Anatomy of an Effective Marketing Message

When it comes to crafting a marketing message one of the biggest hurdles is knowing if it will resonate and be effective with your customers. How do you know if you have it right? Where do you even start when it comes to crafting a message?

As a marketing agency, one of the biggest pitfalls we see with websites or digital campaigns is a lack of a clear and actionable marketing message. We want to shed more light on this touchy subject. Here are some tips for crafting your marketing message.

First off, an effective marketing message must contain three elements:

1. Benefit – What is in it for me?
2. Differentiator – Why should I buy from you and not someone else?
3. Call-To-Action – What do I do next?

Be Persuasive

When it boils down to it marketing is in the business of promoting or selling products or services. You need to persuade someone that what you have to offer is right for them. No matter who you are selling to, there are certain words in the English language that have power and persuasive qualities. Using powerful language and an active voice to engage, inform, convince and then ultimately compel the customer to action.

These five words rank at the top of persuasiveness so you will want to make sure you are implementing these into your marketing message:

1. You
2. Free
3. Because
4. Instantly
5. New

When you are writing your message, it needs to be relatable to your target. You – We are an ego-driven species so when things are personalized for us – we pay attention. Free – gets me every time. Because – so you can help the person decide why they need your product or service. Instantly – because we live in the time of now and instant gratification and as consumers, we always want the latest and greatest so the word New – has a magnetic pull to it.

On top of being persuasive, you need to communicate trust and credibility with your customer. When was the last time you bought something from someone you didn’t trust?

What’s Your Tone?

When it comes to the overall message – you want to write like people talk. Using a natural, conversational tone and style that is simple and easy to understand. We all have short attention spans so making the message easy to digest is best.

The tone of your marketing message should be aligned with your brand’s tone. And in order to understand your brand’s tone – you need to know your audience.

Know Your Audience

If your message is going to be effective it needs to speak to your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Do you understand what their needs might be? What are their fears or trigger points that will drive them to action? What motivates them? Once you are able to identify these elements you will then be able to use the right words to evoke the right response with your target audience.

One of the best ways to capture the attention of your target market is starting with a headline that clearly defines who you are talking to. One of the biggest mistakes with marketing messages is pounding your chest and speaking about you and your company – when you really need to speak about your target audience. What is in it for them? If it’s not for them – they won’t care to go any further.

Identify the Problem

What does your product or service do to solve your target audience’s problem? Your message should convey in a short sentence what the problem is and what your company will do to provide the solution to that problem. This strategy works with any type of marketing material. Lead with your strongest point. It should encourage someone to want to continue to listen, read or watch.

Create a Sense of Urgency

One of the ways to effectively get a customer to interact is by creating a sense of urgency. This is done by establishing a deadline. You want them to act sooner than later and take action while the message is fresh. If there is a limited amount of time to act, there is a likelihood that the customer will make a move and take action.

Provide a Call to Action

Once you have delivered your message, you need to give customers direction on what step to take next. You want them to take some action right? You have to guide the horse to water. Maybe it isn’t a time sensitive sale that you are promoting but you are trying to drive more traffic to your website or increase those users to follow your brand or company on social media? Whether it is offering an e-book to download or a newsletter sign-up to capture an email address for future contact, you must have a clear call to action once you have delivered your marketing message.

Social Proof

The proof is in the pudding. Proven results will motivate your customers to engage and participate in what you have to offer. You need to live up to the hype. We need to see some social proof for us to move forward with a purchase. Your friend bought the product and raved about it or you read some terrible review which made you run for the hills.

Some of the ways of providing social proof is as follows:

1. Positive Statistics and Performance Metrics
2. Case Studies
3. Client and Customer Testimonials
4. Awards and Recognition

After you have written the copy, read it to see if it resonates. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and see if you really care about what you have to say? Is your marketing message compelling? Would you take action? If not – you may need to go to the drawing board to tweak and massage the message until it feels right. If you are speaking to your audience, differentiating yourself from the competition, have a clear call to action and have created a sense of urgency, you are on the right track.

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