Hi, I'm Alex from HubSpot.
And today I'm going to teach you seven advertising
techniques that will help you engage and persuade
your audience.
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you have in the comments below.
Let's get started.
There's a copy writing adage that goes,
features tell and benefits sell.
And it's a timeless truism that can be
applied to any form of writing.
Why?
Because a list of features doesn't specify how
your audience will directly benefit
from your product or ideas.
Highlighting the benefits can help your audience visualize
a better future, one that includes your product
or services in their lives.
For instance, a job ad that describes
how you can arrive and leave work comfortably,
thanks to a heated garage, will resonate with candidates
more than a job ad that states the company has
a heated parking garage.
People value objects and experiences that are rare.
Having something that most people want and can't have,
boosts their sense of self-worth and power.
So if you use words and phrases that imply scarcity
and evoke a sense of urgency in your advertisements,
like exclusive offer or limited availability,
you can skyrocket your products perceived scarcity and consumer
demand.
Humans are hard wired to move towards pleasure,
like horses towards a carrot.
And away from pain, like a donkey avoids a stick.
So when people read or watch your advertisements carrots,
or promises of gain, can fill your prospects with hope
and compel them to pursue that potential feeling of pleasure.
Sticks, possibilities of losses, evoke fear in your prospects
which will compel them to flee from that potential feeling
of pain.
Both tactics can pull your prospects
into a narrative and evoke emotions that
inspire your desired action.
For instance carrots, like a product's benefit,
entice people to take a desired action.
Sticks on the other hand, like anti-smoking campaigns,
evoke fear in people to stop doing a certain action
and start doing the alternative.
To immediately hook people and persuade them to read or watch
the rest of your advertisement, try
sticking to only one message.
Spotlighting your product or offer's main benefit
or feature, will make it easy for your customers
to understand its value and increase the likelihood
of their conversion.
Because you're only conveying one message to your audience.
Your products main feature will benefit your customers life
somehow, someway.
Since your prospects primarily care
about how you can help them and pronouns like "you"
and "your" can engage them on a personal level
and insert them in the narrative you're creating.
Writing advertisements in the second person
can instantly grip their attention
and help them imagine a future with your product or service
bettering their lives.
Psychology tells us that emotions drive our behavior,
while logic justifies our actions after the fact.
Marketing confirms this theory.
Humans associate the same personality traits with brands
as they do with people.
Choosing between two alternatives
is like choosing your best friend
or your significant other.
We go with the option that makes us feel something.
This is also the reason why pitching a product's features
is a lousy attempt at persuasion.
Features only appeal to the logical part
of your brain, which doesn't drive action nearly as well
as appealing to the emotional part of your brain does.
So if you're writing social media copy
for the grand opening of your new sporting goods store,
don't highlight the number of gloves you have in stock.
Highlight the lasting family memories
your customers will make playing catch with their kids,
they'll never forget those moments.
Call to actions are crucial for getting prospects
to take the next step, but a download now
or call now CTA isn't always going
to convince the more skeptical prospects to take the desired
action.
You need to make sure your ad's last line of copy or quip
is the best of them all.
So instead of writing an uninspiring final line of copy
like download now.
Write one that clearly communicates your offer's value
and gives a glimpse into your prospect's potential life
if they take your desired action.
Like a call to a value prompting readers
to download a blogging ebook that states,
click today and be a blogger tomorrow.
Looking for more advertising strategy inspiration?
Click the link in the description to learn more.
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