According to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, out of 1,400 ads, the most effective advertising techniques focused on engaging emotions rather than logic.
We don’t want to hear about all of the fancy technology your software uses or the dimensions of your product. We want to know how your product will make us happy.
If you start incorporating emotions into your advertisements, you’ll soon see a tremendous boost in your sales numbers.
Making Your Audience Feel Something
There’s plenty of evidence stating emotions are what drive people to buy your products. If you think about it, it’s almost common sense.
How many impulse purchases have you made in the past few months?
Also, ever gone to the grocery store hungry? Sure you came in with a list, but I bet Hostess’s mini donuts, two jugs of rocky road, and a family-sized bag of Lays BBQ chips weren’t on that list.
Grocery stores design their layouts with the same concept in mind as emotional advertising techniques.
In essence, emotions drive us more than we think. That’s simply how our psychology’s hardwired.
Most of our decision making is based on “gut feelings” because it saves us time, and back in the day that was the difference between our ancestors feeding the clan or feeding a bear.
Appealing to these gut feelings put you a leg up over those appealing to the rational mind.
Advertising Techniques That Make an Impact on Your Audience
So how do you appeal to emotions?
It’s easier said than done. It’s far less effort to explain your product than it is to sell it.
Your advertising techniques should touch on specific emotions without overdoing it.
Creating happiness
Positive emotions are one of the most powerful emotions to associate with your product and brand.
While other emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness have their place in emotional advertising techniques, there’s a chance of backlash if you go too far.
Feelings such as happiness, friendship, and family are usually better received.
To work happiness into your advertisements, describe or show how your product will bring joy to your audience’s lives.
For video, you could show the joy of using your product. We’ve all seen the infomercials where the character leaps for joy because their mop cleaned up the glass of tomato juice they threw at the floor.
When it comes to Facebook ads and a service-based product, feel free to showcase glowing reviews and talk about what ways your product will create joy in their lives.
The trick is to show images of smiling people, while also demonstrating ways that your product will make your audience happier.
Down with fear
Advertising techniques using fear are a bit more tricky. There’s a fine line between ethically engaging fear, and unethically using scare tactics.
One way to incorporate fear into your ads is to mention how your product will alleviate your audience’s concerns.
If your target market is entrepreneurs, there might be an underlying fear of losing their stream of sales. This is where you explain to them how your product will ease that fear.
Talk about how your product will bring their business growth and new reoccurring customers.
To stay ethical, don’t create fears and don’t get personal with the fears you engage.
You need to come from a place of genuine helpfulness, rather than fear mongering. If you’re shouting, “Buy my product or bad things will happen to you,” people will see right through that.
Overcoming frustration
Advertising techniques that touch on frustration are sure to be a hit.
Frustration is one of the most relatable experiences.
If you can lay out your audience’s largest frustrations, and how your product will alleviate those, you’ve got a winner.
Video is an excellent format for frustration because you can showcase your character going through the exact frustrating experience your product solves.
Doing this will bring your audience back to the exact moment they’ve faced the frustration, motivating them to buy immediately.
Sparking Passion the Right Way
You’ve likely noticed a common theme when going over these advertising techniques.
That is:
You need to know your audience like you know your best friend.
The more specific you are with your emotional advertising techniques, the more effective your advertisements will be.
You need to know your target market’s values, motivations, and desires. This is why emotional advertising is challenging to get right.
If you could use some help figuring out where your audience’s values lie, check out our article on BANK codes!
BANK codes are a tool that helps you figure out your audiences’ personality types, helping you make a message that resonates with them.
Featured image by Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash