Category: Advertising

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Advertising Brand Differentiation Brand Positioning Brand Strategy Branding Psychology Consumer Psychology Emotional Branding Marketing Psychology

Marketing Persuasion Strategy: The Deep Psychology of Consumer Persuasion

Most people are convinced that marketing and selling is all about persuasion. It’s unfortunate however, the fact that ‘persuasion’ has such a negative stigma attached to it. We all want to avoid being persuaded. We run from sales people. Consumers run from advertisements. We change the channel when an ad comes on because those ads were created to ‘persuade’ us.

So why do we run from being persuaded? Because it gets our guard up…

If somehow we do end up being persuaded, we have this fear that something will be taken from us. Company’s take our money. Sales people take our money. We don’t say we gave them our money, but they ‘took’ it. No one thinks about what they receive in return for their money. They focus on what they lost. Human beings are twice as more affected by the loss of something than they are by gaining something.

In any situation where something is about to be taken or is being taken from us, our guard goes up. Our inner defense system is triggered. Do you really want to trigger your consumer’s defense system? Obviously not. Unfortunately, a lot of companies lack the knowledge of leveraging consumer persuasion principles in marketing their product or service. This results in detrimental impact on the brand image because once a prospective customer’s guard is up, that’s an entire new barrier to converting them into an actual paying customer.

People will always be happy to spend. How much fun do you have when you’re out shopping for yourself – buying something that will essentially, in some way, make you feel better? Is buying something you want fun or not fun?

When we buy, we’re getting. When we’re being sold or persuaded, something is being taken from us.

Key Insight: Consumers love to buy, but hate to be sold.

A lot of marketing professionals will recall that insight. They must have heard it somewhere – perhaps in business school. So most marketers after reading that, will think they “already knew that”. Perhaps you did, but now you know the psychology behind why it works – and you’re about to see how deep that psychology can get in truly persuading your consumer.

Everyone has knowledge of a tree’s existence and everyone understands all the benefits that trees provide – but only once you understand and get to the roots of how a tree gets planted, that’s when you can really make some change and have the most impact on the environment. Knowing that consumer’s love to buy but hate to be sold, here are 3 applications every strategic brand marketer would make in their marketing campaigns:

1) Strategic brand marketers strive to create a ‘positive-feeling’ experience for their consumer before, during, and after their purchase of the product/service.

What does ‘positive-feeling’ really mean? Ideally, if you can get them to feel the benefit of using the product/service at any point before, during, or after their purchase, then you’re on-point. The earlier the better.

When you watch a trailer for a movie, the strategic trailers will make you feel the thrill and excitement of what it could be like to actually watch the whole movie. In that instant, you become a customer.

2) Strategic brand marketers tip the scale to the ‘I’m getting’ side as opposed to the ‘I’m giving’ side, in the mind of the consumer. 

They will position their product or service in a way that will convince the consumer that they are getting more value in return for the money that they’re spending.

Of course, that actually means to strive to make your product or service live up to that value, if you ever want them to trust you again.

3) Strategic brand marketers help consumers realize and truly feel like they are investing in themselves when they put their trust in a brand – enough trust to buy whatever that brand offers.

Side Note: The principles that Brand Marketing Psychology highlights can be used to unethically leverage the deep psychology of human behavior for the primary intention where you don’t have your consumer’s best interest in mind. It is my intention and hope that only those individuals who are committed to the greater development of their consumer’s life in some way, shape, or form, will benefit from this website… because at the end of the day, and you will realize this if you haven’t already, you can only truly win if your consumer wins.

Deeper Into the Psychology of Consumer Persuasion:

As much as we will hate to recognize this, persuasion happens on an unconscious level.

You can be persuaded without even being consciously aware of it… and so can your consumers.

Persuasion is the science of being influenced to take some action.

And to take action, you need to make the decision to do it. It all starts with making the decision to do something.

PERSUASION = DECISION –> ACTION

So wait, is persuasion just about influencing the decision to take action? Aren’t decisions made consciously?

I know I’m aware of ALL the decisions I make. I’m sure you are too. When was the last time you made a decision without knowing you’re making that decision? So if decisions must be conscious, how can persuasion be unconscious?

Something doesn’t add up here…

The reality is… decisions are also made unconsciously. We just have the illusion that we make every decision with our conscious mind.

In 2008, Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences conducted an experiment that revealed that decisions are made at least 7 seconds before we are consciously aware of it, by the unconscious brain.

“Your decisions are strongly prepared by brain activity. By the time consciousness kicks in, most of the work has already been done.” – co-author John Dylan Haynes, neuroscientist at Max Planck.

The paper that discusses the experiment is called “Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain”. You can read it here.

Our unconscious mind is more powerful than we think. It can control our decisions. It can control our consumer’s decisions.

“The impression that we are able to freely choose between different possible courses of action is fundamental to our mental life. However, it has been suggested that this subjective experience of freedom is no more than an illusion and that our actions are initiated by unconscious mental processes long before we become of our intention to act.”

The New Age gurus of the world have constantly been talking about how we’re all “asleep” and how we need to “wake up”. I believe this is what they are talking about – the idea that we lack awareness. Awareness of how we truly work as humans.  That we make decisions without even knowing about it. That we’re basically robots…. and the thing with robots, is that they do everything mechanically.

Everything is routine. Everything in the life of the average individual, especially one living in the Western society, is routine. As humans, we are creatures of habit.

The unfortunate part is that we all think that we make decisions consciously. That we live our life with change and excitement. But even the excitement is routine!

We don’t look at the bigger picture. Going to the movies every Tuesday is not variety and doing something different, it’s routine. Going on a yearly vacation is routine.

We lack awareness, and that means our consumers lack awareness. Without awareness, our decisions are irrational.

This is where consumer irrationality comes from. People who study behavioural economics are realizing this more and more. New books about being ‘irrational’ and consumer irrationality are constantly being released.

You will notice from the majority of my posts that I constantly highlight irrational consumer choices and motivations.

Your Brand Marketing Psychology Strategy:

When it comes to the science of persuasion for us brand marketers, consumer irrationality is where all our power comes from.

The irrational mind is the leverage point for every marketer looking to persuade.

So how can your brand persuade your consumers that they’re actually buying and not being sold, by appealing to their irrational mind?  And then triggering the decision which motivates them to take action in favour of your brand?

There is one trigger of the decision to take action, that is stronger than anything else – and that is emotion.

We only act after we have felt. Emotions always come before action.

And if there is one thing we can be certain about, it’s that emotions rise from great irrationality. How? Let’s consider what triggers emotions – our thoughts and beliefs.

Sometimes it’s our logical thoughts and beliefs. However, usually it’s our imagination.

Imagination allows us to be in the sensory surrounding of what we want so we react as if it’s actually taking place. Combine this with the tendency of thinking of the worst case scenario… and you have extreme negative emotions that make no sense.

For example, often times when someone wants to try a new hobby, all they can imagine is themselves failing miserably at it or making a fool of themselves. They feel embarrassment, fear, anxiety, worry, and discouragement, even before they begin. What action does this trigger? The action to not even try the new hobby in the first place.

Before you drink that cold bottle of coke or eat that 1000-caloried heated up chocolate chip cookie, you can literally taste it in your mind through your imagination. The moment you’ve tasted it in your mind, there is no stopping you. We’ve all felt that. That craving to have it more than anything else. No rational explanation would be likely to stop you if you’ve imagined it enough.

This is a prime example of consumer irrationality. This is why everywhere you go, visuals of food are thrown at you from all directions – food companies have realized that if they do it repeatedly, it works, because sooner or later you’re going to be imagining having that angelically-evil chocolate chip cookie.

Make your consumer imagine with complete vividness, as best as you can, what embracing your brand will allow them to have. Nike does this beautifully. Same with Axe.

Imagination is the root of successful emotional branding. It is a major key in consumer persuasion. And now that you understand the  major elements in the deep psychology of consumer persuasion, leverage these insights to create a powerful, dominant, and demand-shifting brand that lives in your consumer’s mind…  because that’s our vision for your brand at Brand Marketing Psychology.com.

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Advertising Brand Building Brand Differentiation Brand Management Brand Positioning Brand Promise Brand Strategy Branding Psychology Consumer Psychology Marketing Psychology

Brand Strategy Insights: 2 Ways Consumers Evaluate Your Brand

People are constantly judging and evaluating two things:

1) The world around them

2) Themselves

If you really think about it and consider the psychology of human evolution, one of the most fundamental human qualities that we have,  is that we judge and evaluate. Why is it such an important quality? Because it influences the decisions we make.

The way in which we evaluate situations, people, experiences, things, and everything else, plays a huge role in the way we make decisions. The way in which your consumer’s judge and evaluate your brand, leads to their purchasing decisions and other loyalty decisions to be in your favor or not in your favor. When consumers are shopping, consecutively watching ads, and actively searching for solutions to their problems, they are evaluating the different brands they see.

If those brands were able to understand exactly how their consumer makes judgements and evaluates, they would be able to more effectively reach out to their consumers. They would connect better with their audience through tactical positioning of the marketing message, brand story, etc. They would influence their audience more strategically.

Brand Marketing Psychology Insight:

There are 2 types of consumer’s that evaluate and judge in two different ways. In other words, these two different consumer’s use 2 different screening methods to decide if what they are doing, thinking, and saying is what’s right for them or not right for them.

The two types of consumers are:

1) The Internal Measure Consumer

2) The External Measure Consumer

The Internal Measure Consumer

Those who have an internal measure, have actions and decisions that are rooted in what they understand to be right or appropriate. They are unaffected by the influence of other people’s opinions.

They have a hard time learning from others and taking guidance because they have placed barriers in front of any feedback that could come their way.

At the end of the day, they learn best from themselves. They may receive information from other channels, but always decide for themselves. If someone else were to decide for them, they would find that incredibly annoying.

The External Measure Consumer

Those who have an external measure, have actions and decisions that are rooted in what they think other people think to be right or appropriate. They rely on other people’s opinions to make decisions.

They need other people to motivate them to take action.

They need others to give them direction.

They are actively looking for mentors and teachers. They find it difficult to make their own decisions.

They are consistently seeking feedback from those around them on what they are doing.

These are the people who genuinely appreciate it when their boss tells them that they have done a good job.

Side Note:

Most people don’t just strictly use one type of measure. Most people have both internal and external. Where they differ, is what measure they use first. For example, some people are primarily Internal Measure people and secondarily External Measure people – these are the individuals we are referring to as the Internal Measure Consumer.

Question for thought: 

What evaluation system do you use? Are you an Internal Measure Consumer or External Measure Consumer? It’s important to recognize which type you resonate with most because it will greatly help you in your brand marketing psychology strategy.

Brand Marketing Psychology Strategy:

So how well do you know your consumer? Do you know them well enough to know if they judge with an internal measure or an external one? And how can you leverage this information in your brand marketing psychology strategy?

Consumer research is extremely important for any brand to succeed. A big part of conducting consumer research is asking your consumer questions, surveying them by creating polls for instance. These lead to insights.

Recently, I ran an online marketing campaign for a client looking to sell their educational services online. After an online purchase, the consumer’s were asked to fill out a quick survey. One great question (which I will share with you) allowed me to identify that the majority of purchasers are External Measure Consumers.

What did that tell me? That they would probably respond positively to validation from others who have used the services before them.  Testimonials may be a key player. We already had a few testimonials, but why not more? Why not more in every step of the purchase process?

With that one insight, it took me two days to acquire almost twice as many positive testimonials from previous buyers. I then embedded more relevant testimonials in different strategic sell points of the marketing campaign and purchasing process. The result of that one tweak which took me probably an hour each day for 3 days? Almost a 30% increase in sales.

The Power of Surveys & Consumer Research:

The best brand marketers will understand consumer psychology concepts like this and create questions that are formed strategically to understand exactly how to connect with the consumer. For example, to figure out how your consumers or the majority of your consumers, primarily evaluate the world around them, your research would be to ask them something like:

How are you so sure that you have made the best selection when you chose our brand/our product/our service over another?

(This question is very general. Your question would be more targeted and specific, but the foundational framework would be the same)

The Internal Measure Consumer might tell you that they are capable of making their own decisions from their own analysis of the different brands. They will tell you that they just know on an internal level, that they are right in choosing the brand or the product that conveyed the most value. Their reasoning to choose your product, service, or brand will have sprouted internally.

The External Measure Consumer might tell you that others have told them or recommended your brand to them. They might tell you that they see everyone using your product so they decided that it must be good or it was at least worth a try. Or they might tell you that it was simply because the sales person told them to buy it, so they listened. Their reasoning to choose your brand, product, or service will have come from an outer source.

The best brand marketers realize that they can use this deep insight about their consumer’s behaviour to position themselves in a way, that will lead to the most success – perhaps by segmenting the two groups when employing their marketing strategy, for example.

Applying This Consumer Behaviour Insight

Here are examples on how you can reach out to each consumer. These are off the top of my head – but I would advise you to spend the time to be creative in applying this strategy.

If you are reaching out to the Internal Measure Consumer:

  • You can highlight, suggest, and stress the fact that the consumer knows on a deeper level whether or not your brand is the best choice.
  • You would hold back on providing testimonials and referrals because they wouldn’t care about them anyway.
  • You give them a feeling that it is up to them at the end of the day.

If you are reaching out to the External Measure Consumer:

  • You focus on getting testimonials and recommendations and directing them to it at every opportunity.
  • You make sure you brand does things that makes people want to recommend your brand (give away free stuff, etc.)
  • Invest your resources in getting a social media celebrity to talk about how great your product or service is.
  • The External Measure Consumer is constantly seeking proof, evidence, and confirmation from external sources. That is your opportunity to mention statistics and provide any data that boosts your marketing message.

The Fast Food Consumer – My Observations

I haven’t looked to deeply into this, but in my opinion fast-food consumers are primarily Internal Measure Consumers.

The decision to eat fast food is usually impulse-based. In the moment when a consumer impulsively desires the need to chow down a hamburger for example, with the knowing in today’s world that there are always healthier alternatives, they are making this decision based on a very internal, primal desire of the reptilian brain.

In other words, they want it for themselves regardless of what someone else says to them. In that moment, they have made their decision. Swaying them from not going to eat at a fast food restaurant, would probably really bother them, even if they agree.

I think the top fast-food restaurants have figured out that their consumer is primarily making the decision to eat their food through an internal measure system. For example, over the last 58 years, McDonald’s has changed its slogan once or twice EVERY 10 years. They couldn’t seem to stick to and find the best one.

You can check out their slogan timeline here.

Interestingly you will notice that since the very beginning of that timeline, the slogans have been ‘external measure’ focused to some degree. However, over the last 14 years (since early 2000’s) – more than any other year – the current McDonald’s slogan has stayed generally the same.

If you look at the slogan transition from the late 90’s to the early 2000’s, you notice a very interesting change…

Late 90’s slogan: “Did Somebody Say McDonald’s?”

More focused on an “external” system of measure.

Early 2000’s slogan: “We Love to See You Smile”… (a little more focused on the consumer’s internal satisfaction)… and promptly after it changed to:

“I’m lovin’ it.”  – completely focused on the consumer’s “internal” system of measure.

What’s even more interesting is McDonald’s biggest competitor’s slogan:

Burger King: “Have it your way.” (Internally focused)

Burger King in fact, tried different slogans throughout the 90’s as well, but in the early 2000’s, came back to this same one. Why? Probably because they realized something about it works… And it hasn’t changed since.

Take a look at this list of top famous fast food restaurant slogans.  The majority of them, on some level, strike the internal knowing of their consumer to want their food.

Again, these are just my observations about the fast-food consumer. I would enjoy knowing your thoughts.  Leave a comment below or connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn!

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Advertising Brand Differentiation Brand Positioning Brand Strategy Branding Psychology Consumer Psychology Emotional Branding Marketing Psychology

Luxury Branding: Psychology of the Luxury Driven Consumer (Case Study: Coach)

A friend of mine just received this in the mail after she went shopping and bought a handbag from a Coach store:

Coach Note

If you’re unable to read it – here’s what it says:

“Thank you for shopping with me at Coach today. It was my great pleasure to help you select that beautiful bag. As a little something extra, I’ve included a $50.00 Appreciation card for you, which you can use toward any item in the store. The card expires on March 1st 2014.”

Did the employee actually send this to my friend from the goodness of his heart? Or is there something else going on here?

After some research, I found out that Coach is in the process of “redefining” its brand in North America. Coach was the leader in the North American handbag market. However, recently before the recession, brands like Michael Kors, Tory Burch, and Ralph Lauren Corp moved in and grasped margins exceeding 50 percent.

Coach then, came out with the new ‘Lifestyle Strategy’. But more on that later.

First, what is it that makes a luxury brand desirable?

In the world of luxury brand marketing, the main factor we tend to look at of our consumers is their income and their assets. While this tells us their ability to purchase the luxury product or service, we know nothing about their thought process and their motivations to spend their wealth on luxury products.

Luxury brand marketing is considerably different from traditional marketing where you would just consider the 4 P’s. Most marketers believe they understand the elements that make up the desirability of a luxury brand.

Common perceptions are:

  • High quality
  • High price
  • Exclusivity
  • Scarcity
  • Etc…

Although necessary, these are features that marketers and businesses would rely upon in the past. While these are all common elements of luxury brands, there is a deeper side to luxury branding.

The consumer’s of today are smarter spenders, more selective, more opinionated, and judge based on other elements as well. If you understand the psychology of the consumer, you can cater your resources to focus on bringing the consumer towards you, as opposed to spending your resources on sharpening the quality, price, exclusivity, scarcity, etc.. and HOPING your consumer moves towards you on their own. There is a difference between waiting for your consumer and inviting the consumer. When it comes to the luxury driven consumer, effective strategy entails inviting them and calling them to your brand.

Engage Your Consumer with Invitation

The wealthy are used to being invited. It’s attesting to their status.

We know the importance of a brand story. For the luxury conscious consumer, the story plays a huge role in engaging the consumer. Through engaging them, you INVITE them to join your brand’s journey. Luxury brands have a rich history, a uniqueness, a legendary story which contributes to the brand’s personality. Joining that brand’s community is enticing. Joining Coco Chanel when she started her business in 1913 to becoming a revolutionary couturier, is enticing. Joining Tom Ford in his journey from being a common man, from struggling for achievement, to triumphing in his masculine destiny, is enticing. Both Chanel and Tom Ford consistently leverage its brand personality and uniqueness in their marketing strategies. Usually with the help of celebrities.

tom ford

The Fourth P

One of the few rational arguments that would prevent consumers from making a purchase would be the price – sometimes for some consumers, price can precede everything, no matter how much you position your brand strategically. However, although price communicates perceived value of the product, luxury brands cater to a consumer that can buy almost any material thing that he or she wants. The product or service itself, then becomes secondary.Therefore, the main rational argument that could be a barrier in your consumer purchasing from you, is gone. What’s important now is how you position your product to appeal to the emotional brain of your consumer. Focus your resources on your emotional strategy, especially when marketing luxury brands. Burberry consumers want to feel ‘authenticity’ and ‘timelessness’. Tom Ford consumers want to feel ‘triumphant’. Tiffany consumers want to feel ‘love’.

Struggle Is Part of A Brand’s Journey

So back to Coach and their new ‘Lifestyle Strategy’.

Do you think Coach is on the right path to regaining its market share?

Here is an excerpt from an article that speaks to their new strategy:

 “Coach’s new direction is rooted in the desire to speak to the consumer from an “emotional way” rather than a “functional one,” according to Reed Krakoff, the brand’s president and executive creative director, who informs the design of the collection and store layout.”

“Instead of designing accessories to fill a need, we’re thinking more about the woman, who she is, where she goes, what is her life like and how does it feel, to move Coach from…where you think of a Coach bag, to now when you think of Coach, you will think of a woman or a man and you think of their lifestyle,” Krakoff said. “You think of their lifestyle and you think of all aspects of that sense of style and that sense of how they live their life.”

Frankfort added: “By doing this, and impacting our windows, our store environments, Internet, marketing, all consumer-facing elements, it’s going to have a profound impact on consumers’ perceptions of Coach because it’s unexpected.”

Click here for the full article.

A marketing strategy as simple as mailing the consumer with a $50.00 gift card and a personal note is extremely effective because:

  • My friend is now guaranteed and motivated to visit the Coach store again and spend more of her own money because $50 probably doesn’t even make up 25% the cost of majority of products in the store
  • The note ENGAGES my friend on a very personal level; the note is hand-written, it mentions the salesperson and her experience together, it has a ‘gift’ which is a HUGE sign of caring. This entire gesture is oozing with the message that COACH cares about YOU.
  • The card has an expiry date which creates a sense of urgency
  • It’s packaging speaks to the brand’s personality
  • The gesture hits the consumer on an emotional level – gives them a feeling of “special-ness” and exclusivity

And lastly…

  • What else comes in the mail directly to someone in an envelope, in a card-like format? How about an invitation?

By implementing this simple, sophisticated  marketing strategy, it’s pretty evident that Coach understands their luxury-conscious consumer.

Struggle is a part of every brand’s journey. It’s how you adapt and differentiate yourself that makes the difference. More importantly, and especially when it comes to luxury branding, it’s when you think of your consumer, their thoughts, their values, their psychology, that you can create the most effective strategies to rise to market leadership.

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Advertising Brand Building Brand Differentiation Brand Management Brand Positioning Brand Strategy Branding Psychology Consumer Psychology Online Branding

Marketing Psychology Magic: How to Capture Consumer Attention and Influence Perception

Before psychologists and brain scientists began diving deep into the workings of the human mind, there existed a set of individuals who were well-established experts in behavioral economics.

These individuals still exist today. They are able to manipulate our expectations, overwhelm us with sensory stimulation, provide us with false confidence, and essentially influence the reality we perceive.

They have the ability to astonish us and connect with us by making us feel as though they are reading our mind.

They are the magicians of our world.

I have always been fascinated by magic. During my elementary years I would love to perform magical feats for my friends and family. As I began paving my career in marketing, I began understanding where this fascination with magic stemmed from.

As a magician or as a marketer, I’m naturally curious about the mechanisms of thought and perception.

Magicians and marketers share one thing in common – the drive to manage expectations and influence perceptions. Both involve understanding the psychology of the prospect.

The difference is that brand marketers don’t do it to perform and impress, but to strengthen brands. Anything that allows brand marketers to manage expectations and influence perceptions can be extremely powerful in creating effective brand marketing strategy.

For example, an interesting phenomenon of human behaviour that is very well-known in the world of magic and psychology is:

INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS, also known as ‘Selective Attention’.

Every magician is aware of the effects of inattentional blindness and its influence on their audience.

Inattentional blindness is a phenomenon discovered by psychologists Arien Mack and the late Irvin Rock.

Inattentional blindness is the inability of the human mind to process anything that is not the specific and direct focus of attention at that moment.

Mack and Rock conducted experiments which proved that people who had their attention focused on one thing often failed to notice an unexpected object, even when it appeared right in the middle of their field of vision!

Test out how susceptible you are to inattentional blindness by taking the selective attention test below. This video had gone viral some time ago so you may have already seen it. Regardless, it will give you a better understanding of this phenomenon:

After conducting these selective test experiments, Mack was noted for stating “there is no conscious perception without attention.”

As marketers, we want to ensure our audience doesn’t fall victim to inattentional blindness when we are trying to get our marketing message across.

Our brains are on autopilot 85% of the time – yet marketers are writing ads and marketing messages to their consumer as if they’re paying attention all the time. This is resulting in companies spending money and resources to not only create ineffective ads, but even placing them in the wrong places.

By now, we’re all immune to banner ads on the homepages that we’re trying to surf. They can no longer command our focus and attention. In fact, I would argue that the majority of people don’t even realize banner ads are even present anymore – this is all due to inattentional blindness.

It’s no surprise that ad click-through rates have dropped drastically in recent years. The same goes for ads everywhere – billboards, bus stops, etc. Ads, especially banner ads, have literally become non-existent to the vast majority of people.

Your consumer is making choices about what to read, what website to go on, what to buy and what not to buy, mainly with his or her unconscious brain – which is completely out of his or her awareness. The unconscious mind is an amazing tool for us because it lets us instantly make decisions on what’s good or bad, what we should avoid, or what we should further investigate.

The more we think, the more energy we use up. Therefore, the unconscious mind wants to limit our thinking as much as possible – thus, we  go on autopilot.

In his book, The Buying Brain, A.K. Pradeep mentions that the brain is frustrated by clutter and messages that distract or don’t apply. It will ignore anything and everything it can, that is irrelevant.

Selective attention is the main reason why customers often begin ignoring a company’s latest news, offers, and ads. Especially when it comes to online marketing.

Our goal as marketers, should be to maintain and capture our consumer’s attention to our marketing message.

So how can we combat this phenomenon in our online and offline marketing initiatives?

Here are 4 suggestions:

1. Attract your audience’s attention when they are not doing anything important

When people are surfing online and are zoned into finding something specific, they become blind to everything else. They are more focused than ever at this point. Therefore, invest in advertising where you know your audience is more likely to see your message. This is why TV ads will always be an effective form of advertising. Same with the YouTube ads that run before playing the video. People are always more likely to pay attention when they’re not doing something important.

2. Use your ad to help your customer – make your ad RELEVANT

When your customer is focused in on finding something online, he or she won’t be blind to something that could be of value to their mission. Be creative in your online advertising.

There are too many times when I see banner ads that aren’t at all relevant to the website they’re placed on.

A simple example is if an ad is focused on selling guitar lessons, the placement of that ad would work best on guitar websites or forums. That’s a logical, but often forgotten example.

Combine logic with creativity however, and you’re sure to have a winning online marketing strategy.

3. Use contrast

Bright colors, loud patterns, and things that are in motion, are all eye-catching features. Use these elements in your ads to make your ads stand out from the redundant, plain, and steady context and vibe of the webpage.

Don’t make it over the top and annoying – just enough to grab attention.

4. Leverage multichannel marketing

Don’t just aim to reach your audience through one approach. Having one message or one ad on the top or in the middle of your homepage is not enough to ensure that people will see it. Use all different means to reach your potential customers – email marketing, social media, mobile marketing, etc.

Magic, like marketing, has the ability to bring its audience enjoyment, marvel, and surprise because of its deep roots in understanding how the human mind works and the ways in which our experiences are shaped through our expectations and perceptions.

We’re not only marketers, we’re also the magicians of the business world.

Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and subscribe to the Brand Marketing Psychology email list so I can keep you up to date and informed on the latest psychology-enveloped marketing magic-tricks and spells…