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Create a legacy with marketing

Written by Henry Jackson Wood on .

Mission Accomplished

Since the early days of marketing, copywriters have created engaging ads and marketing messages for their brands. In the beginning, they used posters and leaflets to get their news out. Then came radio, TV, and cinema ads. And then we had the internet. We quickly realized that the world of marketing was now infinitely more measurable than it had ever been before. We could track which ads were performing best and invest more of our marketing spend in the most successful.

At this point, most marketers would have declared ‘mission accomplished, and gone back to measuring how many sales they were making. And yet, not everyone has declared ‘mission accomplished. These brave souls realized that it wasn’t enough to attract customers’ attention to sell more. They wanted their ads to have a more profound impact on the way people thought about their brand and products.

Apple Brand
Apple

An Apple a Day

Take the company Apple, for instance. For years they’ve used advertising to tell people that their products are sleek, speedy, and easy to use. But now they’ve gone further. They’ve used advertising to create a solid emotional connection with their customers, and in doing so, generate much more substantial sales.

According to Greenfield, Apple’s ability to generate such strong customer loyalty is due in part to their ‘halo effect’ – the idea that Apple’s excellent advertising is making people feel so positive about the company that they’re automatically more inclined to think well of Apple’s other offerings too.

For instance, if you’re the kind of person who appreciates great design and ease-of-use in your mobile phone, you’ll also probably appreciate those same qualities in the laptop you buy.

According to Greenfield, the halo effect is a psychological phenomenon that can impact people’s perception of your brand.

For example, suppose Company A makes the best mobile phones in the market. If this is true, you might expect their customer service to be just as good.

The problem is that if they fail in this regard, you’re likely to see it as a betrayal of your trust in them as a brand. In other words, if they let you down on Customer Service, you’ll feel let down by the entire company.

Company A might pour its resources into improving customer service to avoid this happening, even though it may not be a core part of their business model.

According to Greenfield, the halo effect is an effective technique for persuading people to buy into your brand. By investing in the things you want them to value (such as good quality products or excellent customer service), you’re persuading your customers to give you the benefit of the doubt on all or anything that doesn’t live up to their expectations.

Your brand is always on trial

How to create a legacy with marketing

The truth is, your customers will judge everything you do. This might seem to put marketing people in an impossible position – after all, they’re the ones who are tasked with putting out unique content for their brand every day.

The reality is that you can’t escape the test. 

When you sit down to watch television, read a newspaper, or browse through an advertisement in a magazine – everything you see, everywhere you go – is a marketer’s opportunity to build cross-selling opportunities into their message.

The story

Think and act like a content creator, or a documentor, not just a marketer. Take your time to tell a compelling story that is authentically you. Why should your customer give “two shits,” as my grandfather used to say, about who you are, what you sell, or what you believe?

  • If you don’t have time to create content, at least update your Social Media.
  • If you don’t have time to udpate your Social Media, it is time to hire some help to make you accountable for the great story your brand has to tell.
  • Create Content with Meaning. Content Creators are Storytellers Not Just the Status Quo. 
  • Aim to Make Your Brand Stand Out, Don’t Try to Fit In with Everyone else.
  • Utilize Visuals to Enhance Your Brand Story. Make it easy for people to Digest.

Personal relevance separates a mediocre storyteller from a good one. Thus, make the customer the “main character.” If the audience has “a lead role” in your story, they can see themselves as an extension of you and your story, making them more brand loyal.

Ask yourself, is the client or customer at the center of or brand’s story or narrative?

Marketing

Connect to the Client with Emotional Impact

Remember, the audience is not just a prospective client or customer. These are people with feelings and emotions. The psychology you use in telling your story is essential.

Be very memorable or create an image with your story.

Think of what emotion the prospective client is feeling before and after seeing your brand story.

Utilize technology to understand the customers and their patterns and what it may take to get them onboard.

Trust, Trust, Trust: build trust with the client, and they will believe in your brand and story, which leads to them paying for goods or services.

What you see everyday, is carefully crafted

Recently I have been thinking about how much work goes into what you see as simple images on the internet. These articles have been written; photographs have been taken, models have posed, hair has been done, makeup has been applied. All so that you can see a beautiful picture. I have been looking at how much time and effort goes into these things and have thought it may be kind of interesting to look at the real people behind them.

Before we begin, I want to make sure you understand the difference between a photographer and a retoucher. A photographer takes all of the shots for a photoshoot. They are the ones who set up the lighting backdrops and tell their models what to do. You get the idea! A retoucher takes raw images from the photographer and manipulates them to look like what you see today; they smooth skin, remove blemishes and sometimes add a whole new background, but ultimately the photographer gets the final say on their shot and may also help in the re-touch process.

It takes a lot to take and make beautiful photos and great memorable marketing that tells your story. Yet it also takes massive effort and skill, thousands of hours to build a great business, product, or brand. But you wouldn’t skip that part when starting a business, would you?

Don’t Stop Creating.

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