What did you like to play pretend as when you were little?

I had a Little Mermaid obsession. It was minorly (ok majorly) embarrassing.

I used to pretend I had a “fin” leg at the pool. When my parents’ friends were over, I’d put on full musical productions, including stunts that involved me jumping off all types of furniture.

It was fun to pretend, to believe in the magic of a world underwater.

It’s why people are drawn to Harry Potter, Disney World, and Marvel movies.

It’s also a part of the attraction behind the AI Avatars. A simple app download and less than $10 purchase spits out hundreds of iterations of all of the potential identities we could embody.

It shows us how others see us, as well as new ways to look at ourselves.

While this blog isn’t about AI and its many potential pros and cons (one of them being the issue of stealing from artists without proper copyright), this is a fascinating article from the Smithsonian that explores future scenarios of AI after speaking to philosophers, researchers, etc. It’s pretty interesting. It’s also long, so if you’re a skimmer I recommend heading to the bottom.

AI Avatars is popular because it taps into 2 of our 6 Human Needs – Variety and Significance.

• Variety because the app quickly shows us hundreds of ways our essence can be expressed or embodied.
• Significance because the images allow us to feel unique and special.

Annnnd it’s trending, which taps into our need for connection by being a part of the conversation.

With almost everything in life, we are seeking one of the 6 needs. Sometimes the drive is subconscious, and we don’t even realize we’re seeking it.

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The Six Human Needs Are:

Love/Connection

Variety

Significance

Certainty

Growth

Contribution

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When these needs are met, we feel safe and can creatively solve the problems in our lives while going after our goals.

When these needs aren’t met, disruptive habits and patterns arise.

Here’s where you come in.

Your business and your message fulfill at least one of these needs. (If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have a business!)

Your job is to figure out which of these needs you’re best positioned to fill and communicate that to your audience.

The communication comes to life through your content. Once you’ve nailed down which needs you serve, start to brainstorm unique ways you can create content that addresses those needs.

Here’s a starting point…

How can you help foster a Connection with people? Examples of content that does this really well:

• Little Miss Trend Ayurveda version
• Addressing common feelings, emotions, or situations that your audience can relate to
• Generational nostalgia  (arguable if The Devil Wears Prada is generational or simply a forever classic…)

How can you tell people more about themselves for their own Growth? Examples of content that does this really well:

• Numerology, Human Design, Astrology, Enneagram type posts
• Here’s what those lines on your tongue actually mean
• What your favorite yoga pose says about you 

Now it’s your turn! Pick your needs and get to brainstorming. If you’re open to sharing what you come up with, feel free to share with them me. I’d love to hear them!

Ps. This is why purely “educational” content isn’t enough in your content strategy. If you’re educating your audience, you have to tell them WHY this is important to learn and remember. Connect it to a need.

xo, Rachel Jeffries Murphy