Marketing is a subtle art. Go too far and the customer will be turned off by your tone, your infomercial tactics. But if you’re too gentle with your message they won’t notice at all, or feel any impulse to buy.
You have to study your audience carefully to find just the right tone for them. A twenty-something male audience will prefer a much different ad than will a seventy-something grandmother audience. Who are you trying to reach?
While you’re planning your ads, take a look at what your competition is doing too. Odds are, if they’re making money on the same audience you hope to reach, they are doing something right. What tone are they using? What colors, images, current news references? (A well-timed reference to current world news can vault your product into the limelight.)
These 3 simple messages work on two levels: both conscious (hey, here’s a product!) and subconscious (grabbing attention in a deeper way.) Think of how you can use each to further your own product’s message.
Emotion
Humans are deeply vulnerable to our emotions. We try to guard them and resist getting emotional, but once that levee has been cracked, a whole floodgate comes pouring out. And whatever it was that caused that crack… well, it makes a very real impression on us. Our memories are most powerful when they’re about something emotional.
Remember crying as a child over a broken toy? You thought there was nothing more painful in the whole world! Or the excitement over your first date with that person you really, really, really liked? It probably lit up your whole month.
To use the emotion tactic in advertising, know your audience. What will they respond to? What values, generational memories, icons, etc. might they share?
It’s a subtle art, so don’t give up if you spend minutes or hours brainstorming. A great ad is devastatingly effective, and the end result will make up for your spent hours.
Scarcity
You’ve probably seen a thousand of them: Act fast! This weekend only! Just 3 left at this price! Once-in-a-lifetime savings!
All these taglines point to one thing: scarcity. You won’t be able to get it much longer, folks! And, scared that we’ll miss a deal that we’ll never get again, we buy it.
This is a simple tactic, because you don’t need to put much thought into it, but that also means lots of people do it. Your voice may get lost in the bustle.
Personal Recommendation
This is a long-term tactic, but one of the most profitable ones out there. It’s simple: make a great product.
Because you make a quality product and have happy customers, you’ll get some who recommend your item to their friends. And this is the most powerful advertisement you can get. You’re much more likely to buy something a friend has recommended, right? You trust their judgment, and you know they’re not out to make a quick buck. They’re probably telling the truth.
A recommendation from a friend has the aura of truth around it, but it also has the aura of friendship. You like your friend, and you implicitly want to do what they suggest. So to ignore their product advice would kind of feel like a betrayal of the friendship.
And presto, a happy customer becomes an unofficial sponsor for your product. You can even encourage them by offering online coupons for promoting.
Tags: broken toy, current world news, customer, Emotion, first date, floodgate, friendship, impulse, infomercial, levee, limelight, male audience, Marketing, money, profitable marketing, salesy, scarcity, subtle art, tactic, truth
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