Achieving believability in marketing.
Continuing with our recent theme of writing credible marketing copy, I’m excited to share with you Mashable’s HOW TO: Make Your PR & Marketing Believable.
This article covers Rohit Bhargava’s Mashable Connect 2011 presentation on ’Likeonomics’, a term he has coined to describe our current ‘affinity’ economy where “the most likable people, ideas and organizations are the ones we believe in, buy from, and get inspired by”.
Likeonomics stems from the belief that consumers align with companies they find believable– a believability that is achieved when marketing strategies make room for simplicity, humanity, honesty, and emotionality.
How can we apply Likeonomics to B2B technology marketing?
Bhargava corroborates his theory by highlighting four B2C companies who’ve made believability a priority in their marketing initiatives. But B2B technology marketers can certainly appropriate from his theory as well. Here’s how we can apply being simple, human, brutally honest and emotional to up our likability quotient.
1. Be simple.
Just because your technology is complex, doesn’t mean you have to be. You can help reach your audience with copy that commutates with them on their level.
There’s no need to overwhelm your prospect with unnecessary facts and jargon. Instead, be open and direct in how you communicate. To learn how, check out our post on how to simplify your marketing content.
2. Be human.
Bhargava gives the example of wrapping a campaign around a humanitarian cause. You can do this too if your can relate your technology or service to a particular issue, be it social, environmental, or what have you.
However, you can also demonstrate your humanity by allowing your personality to shine through in your social media communications and marketing copy. Leveling with your audience on a personal level establishes sincerity and trust.
3. Be brutally honest.
As Bhargava demonstrates with Dominos Pizza, owning up to your mistakes can really help you turn lemons into lemonade. No one has time to read between the lines, and certainly no one likes being misled.
For instance, everyone knows that there’s no such thing as bug free software. Instead of covertly tightening loose screws behind the scenes, air your faults and fixes to your community. Making your bugs transparent will help you demonstrate an active commitment to improve quality and usability, while also displaying a degree of humility that most people will respond to.
Always being on the up and up with your customers will give them the assurance that they can trust you.
4. Be emotional.
Bhargava’s Mini Bottle Gallery example speaks to picking something you’re passionate about. Same goes for technology marketing. No one will care about what you have to offer if your enthusiasm doesn’t shine through in your marketing efforts.
Here is where creative storytelling comes in handy. Wrapping a narrative around your company story helps to establish an emotional and relatable touchpoint for your customers and prospects.
In the end, there’s no space for spin.
As marketers we have to constantly remind ourselves that overexposure to marketing speak and spin causes our audience to question the sincerity behind the sentiment.
By looking beyond the ‘tech’ in our technology, and finding ways to relate honestly and personally will help us build a reliable reputation in this affinity economy.
