Why Emotional Appeals Are the Best Marketing Strategy (and How to Use Them to Grow Your Business)
When it comes to marketing, having a solid emotional appeal to your brand is critical to your success. But what exactly is an “emotional appeal”, David?
Your brand is simply the emotional associations and gut level “sense” of how your company, product, or service is intuitively perceived by your market.
The easiest way to make branding real is to determine what we call your top three “brand emotions.” Your brand emotions are the easiest way for you to bring the concept of your “brand” down to the world of actionable implementation.
Let’s look at Apple for example. The brand itself gives you the emotional feel of…
- Sheer pleasure (“It is a joy to handle and touch these devices.”)
- Cool. (“When I own and pull out my iPhone, I feel cool and hip.”)
- Smooth and easy. (“They just work and are so intuitive to use.”)
Now think about that in terms of your own brand. Sit down with your team members and brainstorm your brand emotions. How should your brand make someone feel? How can you convey that message to your target audience?
Now that you have your brand emotions laid out, it’s time to take action. One of my favorite ways to reach customers is with an emotionally charged influencer campaign.
1. Forget the Big Guys.
For many, the most logical choice is to choose an influencer that has the largest number of followers to get the most return on their investment. This method however, is not always the best when it comes to creating long lasting emotional appeal. Small-medium influencers are more likely to connect with their fans and answer questions that come in. Their fans in turn will trust their recommendation more than a larger influencer. So, choose influencers that speak to your audience and can take the time to get to know your product and share the benefits to their fan base.
2. Let Them Have Creative Freedom
You know your product better than anyone else so your instinct would be to control the process and lay out the guidelines for the influencer to follow. Instead, take a step back and give the influencer freedom to connect with their audience as they see fit. They have carefully cultivated their fan base through thousands of touches, so tap into that knowledge when setting up your own campaign. Focus your energy on educating the influencer on your product and it’s benefits, and then allow them to experience that first hand so they can share from a place of expertise.
3. Tell a Story
When setting up an campaign with an influencer, spend the extra effort to create and tell a story. How did the influencer find your brand? Why did they choose your product over your competition? How are your values aligned? It’s one thing for an influencer to post a selfie holding your packaging but it’s a whole other thing if they have a story to share about your product and why they love your brand. Make the emotional connection with the influencer so that they can pass the feeling unto their viewership.
When it comes to social media, there is a lot of opportunity for brand recognition and loyalty and with the help of a great emotional campaign you can reach new audiences and grow your business.
