We talked early this week about how to effectively define your target market, and we briefly touched on how to target an advertisement for that particular personality, but today I want to go into that a little deeper. We have to think about what the customer wants, and what they are going to hear – rather than what we are trying to sell.
This is where having clearly defined personalities can really help. You need to be able to think like your target market. What issues are they facing? What problem are you solving? What language and images would appeal to them? Could the wording or imagery be insulting to some core belief they hold?
Using this knowledge, create your ad. Stick within your branding guidelines – focus the advertisement on what they will receive, not what you are offering – make it emotional if you can.
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An old copywriting trick that works especially well if you have a lot of content – is to grab two highlighters, one for you, one for them. Go through the content and highlight every time you use the word “I” or “we” or “(your company name)”, now with the other highlighter mark every reference to “you”, as in the customer. The second highlighter color should be the majority – if you are talking about yourself too much your reader will lose interest!
Once you have created your content put yourself in their shoes: Does the ad strike a chord with you? Does it grab your attention? Would it make you act? If it does, fantastic! If not you need to rework your concept… If you can find people in your target market and can show them your advert, Do It! A little bit of market research could save you from a lot of trouble and can provide you with invaluable insight.
Always remember the advertisement is for your customers – not for you to proclaim how good you are.
People are selfish.
They only want to know what is in it for them, and as marketers, it is our job to make sure they know what they are getting not what you are selling – it’s a fine line, but if you get the right balance your marketing will be at a totally new level.
Photo Credit: Bogdan Suditu via Compfightcc
