Emotional Adwords Principles – Summary

A CLOSER LOOK AT “EMOTIONAL ADVERTISING” IN ADWORDS
(A continuation from yesterday’s pay per click search marketing post!) 

There’s nothing more critical than understanding what REALLY drives the purchase of our product or service.   Most people believe in the power of emotion in ppc advertising, but the specific manner in which it yields its influence is always left vauge. 

*  “Customers buy for emotional reasons and then justify it with logic” … how true, … but wouldn’t it be more useful if you could SEE the SPECIFIC connection? …

* What you want to do is logically trace the pathway from a particularly desired feature (like the high ankle rise on my new hiking boots) which gives rise to a rational benefit (it protects me from twisting injuries while I’m hiking) … which ultimately leads to an emotional end benefit (I can enjoy feel a sense of adventure and freedom) … which makes me feel good about myself

* Feature (high rise ankle) –> rational benefit (protects from twisting) –> emotional benefit (sense of adventure and freedom) –> feels better about self

* Understood as such an emotional benefit is no longer a mystical concept.  It’s simply “something nice I feel about myself because I use your product or service”

* Because it also applies to CONSIDERING using your product or service … so in Adwords, an emotional benefit is “something nice I feel about myself because I click your ad” … (this all occurs below the level of consciousness)

With the exercise demonstrated in the FREE MP3, you’ll learn to trace EVERY feature to it’s logical connection with an EMOTIONAL PURCHASE MOTIVATION   

There’s also a VERY SPECIAL LIST OF 37 EMOTIONAL BENEFITS here:

* These emotional labels and accompanying single paragraph descriptors were derived via extensive quantitative research with thousands of consumers, a panel of psychologists,  and marketing consultants who specialized in assessing emotional purchase motivation.  Taken together, the list is probably the best representation of the full spectrum of human needs which can be met by purchasing a given product or service)

When you understand the LOGICAL CONNECTION between a given feature and the way that feature specifically supports the prospect’s self esteem, your attempts to weave emotion into your Adwords text are much more believable and effective and do NOT require hype or “emotional attitude”

The short story?

First, identify which features are desired in your market category.  You can do that by examining winning ads, or by more exhaustive competitive intelligence and survey research  (see the “after the click” formula at http://www.howtodoubleyourbusiness.com )

Next, decide whether you’re going to do this exercise …

A) Alone – in which case you’ll need to have a pretend conversation with yourself in a journal (perfectly acceptable …as long as you remember to suspend your quest for the ‘right answer’) … OR

B) With one colleague or friend – better … it’s easier to get clarity on the connections when you can get out of your own head … OR

C) With a group of customers or prospects in your market – best – you can invite them to a little teleseminar or webinar/chat to conduct the exercise

Now, for each desired feature (for example “high rise ankles”), gently but persistently keep asking …

- “What’s the benefit of _________ (FEATURE)”

- When you get the answer (for example “I like high rise ankles on my hiking boots because they help me avoid twisting injuries”) 

·          “And what’s the benefit of ____________  (REASON ABOVE)”

            And what’s the benefit of ____________  (REASON ABOVE)”

            And what’s the benefit of ____________  (REASON ABOVE)”

 … until the respondent says something like “it just makes me feel good about myself”

IMPORTANT NOTE: the answer just BEFORE them saying “it makes me feel good about myself” is the emotional end benefit. 

(Feeling good about oneself is perhaps the ultimate emotional benefit, but it in and of itself it provides no advertising direction)

Please listen to Sharon do the exercise in the FREE MP3  for an example

Bottom line is … first figure out what they want RATIONALLY … then talk to them using this special technique to link the benefit to one of the 37 emotional benefits here.

Tagged as: AdWords, Emotional Marketing