The Difference Between Cold and Warm Content #221

In this episode of The Know, Like & Trust Show, we explore the difference between Cold and Warm content and how to create friction in your content to turn some people off and create more buy-in with your best client.

Table of Contents

In this episode, you will learn the following:

How to create warmth in your content to turn potential customers into committed buyers
How to use friction to your advantage to create sticky content
How to serve your warm audience even as you’re serving your cold audience

Listen to this episode on:

Highlights in this episode:

[00:00:57] Social content should focus on Cold audiences

[00:01:21] How to turn a dotted path into a solid line for your audience

[00:02:21] Using friction in your content is going to create ownership

[00:05:05] Warm content is for communities

[00:07:05] Make sure that your content is doing the hard work in your business

Blog Post

Friction is a relatively easy concept to explain! We’re covering cold content vs. warm content, how they’re different, and what’s the same in each. And it’s all about friction–convenient since that’s a way to create warmth.

Social content should focus on cold audiences

Cold content guides your audience through the customer journey; it gives a glimpse of the transformation you can offer them.

In last week’s article, I talked a bit about how your content’s goal is always to walk along the listen-comprehend-apply path. This allows your audience to turn a dotted path into a solid line.

It starts with them at Point A
If they like what you have to say, they move on to Point B where they follow along to decide if they can trust you
They need to see a path to Point C, where they enter the buyer consideration stage
Still trusting you? They’ll buy at Point D or E.

But if they can’t see that path from A to E, if it all looks disjointed and unclear, they’re not going there.

This is why they need to listen, then comprehend, and then apply. And your cold content is how you can connect that path. Your cold content is where you build that buy-in.

Using friction in your content

Using friction creates ownership because once someone has committed to getting past the friction, they believe in your cause more. This is why content that provokes thought creates more buy-in with your audience–and why thought-provoking content is sticky.

It’s all about creating buy-in.

Person presents an idea
I implement the idea, I see good results
I trust Person more
The next thing Person says, I’m more likely to believe

The whole idea of this is to create micro-connections.

And I want to point out I am not a psychiatrist, I am not well-versed in NLP, nor will I ever be (read Tony Robbins and all the abuses), but I know enough about making people feel welcome from a lifetime of feeling unwelcome.

All of these micro buy-ins are ways to help your audience feel like, “Hey I am in the right place,” and them exceeding the friction level that you have created in your business gives these micro-commitments. These small wins and moments of joy cement your place for them.

Since you’re doing it from an actual place of service, giving them a real win, and not manipulation, it builds trust in a healthy way.

Also, from a simple place of fun science, friction creates heat. Rub your hands together, they become warmer. Skid hard along the carpet, you get rug burn. Creating intentional friction in your business with thought-provoking content will warm up your audience.

It will also turn some people off, and that’s also intentional. If they “can’t stand the heat” they shouldn’t be in your kitchen. You’re meant for different people.

Warm content is for communities

Will your warm audience still see your social content meant for cold audiences? Of course. It will remind them of where they started and help them see how far they’ve come already.

Warm content reminds them of past transformations and helps nudge them to the next transformation. That may be going from Point C to Point D, or it maybe be much further down the journey–after they’ve already purchased an entry-level course from you and are in the consideration phase for a more significant investment.

While they may be a part of your larger cold audience, they’re also part of your warm community–which might not be made up of just clients. In my warm audience, I also have colleagues, referral partners, etc. They’re part of the general ecosystem.

Whether you have an official community as a group on a Facebook page or Heartbeat, an actual membership, or something else isn’t the point. The point is knowing you’re serving this segment of your audience, even as they’re a part of your larger audience.

Need help creating an intentional, measurable content plan? Make 2023 your year that has consistent content nailed down.