Marketing is all about getting a target audience interested in a business, brand, product or service. It’s fair to say, therefore, that it relies on the ability to influence people’s behaviour, to direct them into wanting or needing something specific, and to push them to action. And you know what else factors into people’s behaviour? Their feelings!
Emotion can be a vital driving force within marketing, affecting not only how people react to a brand, but also how they engage with it in both the present and the future. Utilising emotion in your strategies can make a huge difference, creating a stronger and longer lasting connection between what your business offers, and the customer base.
But what are the exact benefits of utilising emotion in marketing? And how do you even go about doing so? Don’t worry, we’ve summarised all the basics for you!
Benefits of using emotion in marketing
There aren’t any downsides to using emotion in marketing (as long as you’re using it well, of course). But if you’re not convinced, here are some of the top benefits:
- It influences engagement
Strong emotions lead to action. Therefore, a marketing campaign that incorporates emotion will be more likely to provoke a higher level of engagement, as the target audience will be more inclined to interact with the product and/or service, as well as any content shared by the brand in question. Emotional marketing is also more likely to get shared and discussed, meaning you can get better exposure and visibility, to improve the brand’s reach.
- It builds brand loyalty
If your marketing strategies consistently convey a certain emotion to your target audience, they will start to associate certain feelings and emotional states with your brand. Say, for example, that you evoke an emotion that makes your customer base feel good and happy, they will start identifying your brand in that way, making them crave more of it! This can lead to enhanced engagement with your business, but more importantly, brand loyalty! Why go with another option when they already associate yours with being happy?
- It creates a stronger connection with the customer
Marketing relies on being able to connect with the audience, and specifically, your customer base. Utilising emotions can strengthen the potential connection, and create a deeper relationship of understanding. This is because emotional marketing can tap into people’s feelings, beliefs, values, and more!
- It’s memorable
When you have a strong emotional reaction to something, you’re more likely to remember it, right? Well, that’s precisely why emotion used in marketing can help create a longer lasting impact and a more memorable experience for your brand’s audience. This in turn leads to a higher level of exposure, a higher chance of engagement, and an overall higher probability of success!
- It adds to your brand identity
If your marketing focuses on evoking a certain type of emotion in its target audience, it might be able to set itself apart from other competitors within the industry. This will enhance your unique brand identity, allowing it to stand out and claim its core message. Of course, for this to work, the emotion you evoke must align with your brand’s values and goals.
Tips for using emotion in marketing
There are endless ways to incorporate the intentional evocation of specific emotions into your marketing strategies. But just in case you’re struggling to get started, here are some of our tips:
- Understand your customer base
Essential to all marketing strategies, and this one is no different. In order to elicit a strong emotional response, you need to know what makes your audience tick. What will incite the emotion you’re aiming for?
- Decide what you want to inspire in your audience
What is your brand’s message? What values does it uphold? Okay, now think about what you want your audience to feel. What emotions do you want to be associated with your business? Once you have a clear vision, think about how you can achieve it.
- Utilise life beats
Inspiring specific emotions in your audience isn’t always an easy job, so you should strive to utilise whatever tools you have at your disposal. Timing your marketing, and its message, to certain life beats or times of year can make it easier to land the desired emotions. People’s milestones in life, anniversaries, special occasions and celebrations can give your strategy an extra edge.
- Build a cohesive theme
When utilising emotional marketing it’s important to be cohesive. You don’t want feelings to be all over the place, or else the result will be a confusing mess that won’t yield many benefits. Stick to something simple, and build your marketing around a cohesive theme that interconnects across all strategies.
In summary
Emotion can influence how an audience reacts to your marketing message. When utilised purposefully to connect with your customer base, and push them to action, it can result in many benefits for your brand’s business. From influencing engagement to building brand loyalty, emotion can strengthen the connection between your business and the customer base, adding to your brand identity to make it memorable and impactful.
The trick is to understand your customer base and to settle on what kind of emotion you want them to associate with your brand. You should ensure you have a cohesive theme linking across all emotional marketing strategies and should strive to utilise all tools at your disposal, such as your audience’s life beats and emotion-inducing milestones.
If you want to read more digital marketing tips, head over to the It Works Blog. Alternatively, if you’d like to know how we can help your business, get in touch today!