There are certain rules of thumb that all reputable marketers will stay clear of to make sure their reputation stays spotless. Inflating numbers, purposefully including vague information, or blatantly lying are all things you will want to stay away from in your marketing material. However, there are some harmless tactics that some may consider “shameless” that will help you get people to read your material!
If you aren’t purposefully misleading people or outright lying, there is no harm done; marketers do it all the time! Here are some things you may try incorporating into your marketing to get people to respond to your work and keep reading what you send to them.
1. Animals
Geico is best known for its talking Gecko and little piggy that went “wee” all the way home. The commercials Geico produced have been viewed over 26 million times and quickly went viral.
What do these two things have to do with insurance? Absolutely nothing, but they sure are cute! Including pictures of animals in your marketing content is a great way to get people to take a second look and see what that image has to do with what you are offering.
Even if it is unrelated to your business, pictures of animals (funny, cute, adventurous) can help break the monotony of your blog posts, emails, or website content and promote more interaction from your readers.
2. Using Numbers to Surprise People
Anyone can write a blog about 5 ways to grow your Facebook followers, but when was the last time you heard about 50 ways to grow your account? Going that extra mile and including the increased number in the lead in will get people to click on that link to see what you have to offer that was missing from the 10 other articles they read on the same topic.
It’s also helpful to use statistics in the titles: Why Linkedin is 277% More Effective for Lead Generation Than Facebook. Wouldn’t this number shock you into reading just to see what you are doing wrong if you aren’t one of those being successful on Linkedin? Scaring or motivating your readers into find out how they can benefit from reading your content is a great way to provide accurate information to promote a reaction.
3. Babies!
Who doesn’t smile when they see a cute laughing baby in their inbox? Using babies is going along the same lines as using animals; they will incite emotion and positive feelings in those that view what you are putting out there. Remember how popular the Etrade commercials where when they first introduced the talking baby? They have found a niche that works for them, and somehow managed to make people think of their stock trading company when seeing a baby.
If you are a service offering products for babies, use them in your marketing pieces! If you want to provide a little break from the usual images you use in marketing, try using a baby to get people to look at your content a little longer. According to a study done by Marketing Bulletin, content that had a picture of a cute baby received 88% more response and content with a cute animal increased response by 42%. If you provide cute videos or images in emails, it will also help that content go viral as people share the cuteness with their friends and colleagues.
4. Berating Your Audience
Sometimes the people who read our content need a little kick in the pants to get their act together. Telling them why their landing page isn’t getting them leads or why they aren’t getting new business is a necessary evil to incite action. While they may not take it to mean you are personally attacking them, they will want to read on to see if they are an offender of any of the things you are telling them not to do.
Adding in ways to fix the problems is very important as it is necessary to offer ways for them to fix what is broken or needs tweaking.
5. Exaggerated Headlines
We all know that sensationalized headlines sell. Blowing a headline out of proportion is sure to get attention and clicks. Letting people know that the laptop you are reviewing has the worst screen resolution ever is probably exaggerating a little, but people will want to read on to see what the product is lacking.
6. Sex Appeal
Now it’s time to get to the oldest trick in the book; sex really does sell. While it might not be appropriate for all marketing strategies, it is something that is good to fall back on if you are having trouble thinking of a new ad campaign.
Victoria’s Secret is a prime example of using sex to sell their product. Yes, they sell lingerie and other undergarments, but the trick is the models they put inside those items. They have made household names out of their models (ever heard of Gisele or Adriana Lima?) and prompted guys all over the world to buy Victoria’s Secret for the ladies in their life so they can emulate the super models.
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