I recently visited a marketing website with a welcome video on the home page. Naturally, I clicked on it and was excited to hear what this particular guru had to say. However, what happened next really disappointed me. It wasn’t that the content was uninteresting or even that the person talking wasn’t engaging, it was that the star of the video was not looking at me! Instead, the video was shot in profile and done interview-style which made it seem like some sort of documentary.
Now I’m sure it’s suppose to look more modern and maybe there’s even research to prove how effective it is to shoot video in this way. However, the effect it had on me was to make me feel left out. It was like I was eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. You know who I want the expert to be addressing?… Me. I want to feel like they are speaking directly to me, empathizing with my pain and offering the exact solution I am desperate to find.
Whether you are using video or not, your audience should feel like you are having an intimate conversation with them. They should read your copy, hear you speak, watch you perform or even touch your products and feel like you have crafted your message just for them. It should feel like somehow you have snuck into their brains, climbed into their beds or read their personal journals to find out what their sincerest hopes and dreams are or what their greatest fears and frustrations are.
Your brand message should draw your audience to you like a thirsty man to water. It should promise the cool, refreshing hope of their deepest desired transformation. There should be no mistake they are in exactly the right place at the right time so they can finally lay down their burdens and trust you will shepherd them to greener pastures.
So…to whom does your brand message speak? Do you know? Are you clear? Are they?
Until you are willing to look your audience in the eye and say, “I see you, I hear you and I’m here for you” you will be just another pretty face in the crowd.
I love to hear your voice!
What do you find most difficult about nailing down your target audience?
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Heather Poduska is a brand strategist, business coach and opera singer who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners create client attractive brands, polished brand images and brand communication strategies to increase their visibility and impact in the marketplace and grow their businesses.
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