There's just no time to waste in a cyber day; competition for
your target's attention has always been stiff, but now it's just
killer. There's less time and more to do, more to see, more
to read--ad infinitum. What can you do to attract attention to
your clients' message? Here are a few tips and techniques
that motivate your audience to want to know more about your
product or service.
"The free time I used to spend watching TV is now divided
between shopping and blogging online," remarked one
corporate executive, "it allows me to relax physically and it's
certainly more entertaining than an episode of Law and
Order." What was once a minor distraction is now a
formidable competitor demanding its share of the market.
How can direct mail compete with the dynamic web,
traditional print media, and titillating TV or radio (satellite,
broadcast or cable)? The most effective advertising
demands target participation; it removes the "will I or won't I"
part of the equation and turns it into "I MUST". Can you make
them say "Man, look at that. What's that about?"
Here's an example: When asbestos removal was a big
concern in the mid 1980's, a commercial building owner
had no greater fear; not that he had asbestos, but that
someone would find out. The ad campaign for my asbestos
removal consultant was a gut wrencher for anyone with
commercial real estate leasing in a highly competitive
market. The headline ran over a photograph of a high dollar
broker working the phones at night with a view of the city
skyline in the background:, "I can get you out of your lease in
a snap with the hazards clause." No one in the business
could turn the page without reading the rest of the ad
because desire was created in the viewer's imagination.
They wanted to know more and provided the impetus to
continue reading on their own. Here's a simple 3 step
check for effective advertising, no matter what the media.
1) Create Motivation: There is a way into the heart of your
prospect. What emotion can you instill to motivate them to
want to hear what you have to say? Make it something they
can't ignore, like your Uncle Guido, make them an offer they
can't refuse.
2) Create Emotional Tension: After you arrive in their
emotional center, create a stir. No matter what the media
form, the best advertising grips a prospect by it's emotional
needs and quickly creates turmoil. It's a simple formula of
"Do you want this? followed by "Here's what you have to do
to get it." The emotional tension hangs and propels them
to participate.
3) Offer Resolution: Relieve the emotional tension you just
created. Find the need in your prospect's soul that you can
satisfy with your product or service; fan the flames, excite
them about the benefits, then relieve their emotional
uncertainty by telling them how to get it.
Here's the same formula applied to the asbestos
consultants:
1) Motivate/Captivate--Did you know brokers are using your
asbestos to void existing leases and relocate tenants to
other properties? (YIKES!)
2) Grip/Tension--Have you looked at your statistics lately to
determine just how much your asbestos problem is costing
you in lost tenants?
3) Resolve/Solution--We have the answer. We can solve
your problems quietly and cost effectively. We can stop the
exodus and solve the problem.
Studies have shown that you have less than 3 seconds to
capture the attention of your audience, whether it's in a stack
of junk mail, online, in a magazine, radio or TV. The most
self defeating mistake made is offering relief before they've
gripped the target. Be careful not to show your hand before
the game starts.
? Motivate and captivate; create curiosity.
? Grip their attention with emotional tension.
? Offer resolution and solutions; relieve the tension.
Here's the Ultimate in Marketing Communications Directory
provided by the University of Texas.
http://advertising.utexas.edu/world
Visit the American Advertising Awards (ADDY) website:
http://www.aaf.org/awards/addy.htm
View an archive of over 7,000 print advertisements at Duke
University: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess
?2005 Susan Kirkland, small business owner and author of
Start and Run a Creative Services Business, shares the
secrets to finding and keeping clients, negotiating with
vendors, protecting yourself from Scoundrels and
scalawags--a valuable resource for everyone, no matter
what line of work. For more information and a
complimentary POD cartoon visit http://www.sdkirkland.com