You can't condemn someone for using emotional appeals

by Ariella Brown

This post was inspired by a LinkedIn post that, ironically enough, fell for a  logical fallacy while decrying a certain candidate for trying to win followers by appealing to their emotions. That such tactics can and have been abused by dictators doesn't prove that the one using them now is a dictator. All successful politicians, marketers, and salespeople use appeals to emotion. So long as they're not actually conning you into doing something bad for you, it's not something you can hold against them.

Effective human communication always involves some appeal to emotions. Would anyone argue otherwise?

Sure, you can and should use data to support your assertions, but you only sway people by playing to emotions. Isn't that the crucial difference between the lawyers who win cases in court and those who don't?

The same holds true for ALL branding and marketing, whether it's B2C, B2B, or political.

The impetus for this post was seeing someone attempt to put down a certain candidate by declaring the play on emotions is the sign of a dictator. Well, yes, dictators definitely used the power of persuasion, which involves some emotional manipulation. But so did great presidents like Abraham Lincoln.

Insurance companies definitely play on fear to sell you life and home insurance. They don't share the odd that their actuaries work through. They show you a story to have you envision what could happen to the family if the breadwinner dies or the family home burns down without any insurance to fall back on.

Their goal is to make money, obviously. However, that doesn't mean that people with families depending on them should avoid buying insurance. That emotions come into play doesn't erase the fact that financial planning includes insurance.

It's not the technique that makes you bad or good; it's the ends that are achieve with it.

All great speakers play to their audience's emotions. All great marketing does the same.

Maybe that will convince you to vote for the wrong person or spend more than you had to on insurance. We all have to be responsible for our own actions and take the steps needed to compare coverages and candidate credibility rather than to make our decision based on their campaigns alone.

However, human nature being what it is, it would likely take an emotional appeal to persuade them to do that.

Related:

What B2C and B2B marketers can learn from a viral post

7 ways to grab customer attention in subject lines

What B2C and B2B marketers can learn from a viral post

"Unforgettable, that's what you are." That line describes what all marketers should strive for in their content. But they don't achieve it because they play it safe, repeating the same stock phrases everyone else uses -- especially in B2B that some have said should stand for Business to Boring.  Instead of captivating and converting your target market with such content, you bore your reader. 

I first wrote this blog a day before I saw the infographics shared by MagnaGlobal on B2B ad effectiveness supports it. While this makes perfect sense,  do bear in mind that that the 1773 LinkedIn users surveyed represent an exceedingly small sample size. To put it in perspective, I have over 4X as many connections on Linkedin profile, and many of my connections have far more followers than that. Though I find the results credible, I would really like to see this corroborated with a sample size of 50K or more.

\

What does it take to fall into the minority percentage that doesn't bore the reader? 

It take something that is truly original and relatable. Mammoth Cave National Park pulled that off by veering off the well-worn path of describing attractions like that. See the post on that here: Uncommon Marketing Content

This refreshing break from hyperbolic language that repeats cliches andthe admission that not everyone is going to be wowed by what you offer can definitely be applied to both B2C and B2B marketing. For B2Cs, the deodorant  you're selling will not turn your whole life around.  A drink will not make you popular. The dinner mix will grow boring if you serve it every night for dinner. 

For B2Bs: Drop the jargon and stop calling everything a game-changer or a paradigm shift when it is really just an incremental improvement over what is available. People will likely be disappointed if they are expecting to be that impressed. If they are not expecting that much, they are much more inclined to be happy with the results. 

Yes, ads typically do  exaggerate all these things, and that's just why you should stop trying to be just like everyone else, which is to say, utterly forgettable.   

Oh, and if you want some help with that, it happens to be what I do. Check out my site. 

Related: 

Aim higher than SEO for your marketing content

Aim higher than SEO for your marketing content

You know, Jane Austen could have opened "Pride and Prejudice" with the standard line, "Once upon a time there was a family with five girls and no sons to inherit the estate that they depended on for their support." She didn't.

https://www.zazzle.com/pride_and_prejudice_tote_bag-149363338488539996

Instead of sticking with the safe formulation, she crafted one of the most memorable openers for a novel that also gives the readers a taste of her wit and sense of irony. That opening line is Austen's brand in a nutshell.

This is what businesses should be striving for in their opening lines on their sites and their reports. Generative AI will not deliver that because it will work off pre-existing models. Simply tweaking that output will still not result in something truly fresh, though it may be just good enough to not incur the generative AI penalty Google has promised to deliver for those who aspire to achieve high SEO results.

Achieving SEO goals is not the same as making a memorable impression on your target audience when they click through to your site or blog.

What impresses Google is not necessarily going to move your target market to establish a relationship with your brand. The content that does can only be produced by a combination of analytics and human creativity.

You can't just be content with optimizing for search engines by following SEO guidelines when you need RO -- responsiveness optimization -- that requires blazing your own brand path.

That's what Write Way branding and marketing is all about. Learn more about my business offerings here.

Related

What B2B content marketers get wrong
Add a pinch of salt to creative claims for AI
Most Memorable Brand Slogans
What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO
Pride, Prejudice and Persuasion: Obstacles to Happiness in Jane Austen's Novels

Follow Write Way Pro on LinkedIn and on Facebook.

You can also follow Ariella Brown.  

Sell me this raincoat

Umbrella in trash generated by Google Gemini

By Ariella Brown

The title of this blog is a variant on the "Sell me this pen" challenge. 

Confession: I find most marketing presentations a waste of time because they just rehash what I already know. But there is the rare exception that offers helpful insight and perspectives that spark my own #WriteWay creativity. 

That has been my experience in attending the Full-Funnel Summit.  Jen Allen-Knuth proposed shifting the sales intro from pushing your product of a $100 raincoat that may meet resistance from buyers who don't want to shell out that kind of money.

Jen said she'd frame it this was for a target market in the windy city of Chicago where it rains for about 1/3 the year: studies say only a small percentage of people remember to take their umbrellas. Those who forget will decide no to walk in the rain and so have to shell out $45 a pop for an Uber.

The implication that trying to save the $100 could end up costing you more if you forget your umbrella and end up paying for rides to try to stay dry.

As I wrote in the chat there, my approach would be different. I'd say "Ever notice how many umbrellas you see in the trash on a stormy day? That's because the wind rips through and breaks them. But have you ever seen a raincoat in the trash on a rainy day? No, you haven't. Here's why." 

And then I'd calculate the cost of multiple umbrellas purchased over the years vs. the one-time cost of the raincoat.

Why did I come up with this? Jen's framing refers to the forgetfulness of most people that you may think doesn't apply to you. You're smart enough to remember your umbrella, right?

 But even so, you have, no doubt, experienced your umbrella getting blown out from a strong wind and have seen multiple umbrellas thrown out that prove that even if you remember to take it, it can prove useless. Also the fact that you never see a raincoat peeking out of a trash can the way you see umbrellas creates a strong visual impression.

Another thing that made me come up with a different approach to Jen's was my thinking that it didn't make sense that her target market would hesitate over shelling out $100 for a raincoat would solve the problem of forgetting an umbrella by spend $45 on a single Uber ride to avoid walking in the rain. Generally, one would first look for a cheap umbrella, look for public transportation or just accept the inevitability of getting wet when walking home. 

If you're marketing to a price-conscious market, you have to speak to the in their own terms. They're not likely to indulge in expensive rides when they can walk. But they certainly can can calculate the cost of multiple replacements for umbrellas that don't stand up to the wind.

While I'm sure that Jen charged the client four or five figures for this marketing idea, I came up with it on the spot, and I'm sure I can come up with something that is equally sound and creative for your B2C or B2B.  The Write Way is all about putting yourself in the mindset of your target audience.

Visit my site to learn more about my marketing and writing services and book a free consultation call.

Follow Write Way Pro on LinkedIn and on Facebook.

You can also follow Ariella Brown.  

What B2B content marketers get wrong

By Ariella Brown

You know that advice that every piece of B2B content should have a clear CTA? It's bogus. In fact, the piece of content I wrote that had an immediate impact in terms of bringing in a sales qualified lead for a six-figure annual contract the day after it was published had no CTA at all -- not even a hint about having to schedule a demo.

What it did have were features that many B2B businesses forget about in doing their own imitation of thought leadership outlets and removing all content from individual identity.

Here's what the article had:
☑A vivid description of the challenges he experienced in his work that others in the same line would identify with
☑A clear presentation of the company's solution and how it directly addressed these pain points
☑Mostly important of all, it had a name associated with a bio and pic for the expert in the insurance industry who served as the source of information for the article and related his own experience.

💡Why was this most important? As it turned out, that was the lead's way of marking his interest in the solution. He know the featured expert, maybe even had direct dealings with him in the past. That made him not just trust what he said but also feel comfortable enough to reach out to him directly rather than to a general company contact or form to say he was interested.

One of my pet peeves about B2Bs is that they offer no point of direct and immediate contact. Many of them refuse to list a phone number, and some won't even put in an email. No, they insist, if people are real prospects, they'll fill out the form that makes it easy for us to automatically feed their information into a CRM and send it on to sales people.

This foolish delusion prevents easy access to people who don't want to have to be treated as just prospects you'll get to at your own convenience. They want to get a response while they're thinking that your offering may be just what they need. Keep them waiting, and they'll start looking elsewhere for that solution, and you may not even know you had a prospect that got away. That's the wrong way to attract inbound.

Learn more about the #WriteWay by following The Write Way Pro LinkedIn page and connecting with me on that platform.

.
Yes, I did include a CTA here. I didn't say never to have a CTA -- only that you don't have to have a CTA for every piece of content. But I'm going to break another rule here and give you yet another course action. You can check out my portfolio here: AriellaBrownPortfolio.blogspot.com

Related

7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketers

Think Marathon Rather Than Sprint When Planning Content Marketing

Most Memorable Brand Slogans

Make Your Content as Accessible as Possible

What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO

7 Ways to Grab Customer Attention in Subject Lines

CRO is Like Basketball