Consider your last experience of making a purchase on the internet.
Perhaps you were searching for a pair of cozy snow boots, a pack of 36 crayons, or the newest smartphone version.
Going online, you investigated the choices, carefully evaluating them before finally deciding which one to buy.
What caused you to choose one brand over any other? Despite the other factors, there must have been *something* that caused you to choose to purchase the item by clicking the “Add to Cart” button.
Features vs. Benefits: What’s the Difference?
Simply put:
- A feature refers to what a product or service does.
- A benefit refers to the outcome or result a buyer is likely to experience after buying your product or service.
It may appear obvious to highlight every characteristic of your item or service, yet the fact of the matter is that people do not commonly purchase products simply due to the fact that they want to purchase them. They purchase an item or service in order to aid them in resolving an issue.
Recalling the preceding instance, it was not your desire to have fur on your feet, a container of hued wax, or a modern, palm-sized gadget that caused you to look for snow boots, a crayon assortment, or a cellular phone.
Didn’t you want something to keep your feet nice and cozy during the colder months, to enable you to craft a magnificent work of art, or to permit you to talk to your mother every evening?
You were convinced to finally make a purchase because of the attraction of being able to work out your difficulties (cold toes, no activity on a wet day, your mother nagging you).
Benefits & the Basics of Buying Psychology
” If you’re questioning yourself about if you considered the advantages before purchasing the item, It was apparent to me what I desired, and this understanding doesn’t always require conscious thought.
The reason why successful copywriting does so well is mainly because it can tap into the psychological motivations of a buyer without them even realizing it.
Psychology Is Powerful
The strongest companies on the globe have perfected the art of getting their messaging right – saying the right thing, in the best way possible, at the optimal moment.
Nike’s well-known motto “Just Do It” is succinct yet conveys that if you purchase their products, you will be inspired to be more industrious, complete tasks, and lead the invigorating life you want.
This is expressed by just three easy words.
Once you grasp the thought process of your target audience, you will be able to replicate the same effect with your marketing endeavors.
Purchasing decisions that buyers make are mainly based on what is of advantage to them, indicating a self-centered mindset.
Buyers Are Egocentric
Cornell University conducted a research which revealed that sellers and customers often exaggerate the common points between what they believe the worth of a product or service to be.
This research illustrates an inconsistency between what customers require and how companies publicize the advantages of their own goods or services.
If customers are attracted to the advantages that are inferred from a product or service, then it will be advantageous for companies and advertisers to focus on the advantages (how it can help the purchaser address an issue) in preference to the characteristics (the tasks that a commodity can perform).
How to Figure Out What Your Audience Wants
You are aware of the purpose and functions of your product or service, and probably expended quite a lot of energy attempting to explain this to your expected customers through the material on your website, as well as your content marketing endeavors.
Investigate what your listeners are hoping to get out of your speech in order to make sure you are delivering precisely what they are looking for.
Making a guess is not good enough. The words we articulate might not match up with the terminology of those we are attempting to communicate with. We can converse indefinitely concerning ‘keyword rankings’, however, if those we are talking to need “more leads,” then our service’s advantage will not get conveyed effectively.
Consequently, it is paramount that we do a comprehensive inquiry into our audience to figure out what they desire.
Contact individuals in your intended demographic. Uncover individuals who meet the standards of someone who may take advantage of your offerings.
Step 1: Ask
If you have a pre-existing group of supporters and/or buyers, inquire of them what advantages they hope to gain when purchasing your items or services.
Contacting people personally, inquiring about it through social media, or including an invitation for opinions in an email are all ways you can get feedback.
Attempt to stay away from providing them recommendations because you prefer to listen to their replies using their own terminology.
Make a record of the responses you get so that you can refer to them when you are creating your content.
Step 2: Survey
An alternative approach to identifying what your audience wants is to conduct a survey and pose some typical questions related to audience research.
It is possible to generate a poll by utilizing Google Forms or some other pre-made survey form.
Make contact with individuals that you have not already sold to in order to get an impartial opinion on your product since previous customer feedback could be skewed.
Some questions to ask are:
- What is your biggest struggle when it comes to [ topic ]?
- What 3 solutions have you tried in order to overcome this struggle?
- What didn’t you like about those solutions?
- What’s the #1 benefit you hope to gain from [ product/service ]?
Step 3: Clarify
Do you have any idea what they could be trying to say by their answer to your inquiry?
Ask for clarification.
The more information you have, the better.
Gaining insight into your target audience’s mindset, their difficulties, and the advantages they seek when investing in your product or service is the essence of success.
Step 4: Count
Chances are you will receive various responses from individuals, however you may possibly come across some commonalities.
Take note if a pattern emerges from the answers you receive.
Keep a tally of the most common responses. You must include these items in your promotional activities.
Also, pay attention to the language they use. You should put this expression in your writing as well.
5. Run a contest or giveaway
People can’t resist the power of free stuff. Participating in social media competitions is one of the most effective social media methods for potentially increasing engagement with followers.
Results from HubSpot reveal that out of all forms of competitions, sweepstakes are the most sought-after. On average, if businesses employ sweepstakes, it generally produces 17,500 fresh followers for them.
Crazy, right? But when you look at how much love posts like this one from Crumbl Cookies receive, those numbers don’t seem so farfetched:
Crumbl often runs contests, but this particular one was extraordinary because the cookie company offered a bigger giveaway in honour of having gained three million followers.
You do not need an immense following to have success with a competition. And you don’t need a third-party solution or service either—all you need is a combination of the following:
- Something to give away. Ideally, the prize for your contest should somehow be related to your brand (think: free products or a membership). Big-ticket, unrelated items tend to attract freebie-seekers that won’t translate into long-term followers.
- Terms and conditions. To cover yourself legally, terms and conditions are a must for your contest. This template from Shortstack can clue you in on exactly what you need. Additionally, these points will make your contest seem legitimate and not like a potential scam.
- A point of contact. On your terms and conditions page, make sure to leave an email address where people can get in touch with questions or concerns.
- A way to enter . Whether it’s through user-generated content or a branded hashtag, asking followers to post about your brand is the best way to encourage entries. After all, the purpose of a giveaway is brand awareness, not just to give away free stuff.
Hashtags are the most basic way to keep records of which people participated in your competition gratis. Tools like Sprout Social can be utilized to track and discover posts that have been tagged with your brand’s hashtag.
It’s not necessary to arrange competitions every week to gain favourable outcomes. Organizing competitions can increase the number of followers and foster interaction, but they’re also a great method to support campaigns like launching a new product.
6. Host an AMA
An AMA series provides an amazing chance to teach and connect with your supporters. AMA’s are gatherings that involve exchanging information, including one’s own knowledge, practices, and perspectives.
Narratives of success and difficulties can captivate an audience and show a brand’s worth.
Your audience will appreciate the insight, but also consider how an AMA ticks the following boxes for brands:
- You get to show off your personal side, showcasing the face behind the curtain of your business.
- You raise awareness for your brand without being pushy or salesy about it.
- You learn more about the concerns and interests of your audience.
If you have a sizable group of individuals, you can stimulate all members of the team to periodically do their own ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) sessions to deliver an overall representation of your brand.
7. Conduct a social media takeover
Occasionally giving someone else control of your social accounts can be a great way to revive your feeds.
Having someone else temporarily take control of your social media accounts is often referred to as a takeover and typically lasts for a day.
Passing your social media presence to an influencer or superstar with a large, engaged following is an excellent way to expose your brand to a new crowd and add a fresh outlook to your account if you’re out of ideas for social media posts. You can pass the responsibility of managing your account over to someone else in your company to add some spice to your feed.
Think of individuals or businesses who are in partnerships and industries that can be suitable for a purchase. A takeover should be chosen in order to gain visibility; therefore, it is preferable to select someone who has a following of people who are similar to the demographic that you are targeting.
8. Share, pin, retweet and regram
Do not be scared of permitting your devotees, followers, and associates to take the lead in conversation.
Do not think that every post you share on your social media must be created by you; actually that should not be the case. Giving promotion to relevant companies, posts, and pictures from your followers is an awesome way to demonstrate that you are actively engaged in your industry’s discussion.
Sprout recounted a New York Times piece about Gen Z’s utilization of TikTok as a method of searching for information because it relates to their followers’ pursuits in the world of marketing and social media.
9. Create short-form video clips
Developing a video content strategy is essential for contemporary businesses. Many people feel that investing in video is too confusing, costly, or beyond their financial means.
The Sprout Social Index found that short-form videos are the most effective type of content presented in a feed. Two-and-a-half times more people find short videos more captivating than those of extended duration.
Brands should consider implementing innovative social media plans that involve video given the encouraging statistics.
Short-form video snippets are the staple fare of TikTok and Instagram Reels, but those social media networks are not the only ones that benefit from them – Twitter and Facebook have potential here as well. You can even try out YouTube Shorts. These videos can be created in a short amount of time, need minimal editing, and are well suited for people to share.
10. Repurpose your content
Considering the level of planning, hard work and span of time necessary to make any content piece. Isn’t it wise to get the utmost from every blog post or video you create?
You should think of ways to promote your blog posts and videos on social media apart from their original presentation. You could use Canva to take a quote from your material and change it into an image that is easy to share.
Or, you can repurpose your YouTube videos into social-specific posts like this:
Think of how you could recycle each blog article or video you create. You could build up a substantial collection of content that could be shared.
Reutilizing your content gives old or less well known posts a new chance, but also helps avoid your followers becoming disinterested in the same thing being continuously repeated.
