Everything you do online can incorporate emotional marketing techniques. This applies to every social media platform, as well as your website and planned campaigns. It doesn’t matter if it’s text, images, audio or visual in the form of video. If you post it online, it is Emotional Marketing. First, let’s talk a bit about the various types of emotions that you can elicit with your content so we can lead your audience in the direction you want them to go.
Types of Emotion
- Visceral – When something impacts an audience member at the subconscious level, we say that the reaction is visceral. Your content, website design and so forth should evoke the feelings you want the visitor to feel without even thinking about it. Something that brings them great memories, or perhaps it makes them think about what you or your product will do to make their life better.
- Behavioral – Emotions and behavior go together hand in hand. When your audience member reads your content, listens to a video, or visits your website, the feelings they have should also elicit a behavioral response. For example, if a visitor comes to your website and feels frustrated with the navigation, their emotional feelings of frustration will elicit the response of leaving your website. Not the desired outcome but change those emotions to obtain a positive behavior.
- Reflective – Once your audience member leaves your website, stops reading your eBook, or moves on past your content, it should stick with them enough to cause a response of some sort based on their feelings. They might answer the call to action, share your information with others, or think about it for a while, but they won’t forget. A perfect example, reading a great book. I love to share a good read with others, don’t you? Think referrals. They like what they read/see/hear, and they tell a friend. Free positive marketing. Winning!
Aspects to Consider
Emotional marketing is a powerful tool that you can use in all your marketing efforts. It doesn’t matter if it’s a website, a sales page, a video, social media posts or something else entirely – all aspects of it should be considered, such as:
1. The Words – Know what words trigger emotion and action in your audience. Use words to focus on the benefits your product or service offers your audience. Are they going to have less stress, manage their time better, be able to clean their house in 30 minutes? OK, that one may be a bit far-fetched, but you get the idea. Just remember that they want to know what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for you.
For example: Use trigger words like “Limited time offer…” or “Act now to completely change your life in the next 10 minutes…” You don’t want to lie, so forget the clean house in 30 minutes, but you do want to give it to them straight and tell them exactly what their benefits are for acting now.
2. The Images – Images of people tend to bring forth more emotion for people. Let the face of the person demonstrate the emotion that you want the audience to feel as they look at your website, watch the video or consume other content that you offer.
For example: If you’re writing about freedom and how your audience can experience freedom, try using a picture of something that demonstrates freedom to your audience. So a couple sailing on a lake could represent more free time to relax with their loved ones. Be sure you choose an image that shows a typical person that could be part of your audience, showing the emotional release they feel as they realize they have true freedom.
3. The Colors – Some colors evoke different emotions based on culture, sex, and many other factors, so it’s extra important to understand exactly who your audience is. You want the colors you choose to elicit the right emotions in your audience.
For example: If you want your audience to feel as if they should be excited and passionate about something, choose known passion colors like red and orange. If you want them to feel happy and free, choose a color like yellow to emulate the color of sunshine which makes people joyful. This is so easy to incorporate in everything from your website to posts it just takes a little research. Do check to ensure that the culture you’re marketing to does not have a different idea related to color.
In order to incorporate these ideas into your content, you need to know and understand your audience completely. You then realize what their emotional needs are, plus what emotions trigger action for them, playing to the good while avoiding the bad. You can learn this by surveying your audience, getting to know them more, and asking for a lot of feedback as you create new products and services for them. By taking these actions, your content will reach them, meet their needs and close the sale.
Ready to get started? We’re here to help. Schedule a 30-minute consultation call and we can help you discover your target markets’ emotion responses.
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