A well-used bike rack outside an unassuming red-brick office building in Hanover, Germany is the only clue that the structure is full of students.
Even less obvious is that something strange is going on inside, with Artificial Intelligence…and cats.
The building is Hannover’s University of Veterinary Medicine and they’ve been working with researchers in israel to develop a machine learning algorithm to ‘read’ the cat’s facial expressions and assess their level of pain.
Any good vet will tell you they don’t need this algorithm, that they can judge a pet’s pain by sight, because of their years of experience.
But this research may soon allow less-experienced people to quickly seem like today’s experts.
And AI is doing the same for your audience (and your competitors).
It’s going to be easier and easier for people with less expertise than you, to find your audience and sound like they really understand them.
Your defense?
Focus on connecting with your audience, now.
Email early and often. Let them see your humanity, and know you see theirs.
And if you think you don’t have anything to say, do this:
- Tell them a story (maybe about crazy cat research),
- Tie it to their concerns,
- Offer a helpful suggestion, help them shift their beliefs, or invite them into a program you know they can help.
- Link to something they can click on, the way you’d share an interesting article or funny video with a friend.
Be human. Tell stories. (And sometimes,) sell stuff.
Let’s begin,
Julie
P. S. Did you this 1-minute clip from my interview with email marketing veteran Ryan Lee? In it, he shares the best compliment you can get from your audience.