Here’s an interesting thing to consider: in 2022, businesses are competing against real people for the attention of other real people. And for your business to be successful, your customers have to consider you a friend.

People trust friends. They want to spend time with friends. They’ll listen to friends. And that’s because their friends have spent a significant amount of time caring for them, connecting with them, and bringing value to their lives with no expectation of anything in return.

In return, people reward their friends with care and loyalty.

That’s why the concept of “friend-of-mine” awareness is so important these days.

You can’t just sell to your target members anymore, and you need to be a friend to your existing ones if you want to keep them around.

It all comes down to going above and beyond to offer them value–both in the space as well as in the resources, insights, information, entertainment, and education you can offer to them.

And that’s one of the cornerstone purposes of a well-defined, thoughtfully-crafted content marketing strategy.

Don’t just do business with your members. Don’t just sell to your prospects. Learn about them. Care about them. Offer them value with no expectation of reciprocation.  And build relationships with them that will last in the long term.

You’ll be rewarded for your efforts.