Elizabeth Edwards Elizabeth Edwards
Take yourself away from your brand for a minute. When was the last time you read boring “industry jargon” in an advertisement or marketing collateral? If you answered “this morning,” or worse, “while creating my marketing content,” drop everything and make sure to keep reading.

The truth is, these buzzwords are everywhere, but they don’t really mean anything to your audience. I’m going to say it: buzzwords don’t matter. But somehow they’re this ever-present monster in our world, and they’re especially common in the technology industry. I’ll even take this a step further and say that these messages, in general, are probably not resonating with your audiences as much as they are resonating with ourselves.

Respecting the basic laws of human behavior will garner you more results. Here’s a little taste of the secret scientific sauce that we infuse throughout our agency:

Enough with the speeds and feeds already. Craft content that engages with the emotions of your audience. We as humans make decisions based on emotion — even if you don’t realize it — so lead with emotion and then validate with speeds and feeds. Why should your audience care? And it’s not because you increase bandwidth, or improve ecosystems or leverage connectivity.

Perception is everything. It can make or break your brands: You have about three seconds to make a good impression, and you are competing with up to 20,000 other messages seen by your audience every day. With the stakes that high, you really can’t afford to ignore these basic principles.

Every word matters. Of course you already know this, because you’re a smart marketer. But words like “you” and “because” can make a world of difference when properly placed. Every single word used in your messages has an impact on how your audience views your brand. Perhaps, even more important is to know when to stop using words and make your point with visuals.

Is your mind spinning yet? Don’t worry, there’s a lot here. I’m sure you're a brilliant marketer; you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.

You don’t need to call for a re-brand tomorrow, just start thinking about how you communicate with your audience.

Science has given us the knowledge to communicate in ways that are more precise, if we’re paying attention. By embracing these basic rules, and respecting your audience instead of fighting their natural preferences, you’ll produce outcomes that far exceed traditional tactics.

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Elizabeth Edwards is Founder and President of Volume Public Relations.