INTUITION ON SUCCESSFUL MARKETING

Marketing is successful when information is sent, received, and shared with like minds.

That idea goes past the scope of just business. Successful marketing is a community life cycle of information being passed along.

The flashy stuff is to get attention and exposure. It’s a short-term strategy that gets results but not for very long. We see this a lot with “come and go” products like animal shaped rubber bands and we will continue to see it with the fidget spinner.

Nothing wrong with products going viral but it’s just not sustainable over the long term. Profits are taken and people move on to the next thing. If a company relied on their videos going viral, they’d be over before they start.

So how can we get users to not only receive your message but also share it with others?

Content.

We want to begin thinking about how we can get people to share our brand with like minds with one question: Why?

Why would our consumer share your business? People mostly share content for 3 reasons.

1. It’s useful and they believe it could be beneficial for someone they know. Sharing this information also makes the “sharer” look cool or well informed.

2. It’s entertaining and made them laugh. So they believe others are going to enjoy it. Which will also make the “sharer” look good.

3. It moves them in a special way. They feel motivated or awed by the content.

Educate. Entertain. Encourage.

3 PRINCIPLES FOR CONTENT MARKETING SUCCESS

Educate

These are the principles I follow when creating a content marketing strategy for our clients. These principles are backed by scientific research on human behavior. I learned about this when reading a book called “Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger. He provided research as to why things go viral.

We mimicked these principles into our content strategies with our clients and the results have proven themselves to be successful again and again.

“Education” gets shared mostly because of the practical value it provides and the social status people gain from sharing this information with others. It gets massive amounts of engagement because of the relevance it has in your audience's life.

Let’s take the fitness example, you’re an entrepreneur in the fitness clothing industry. You created a Facebook and Instagram to reach out to your audience but you don’t know exactly how to make the “connection” between your product and audience. This is where content becomes most beneficial. If you can provide FREE value in their life before asking for the sale, the conversion rate greatly increases.

If you created content giving people tips about how they can optimize their workout performance or show them how they can get the best sleep for muscle regrowth, you would be providing that value and making that connection.

In this strategy you’re creating a CUSTOMER, not a SALE.

What's the likelihood of getting a repeat customer if you provide tremendous value in their lives on a DAILY BASIS? Very high.

Customers now want to build a personal relationship with the companies they cherish. They want to feel special and appreciated. This goes beyond the scope of advertising. This is a method to create long term marketing success.

Entertain

This is the most obvious and common of our principles because we see it everyday. People share funny videos and memes all the time. We adore humor and stop at nothing to get it. This principle crosses with Encouragement due to the natural effect of emotions at play. People laugh and want to share the same emotions with their friends so they tag them in the post or picture. It also makes the “sharer” seem funnier to their group which can also inspire the action of sharing.

I agree, being humorous is not easy if you don’t have that quality naturally. If you don’t find yourself funny, try being light-hearted or casual. If this doesn’t click for you, I would advise you hire those funny guys, Stellar Creative, to come take the load off your back.

See what I did there? Funny. Maybe not Knee Slapper Of The Year but it converts.

Look at it this way, celebrities are the most viral people on the planet because they ENTERTAIN.

Encourage

Encouragement inspires people to MOVE. To take action towards a desired goal or result. Its an emotional stimulus that’s been driving sales for centuries. Most people don’t act unless you tell them. Similar to “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” or “If you don’t ask, you won’t receive”.

 You have to get your audience excited about what you have to offer. This is communicated in the subtlety of your marketing message. How many smiling faces does your customer see before checking out?

Is there a way for you to generate excitement on your website or social media pages?

“MOTION CREATES EMOTION!”

One of my favorite quotes ever was from the man, the myth, the legend, Tony Robbins. This quote has taught me about motivation and what gets people (even me) moving!

I even went so far off the deep end with this, I created a ritual for generating the kinds of emotions in my body that get me moving. Not just physically but mentally.

How often do you wake up and not want to go to work? For most of America, that’s everyday. Nothing wrong with a little morning slug but when you lack the ability to influence your emotions, your performance can suffer.

I created this ritual based on knowing who I was and the type of work that I do. I’m not a morning person at all and often find myself extremely stifled and in my head. I also do a lot of networking and consulting throughout the day so being stifled is not an option when I leave my home. So in the morning, I do deep bellows and laugh as much as I can. Bellowing allows me to stretch my vocal cords which leaves me feeling relaxed and socially ready to engage. The laughing relaxes me and floods my brain with dopamine so I can think sharply and with clarity.

This is how I encourage myself to take action toward a result or goal for the day. It’s effective even though it was a little weird at first.

Learning how to encourage myself sparked a catalyst in understanding how to encourage consumers. We’re all humans and share more in common than we do differences. Everyone needs the right kind of emotion to get them going. The challenge is in figuring out how to implement this science on your website and social media.