions are what drive the majority of their decisions. Many of your decisions, in fact, are triggered by your emotions because that is apparently what emotions are meant to do.
According to an article posted in the Psychology Today website, emotions provide you with a quick assessment of your current situation without requiring you to think much about it. This is the point where you get to "press their buttons" and get them to take action. Hopefully, it's the action you want them to take.
Content, therefore, drives action. So don't let your content go to waste by allowing it to fall in a forest with no one there to hear it talk about your business.