Copywriting is more than just understanding how to write compelling content and knowing the importance of a well-placed comma, it is all about understanding human psychology too.
In order to write copy that resonates with people, you must first understand their emotions, biases, beliefs, desires and problems.
After all, words are powerful tools that can and should evoke feelings.
If businesses do not understand how crucial their tools are, they will struggle to use them in a way that channels action from consumers and generates leads. Ultimately, they will be left with a forgettable message and disengaged consumers.
Whether the desired action is buying your product, trusting your brand, or simply grasping your key message, you can get there with words. But not just any words.
Upon carrying out my own research for an advertising class in New York, I realised that the most effective way to trigger emotion, and therefore action, was through an aspirational key message.
It makes sense that an aspirational message will evoke a positive mindset to achieve that dream home, body, life, anything desirable.
Humans are sometimes motivated by fear, but they are nearly always motivated by goals and aspirations. Quite simply, that’s why they are called motivations.
Aspirational messaging is the opposite to fear-based messaging, which has become controversial in recent times. While aspirational messaging works on triggering a positive mindset, fear-based messaging has a negative psychological impact on people.
The beauty industry has thrived on this kind of content and messaging for decades, telling individuals to hide certain features and alter their appearance to fit in with society’s ideals.
In fact, the industry has created problems that people didn’t even know they had. For example, up until a few years ago, who knew we all needed pore strips for our noses?
A marketer somewhere, came up with the fear-based problem, and with some successful marketing, it became a craze across social media. It was mostly young women that took part, sharing their pore strips after removing them from their noses.
Despite the fact that there has been debate about whether the strips are actually beneficial to consumers, the global market for pore strips is likely to be worth $2.7 billion by the end of 2026, according to Transparency Market Research.
But as people have become more aware about the insensitive tactics of fear-based messaging, many marketers have evolved their strategies.
Campaigns using language to make consumers feel good about themselves with an assurance that anything is possible are a much more ethical way of promoting products, and it has some positives for the business too.
Consumers are likely to be more loyal to brands who appeal to the positives, such as hope, excitement and ambition, and therefore this generates many more leads.
It’s true that all Copywriters aspire to become storytellers, carrying out brand messages and writing content that sticks in the mind of consumers.
But in order to be an effective storyteller, Copywriters must first grasp what story the consumer needs to hear. More often than not, it is messages of light and positivity, especially in a time of so much uncertainty and negativity in the world.
At DigitalKOG, our Copywriters believe in positive campaigns with content that taps into the aspirational mind of our clients’ consumers.
We seek to understand consumers on a deeper level, and that’s how we generate leads in an often crowded marketplace. Speak to a LEADOLOGIST™ to learn more.
