8 Keys To Effective Promotional Messaging

According to the latest data, the worth of digital advertising industry is estimated to reach $375.80 billion by the end of 2021, worldwide. That includes social media marketing and mobile marketing, even though search still remains the biggest investment magnet.

With traditional marketing, although still of great importance, losing its previous status as the foothold of marketing experts, more stress is being put on the digital promotional strategies.

Unlike companies like Starbucks or Nike who have billions of dollars at their disposal for promotional purposes alone, some smaller businesses do not have all the financial resources or the personnel in-house, so they seek outsourcing or have smaller effective teams who play catch up with the industry giants.

What many people do not realize is that this can be used to their benefit.

Smaller businesses have a smaller number of products, or they are trying to reach a smaller number of customers than the Fortune 500 business. However, big businesses with all of their financial backings are still somewhat crippled by their large hierarchy and heavy bureaucracy, their numerous products and long-planned business strategies, as well as the obligation to fulfill the stock-holders expectations.

What I am saying is that smaller and medium-sized businesses can profit off of their size. They can adapt more swiftly to the current. Smaller teams who are not micromanaged and have less of the chain of command links have more creative freedom and individuality sought after by savvy customers.

This especially comes to attention when it comes to promotional messaging. Marketing nowadays is not just a well-designed logo or fresh visual identity. Well, good marketing at least. A carefully thought-through message is what compliments the visual. Without the two in sync, you have a partially effective marketing strategy, if any.

A small team working with clear guidelines and original ideas can make a boom for a buck.

If you are on such a team or your company employs one, following our 8 keys to effective promotional messaging is what will make that team even more competent and render impressive results. So let’s see what this is all about:

#1 Define your product or service

You need to be able to clearly explain what you are selling in few select words. Whether it is a product or a service, your potential consumers need to understand what you are offering and why said service or product is better than something similar offered on the market. Thus, you need to be aware of your strengths.

#2 Know your target market

Who are you pushing your product to? Identify your target group audience both demographically and psychographically. What does that mean? Demographically speaking, your target audience can vary in sex, age, education, profession, and most importantly income.

You must be aware of the qualities of your product or service that would appeal to a certain group. Usually, market research is what helps in this instance, but if you are a one-man shop or a struggling start-up, you should rely on other available research data, and try to use most of it.

Psychographically speaking, your audience is consistent of people of certain attitudes or they can be members of a certain subculture. This applies to interests and hobbies too. If you are selling a music software program, you will be targeting young musicians or DJs.

You should focus all of your resources to the market where your product has the most likely chance to succeed.

#3 Engage your target audience with suitable content

For your message to be heard, it needs to be appropriate and engaging. For people to respond to it, your message needs to speak to them, to be almost personal. If you are offering something that people are interested in, they will respond to it positively.

#4 Provoke the consumer

Do this by using titles and subtitles that are thought-provoking in their nature, in accordance with market research of your target group, of course. They should contain something of interest to the buyer, and yet they should not reveal all at once, but drive them to read further and stay interested.

#5 Be informative

By engaging your potential customer, you have stolen their attention. Now you have to use it and inform them of your service. When they are deeply interested in what you are offering, make sure you have conveyed everything that they need to know about your product in order to want to purchase it.

You can use visual effects like graphics and highly descriptive images within your corporate visual identity, or a well-put concise text about your product.

If by the end of reading or watching your ad, the customer understands what you are offering and would like to buy it, you conveyed a successful promotional message.

#6 Resort to a marketing hook

This is a way of tricking your prospect into further communication. A hook must offer something to the buyer, something for free, or almost free. People are prone to spending a lot of money if they get something free in return, no matter what the real worth of their gain is.

Whether it is a time-dependent discount or some promotional material this particular target group is fond of, a marketing hook is something that can increase your sales significantly.

Some people will purchase products they do not even need, just because of an attractive hook.

#7 Offer a solution to a problem common in your target group

Make your product sound like the one thing that can help with an existing problem. If your product is actually doing that, you will have it easy. You need to verbalize how exactly your product will be of great help. This is not always convenient, but when it is, it is highly effective.

#8 Give yourself credibility

Use testimonials or real studies to convince your prospects you are credible in your efforts. You can do this by offering a way of sampling your product or service. By doing this, you have further engaged with your target audience and you have earned their trust at the same time.

In addition to that, in order to build trust among the consumers, you can include contact information like an e-mail address or phone numbers and invite people to contact you.

By including some of our 8 keys to effective promotional messaging, if not all of them, you will succeed in raising the level of both your advertising and marketing. These 8 simple potent rules will save you both time and money, and help you earn the deserved trust of your target group.