In this day and age, when it is harder than ever to get attention, let’s look at the concepts from the book, Made to Stick.
According to the research done by Chip and Dan Heath, great content exhibits these characteristics:
- Simple — it’s quick and easy. Take a proverb like “A Bird in the Hand.” What does your Brand stand for? (Also, check out Brand-Telling for more info on how to craft your message.)
- Unexpected — a great way to get attention is to do something unexpected. The loud bang of bb’s being dropped into a metal bucket is a great unexpected result.
- Concrete — it’s got to be specific, clear and easy to understand.
- Credible — is it believable?
- Emotional — do I really care?
- Stories — people relate to stories. Does it tell one?
In order to ensure that your marketing messages resonate with your audience, keep in mind that you want your audience to:
- Pay attention
- Understand and remember
- Agree/believe
- Care
- Act on it
One key to watch out for is the Curse of Knowledge. When an informed person asks “Will they understand my idea?” they answer “Of course, they will.” But only because the expert understands. Often the expert is shocked when the audience fails to exhibit the passion they do.
Take each of your marketing messages and measure them up against these. You’ll find them much more effective.
Jeff Ogden is President of Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple” He’s also the author of the highly acclaimed white paper, How to Find New Customers, considered by many to be the Bible of demand generation. He’s also the author of the new “Definitive Guide to Making Quota,” as well as “Prospect-Driven Marketing.” He welcomes comments and can be reached at jogden at findnewcustomers.net.
Hi Jeff
good ideas but you might want to change the ‘drop a firework into a bucket’ illustration. The unexpected result in doing this in a presentation these days is to get the building evacuated and a visit from the FBI.
Try an airhorn. If you have an iPhone then there is a downloadable app to make this sound.
Nice post here.Marketing content is always emphasized by a lot of experts as an important aspect in the success of any marketing efforts.The success of an email marketing depends on the email copy that is being sent to the target market, and I certainly agree.