There are less than 100 days until the end of 2021! The end of the year! Seriously, 2022 is sneaking up on us incredibly fast. As we approach the end of 2021 and gear up to start 2022, I want to tell you about something that helps to define your audience’s involvement in your business.
I’m talking about your hook!
What is a hook
Every effective marketing strategy really does involve a hook. A hook is a short phrase or jingle designed to entice a customer to purchase a product or sign up for a service. Some hooks are also designed to create interest in a product or drive a customer further down your funnel so the interaction between the customer and the company becomes deeper and more meaningful.
For me, a hook is similar to your elevator pitch in concept but VERY different in execution in your marketing.
Hopefully, you’ve all networked before and understand what your elevator pitch is. (Seriously, if you haven’t networked before – what are you doing? Get out there and start networking!) Just in case you haven’t, here is a very brief explanation:
Elevator Pitch
In networking, you provide an elevator pitch to grab people’s attention and connect with them. A good elevator pitch should be one to two lines and it should be interesting, memorable, and succinct. It also needs to explain what makes you, or your organization, product, service, solution, or idea, unique.
That one to two-line, thirty-second elevator pitch really does grab your audience’s attention. When we move that idea over to digital marketing, we can use the same concept in your hook.
The Dos and Don’ts of a Powerful Hook
Your hook is very similar in that we want it to grab attention, create interest, and, most importantly, speak to your audience about their problems and what your solution can do for them.
In other words, it gets your foot in the door.
Your hook should attempt to answer your ideal client’s biggest problem. It’s the reason they want to sign up for your lead magnet or the reason they want to buy your product, service, or solution. It’s the one thing that makes your business stand apart from the competition.
A powerful hook will substantially increase the number of people who do what you ask them to do. Not just in your ads, but also in your posts and emails.
Understanding your audience’s needs, wants, characteristics, habits, and preferences is incredibly important when it comes to developing your hook. The reality is, oftentimes your hook is your audience’s first impression of your brand. It needs to matter to them if you want them to continue on down your funnel or to buy from you.
What Can A Hook Do?
- Your hook can announce new information.
- A hook should be surprising, catching a prospect off guard and getting their attention.
- Your hook can be emotionally grabbing.
- A hook can promise a benefit or a solution.
What Shouldn’t a Hook Do?
Avoid being too clever. Seriously, it’s really fun to come up with interesting phrasing in your marketing, however, if your audience doesn’t understand what you are talking about in just three seconds or less, they’re going to bounce off your page, or scroll right past your ad.
There is a tone of noise out there on social media. You and your hook have to be able to compete with that noise. Your hook needs to stop your ideal clients in their tracks. You need to help them understand that you are the solution to their problems. It’s critical to have a good hook when you’re trying to grow your business.
When developing your hook remember clarity is key!
When in doubt, use simple and concise copy. You want to create interest for your audience while avoiding making them work to understand it. A confused customer does not buy. Tell them in one sentence or less why they should care about your ad, your landing page, your product/service, or your solution.
Anchor Points
One way to create clarity is to give your audience a simple and concrete concept to latch on to. This is called an “anchor point”.
Some examples of good “anchor points” include:
- A problem that your product solves.
- A new model or feature that’s different or unique.
- A strong, single-sentence customer testimonial.
- A short phrase that uses active, exciting language.
- Images that help support your hook. (People are extremely visual, so those images are just as important as your copy.)
Finding your hook can take time, and in the end, it’s time well worth spending. Investing your time in crafting a powerful hook can help to accelerate your business growth, increase your revenue, and scale your impact.