Whenever we talk to prospects, friends or new business owners, the same question pops up over and over: how do I stand out online?  Our answer is usually one word. Content.  Content is queen – and many marketers will stand by that til the end of days.  Finding new channels to reach and connect with your audience is crucial. And once you find them you need to be captivating and set yourself apart.

As an inbound marketing agency, our team is always digging into what’s new and exciting in our industry.  Whether that’s checking out industry leading websites daily, listening to podcasts or attending conferences – our job is to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on.  Last week we had the pleasure of attending Inbound 2020, a first-time virtual marketing event that is a cornerstone for marketers around the world. Nancy Harhut led an especially captivating workshop, centred around how to create captivating content to stand out online.  Here are some of my favourite takeaways from her workshop.

Choose words that make people pay attention

As writers we write in a linear manner – word after word, with deliberate intent.  However, more often than not, this isn’t how our audience absorbs what we are saying.  They skim and scan the information you are providing and latch onto small bits that catch their attention – diving into these areas with more intention. Scientists have identified certain words that are fantastic at doing this –  words that might catch your attention when I say them: New, Now, Introducing, Announcing, Free, You, Secrets etc. 

It’s no surprise these terms work. Just check out any blog title or subject line you’ve clicked on (ie: ‘5 New Trends in Marketing You Need To Know Now’).  These words activate the reward centre in our brain, releasing dopamine.  If you need examples of this at work – check out any and every Buzzfeed title.

Choose pictures that make people pay attention

It’s no secret that human brains prefer pictures than words, and while we need words to really convey our message, we often marry both pictures and words together.  Using photos can add breaks in copy heavy posts, or provide visual support for your messaging.  Where applicable, use photos with faces.  Instinctually, humans establish trust by creating eye contact, and when we see a photo where this can happen, this subconsciously promotes trust and attention.  Think about when you meet someone for the first time: eye contact is everything.  

If you can’t use direct gaze in photos, use photos where the gaze of the photos subject leads you the reader to something important, such as information regarding product, pricing, CTA’s, company information.  Our natural tendency is to follow the gaze of someone we are looking at. Think about how many times you’ve noticed someone’s attention was distracted, or they were looking past you at something else; when we interact with people we follow their gaze..and the same goes for when we look at photos.  This presents fantastic opportunities to establish trust with our audience or direct them to vital information. 

Understand the scarcity principle

Have you ever contemplated buying something online, or signing up for something, and then for one day only the price was marked down? You can see the redline slash through the original price and can visually see the amount of money you’d save if you would just commit, and buy it today?  Not only that, there’s a clock ticker telling you exactly when this opportunity closes?  This is the scarcity principle at work – and it flips a switch in our brain to act with urgency.  It doesn’t have to be products or cost-associated either that trigger this switch – by offering two for the price of one – whether it be pillar content resource downloads, or upgraded free audits in return for an email capture, understanding the urgency side of the Scarcity principle can persuade reluctant prospects to take action. 

On the other side of the scarcity principle is Exclusivity – making people feel like they have connected to your tribe and will benefit from being a part of it.  We see this everywhere, exclusive downloads for joining newsletters, access to facebook groups, premium content that’s typically paywalled.  People love to feel like they are a part of something special, be it a special privilege, special access, or direct contact that isn’t available to anyone who isn’t a part of the tribe.  

Rely on a rhyme

The rhyme as reason bias is a cognitively proven bias that says a saying or statement rewritten to rhyme is judged as more truthful and accurate than its non-rhyming counterpart. PLEASE don’t take this as a suggestion that all of your copy should rhyme.  But a carefully placed rhyme can really help you stand out, and draw attention to something important in your content.  Perhaps your Call To Action, Subject Line, or Title has a rhyme in it; not only is a rhyme catchier and more memorable, but the brain processes the rhyme easier, and if it’s easier to process it feels right, and therefore more believable to your audience.  

Understand loss aversion

Social Scientists have found that people are twice as motivated to avoid the pain of loss then they are to achieve the pleasure of gain.  Understanding this we can tailor our content to solve for three main pain points: loss of time, money or energy.  No matter what you are writing about, your intention should be to solve for a pain point. While there’s nothing wrong with talking about advantages and gains, your content will be twice as impactful when you mention the pain that your audience can avoid.  Examples are everywhere when you look at some of your favourite blog titles and CTA’s – “5 of the biggest mistakes to avoid in SEO”, “Don’t miss out on our weekly inbound newsletter”, “8 ways to save money and time in your next interior redesign”.  

Understanding Loss Aversion and the impact it has on our motivations can be an amazing tool to understand when it comes to writing powerful and captivating content. 

Conclusion

When I watched Nancy’s workshop, I had so many – ‘oh my god, I’ve seen this everywhere’ moments, and it’s no wonder – the best marketers and writers are behaviour based. They target psychological tendencies that we all have, and create super captivating content using it.  There are so many little tricks and nuances that we can add to our toolkit to become better content writers, and I want to hear from you! What are some of the tricks you use to create memorable content?

Image Credit: Hans Reniers on Unsplash