Marketing is a human interaction even online. Or at least it
should be and the better we understand the science behind those interactions,
the better we become as marketers and the better we become at engaging our
audiences on- and off-line.
In
a recent piece on Fast Company dot com, excerpted from the book “The Power of Communication – Skills to Build Trust,
Inspire Loyalty and, Lead Effectively”, Helio Fred Garcia* makes a point that
is extremely important for any marketer involved in web communications and
marketing.
His lead proposition is that “the default to emotion is part of
the human condition.” In his book he presents an argument that has some
powerful implications for those of us in the mundane world of business and
need to affectively connect with our audiences.
The science behind his discussion is very sound, and to better
appreciate the role of emotion and what it allows an audience – whether online
or off – to do, we need to have a basic understanding of the physiology involved.
Helio explains that “The human brain can be understood as three
separate brains working in tandem, if not completely integrated with each other.”
He goes on to say that “the primitive brain and the limbic brain
collectively make up the limbic system, which governs emotion. Within the
limbic system, there is a structure called the amygdala.” This is the part of
the brain we need to fully understand.
Definition
for the non-psychology/med majors out there . . .
According to the Gray's Anatomy
textbook the amygdala are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep within
the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans.
Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional
reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.
From a physiological and psychological standpoint, when given any
type of stimulus, the amygdala turns our emotions on. We can’t help it. It takes
place instantaneously, without having to think about it.
As an example, we find ourselves responding to a threat even
before we’re consciously aware of it. Think of jumping back when we see a
sudden movement in front of us, or being startled by the sound of a loud bang –
commonly called the “startle response”.
Now as marketers, we can use the knowledge that the human brain responds
instantaneously to positive stimulus without thinking about it. A couple of
good examples come to mind. For instance, we tend to smile back when someone
smiles at us. Or how we are immediately distracted when something we consider
beautiful enters our line of sight.
This part of the brain is the crucial to understanding an
audience’s emotional response, and how to connect with an audience. It plays an
important role in salience, what grabs and keeps our attention. In other
words, attention is an emotion-driven phenomenon. If we want to get and hold an
audience’s attention, we need to trigger the amygdala to our advantage. Only
when we have an audience’s attention can we then move them to rational
argument.
To illustrate this point, Helio gives a narrative about how he
starts his class sessions when he explains that he has “. . . become somewhat
notorious in the programs I teach at NYU for the ways in which I start each
class. I teach all-day sessions on Saturdays, and as the 9 a.m. start time
approaches, most students are still milling about, getting settled and chatting
with each other. At precisely 9 a.m. I touch a button on my remote mouse and
play a sudden blast of very loud music. Most of the time it’s the chorus of
“Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas, but to keep the element of
surprise I sometimes vary the selection. After a 10-second burst of very loud
music, I have every student’s undivided attention. I then lock in the
connection: I smile, welcome them, thank them for investing a full Saturday in
developing their careers. Only then do I begin the class. I have hijacked their
amygdalas. We need audiences to feel first, and then to think.”
Five Strategies for Audience Engagement
He then suggests five specific strategies to engage with your
audience. When communicating with your audiences you need to take the amygdala
into account in determining how the content is structured and how the audience
is engaged. In person, this is far easier to establish. Online is more
presumptive and requires more forethought and persona planning, but it can be
done.
1. Establish
connection before saying anything substantive - And
remember that the connection is physical. This means pictures and graphics
online or using the technique of asking for the audience’s attention, if only
with a powerful and warm greeting, followed by silence and eye contact in
person or by clear and well defined ‘next step’ directions online. The key is
to make sure the audience isn’t doing something else or distracted by a purely extraneous
element on the web page so that they pay attention.
2. Say the
most important thing first - Once you have their
attention. The most important thing should be a powerful framing statement,
that single statement or value proposition that will control the meaning of everything
that follows. An important thing to remember – again with the psychology of the
human mind in mind - that frames or framing statements must precede facts. It’s
a matter of how we process, retain and engage as humans.
3. Close
with a restatement – Reiteration
is power in communications: As you close your discussion, simply restate your
powerful framing statement that opened your presentation.
4. Make it
easy to remember. Keep in mind how hard it is for people to read or listen, hear,
and remember all at the same time. One proven method is to repeat key points. Don’t
fall into the trap of thinking, “But I’ve already said this. I don’t need to
say it again.” Or, “I don’t want to say it again and seem repetitive.” We need
to constantly repeat the key themes, within any on- or off-line presentation and
in general as a matter of organizational strategy. It doesn’t matter if you’re
bored with saying it or feel that it’s repetitive. The audience needs to hear
it, again and again.
As a general principle, people need to hear things three times if they are to
even pay attention to it. And because any given audience member at any time may
be distracted or inattentive, they are unlikely to hear, see or attend to
everything that is presented to them. So you need to repeat key points far more
than three times to be sure that everyone has heard, seen or perceived them at
least three times.
5. Follow
the rule of threes. This is incredibly important and one point that I consistently see
violated in online and web communications. Have three main points. But no more
than three main points, no more than three topics and no more than three
examples per topic. Remember to group the thoughts in threes, words in threes,
and actions in threes.
Helio concluded by noting that “The default to emotion is part of
the human condition.” The amygdala governs the fight-or-flight impulse, the
triggering of powerful emotions and the release of chemicals that put humans in
a heightened state of arousal and awareness. Humans are not just thinking
machines. We’re feeling machines who also think. Most importantly we need to realize
that we feel first and then we think. As a result, marketers need to meet
emotion with emotion before they can move audiences with reason.
* Helio Fred Garcia
is the Executive Director at Logos Institute for Crisis Management &
Executive Leadership and author of the book “The Power of Communication –
Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty and, Lead Effectively”
