7 minutes read
Everyone knows that emotional marketing is difficult to do right. Marketers tend to focus on conversion rate, impressions, bounce rates, and bids, and we forget about the emotional appeal in the advertising.
According to the research from PsychologyToday, people respond to the emotional part of the ads a lot more than the text itself.
On the other hand, ads that convey strong emotions often go viral and produce awesome results. The study from HubSpot revealed that the most-shared ads relied on emotional content, including happiness, friendship, and inspiration.
In particular, Mariano Rodriguez from LawRank pointed out that “If you want to make people share and buy, improve your PPC campaign through the use of emotional advertising. This is an effective way to drive your campaign goals”.
How to create emotionally charged ads?
Most PPC specialists are using the standard formula while creating ad copy. It includes three points: keywords, CTA, and unique selling points. Fortunately, Google gives more space for creating expanded text ads where you can adopt emotional ad copy and build meaningful connections with potential clients.
Here are some tips on how to make emotional ads:
- Check what your competitors are running – especially if you spotted them using emotional marketing. You can take over their ideas and make them even better. To spy on your rivals, use SE Ranking Competitor SEO/PPC Research tool.
- Make a list of the benefits your product provides. You can create a customer survey to see what they truly believe the benefits are. You can use the JotForm Survey Maker or Survey Anyplace to get the exact results.
- Connect emotional benefits with an image. The image should reflect the emotional values of your statement. Use our platform to make a banner simple and easy.
Emotions are one of the main reasons why people prefer using products of a certain brand. To encourage people to buy from you, use the following emotional trigger examples in your advertising:
1. Instant Gratification
People often expect instant gratification in many aspects of their lives, even if they are negative. The sense of urgency in your message always makes people get this right now. It is important to include words like today, now, within 24 hours, instant access, etc. These are important aspects of emotional advertising.
Don’t make your audience wait – just give what they want. You can give a discount or run a giveaway. Just give them a chance to win.
Here is a good example of this practice from Lavent Law who persuades people to call them to get their money if they are injured in an accident:
2. Happiness
Many brands want their customer to associate their brand names with smiling, laughing, and positivism. Based on this study, the New York Times’ most-shared articles were positive and had emotional appeal. When creating emotional ads, keep in mind that positive advertising can help you get more engagement and increase sharing.
For example, Coca-Cola’s “Choose Happiness” promotion in 2015 was a powerful example that encouraged consumers to share happy memories and experiences that make them feel happy that summer.
3. Fear
Fear is a good marketing tool to make people loyal to a brand, a product, or a service. Fear makes people investigate some areas carefully, and showcase warns of dangers that we can lose something if we don’t take measures. Fear helps us grow and prevent people from bad behaviors like alcohol, drug abuse, and smoking.
For example, the World Wildlife Fund uses fear in advertising to increase awareness about the harmful effects of global warming. The image clearly shows that climate change will change you and your descendants if you don’t take action to keep it.
4. Trust
Nowadays, trust is one of the most effective triggers in emotional advertising, and many brands try to jump on the trust board in their ads. Before customers trust and buy from you repeatedly, you should persuade them to trust you by using emotional appeal advertising.
- Try to be open and transparent with your customers. Everything should be visible in public view.
- Show testimonials on your landing page and links to your reviews on third-party sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.
- Reduce consumer risk. You can offer a 100% money-back guarantee, free trial, 100% satisfaction guarantee, etc.
- Stay human. Show real human faces and links to their social profiles on your website to prove that they are members of your team.
- Show authoritative brands you used to work with and the awards you have won.
- Be specific. Display numbers, figures, stats, and facts about your brand.
Take a look at The Law Offices of John Rapillo as an example. They promote trust in their clients.
5. Sadness
Using negative emotions like sadness helps you deliver a sense of empathy or compassion. Many brands have noticed the effectiveness of using emotional content that creates public awareness of social issues like violence, gender equality, poverty reduction, immigration, and others.
It is essential to keep the balance when creating such kind of ads. You don’t need to upset your audience and evoke negative feelings made by your brand. Conversely, these emotions should motivate people to act and donate money to improve the situation.
For example, Children of the World promoted the Help Me Read This campaign to improve child literacy in New Delhi.
Related articles:
20 Powerful Advertising Appeals You Can Use in Your Campaigns
Creative Advertising Meets Pop Culture: Creative Ads That Pop
15 Compelling Advertising Techniques That Work
6. Anger
Using anger in emotional advertising makes people upset or annoyed about things like politics, environmental issues, political candidates, etc. Anger evokes a negative emotion that can cause negative associations.
Brands that use this emotion want to stimulate people to solve important questions and reconsider their perspective. They want to show people the overall situation and show positivity to change it for the better.
For example, the Always’ Like a Girl campaign uses a famous offense to catch more attention and encourage women to share their stories and the difficulties they face and play sports.
7. Belonging
Every person wants to belong to a group, a community, a family or a social network. The feeling of belonging helps customers satisfy their key psychological needs. Many companies use this emotion to make customers feel part of a particular group.
Especially, it is widely used in sport. It is a great place to show the feeling of belonging in action. The Rapha Cycle Club (RCC), a membership organization, is a great emotional appeal example. They offer people to ride with RCC members each week in your city and travel the world for RCC hangouts and meetings.
8. Guilt
Martin Lindstrom noticed in this article that guilt is the most puritanical among all our emotions that became an emotional consumer pandemic in the 21st century. People are easily influenced by messages that make them feel guilty. Many nonprofit organizations use this trigger in their advertising campaigns. They can be very effective and don’t have a negative thing. The Sears Craftsman is a good example. The message of guilt positions the brand as the solution to current consumers’ issues.
9. Values
Values are one of the hottest trends in marketing. Every day people make purchase decisions based on judgments and values. Many promotions are directly connected with the emotional trigger of making the best deal. It can include time, price, and money.
Make sure that values are very subjective, and many companies do their best to boost the perceived value of their products. Once you understand your target customers’ values, you can create the best compelling and targeted ads.
For example, Citywide Law Group promotes the message “If you have been injured, you shouldn’t pay until we win” which is effective in arousing the feeling related to value.
10. Leadership
Consumers want to be the first to try new products or services. Brand promotions appeal to the emotional trigger related to leadership and make their target customers feel like they are first for this audience.
Do you remember the famous Nike’s campaign “Just Do it”? It is a great example that demonstrates the emotional trigger of cultural leadership.
11. Pride
This emotion is intended for all consumers who want to look smart and be proud of making a good choice. They want to be proud of purchasing organic food, a bestselling book, or any money-value purchase. It is difficult to use this emotion because each person has different needs and desires, and you need to do in-depth marketing research to support your offering with solid arguments.
Here is how Amazon Flex proposes to its customers to earn a good wage when delivering parcels with Amazon.
Bottom Line
Using emotions in your ads directly affects the buying process of a target audience. There is an old expression: “people buy emotionally, then justify logically”. No matter what you choose: happiness, fear, belonging, or trust – the emotional triggers should resonate with your target consumers. Including facts and enough information about your products can increase the chance of purchase.
I hope the emotional advertising trigger examples mentioned above will help you motivate your customers to take action and become a global leader in your industry.
FAQs
What is an example of emotional advertising? ›
For example, suppose you're launching a commercial about adopting dogs from a local shelter, and you're using compassion to appeal to your target audiences. You can attach a snippet of a dog running to its owner or pictures of smiling puppies in the advertisement to engage viewers and helped illicit those emotions.
What are the 3 most common uses of emotion in advertising? ›The study from HubSpot revealed that the most-shared ads relied on emotional content, including happiness, friendship, and inspiration.
What is an emotional advertisement? ›Emotional advertising refers to the relationship between a customer and a brand or a product, particularly the emotional connection that appeals to the customer's emotional state, ego, needs, fears and aspirations through content.
Which brand uses emotional appeal? ›Coca-Cola is one of the many brands that connect emotionally with consumers thanks to that feeling. For example, Coca Cola's “Choose Happiness” campaign was a great case in which it is shown how to use emotions to connect with the public.
How does Nike use emotional marketing? ›Nike's advertising rarely mentions its products. Instead, Nike campaigns invoke the right emotions through carefully crafted content that tells meaningful stories. The narrative tells a story of inspiration that anyone who puts their mind to it can overcome the challenges and be a winner.
Why emotions are used in advertising? ›Advertising is to get consumers to buy something. Tugging on emotions is a strong way to get consumers to pay attention. People rely on their emotions when they make purchases and develop brand loyalty.
What is an example of an emotional appeal? ›Then, there is the appeal to emotion. We all get uncomfortably sad and want to help this sweet starving orphaned six-year-old girl. We don't want her to do die of starvation, we wish that her parents hadn't died, and we wish that she wasn't homeless.
How are emotions used in marketing? ›What is emotional marketing? Emotional marketing refers to marketing and advertising efforts that primarily use emotion to make your audience notice, remember, share, and buy. Emotional marketing typically taps into a singular emotion, like happiness, sadness, anger, or fear, to elicit a consumer response.
What are emotional products? ›The consumer at times, is driven by emotions while buying certain products. In such cases, the consumer does not bother to make intelligent or right decision. He is generally carried away by emotions. Emotionally, the buyer develops a sort of affection towards the product.
Does Apple use emotional advertising? ›Apple may be the perfect example of a company that utilizes emotions to create a connection with consumers and brand loyalty over time. Apple's branding strategy uses simplicity, a clean design and most importantly, a desire to become part of a lifestyle movement.
What is an example of emotional value? ›
unity—community, inclusiveness, cooperation, valuing our interdependencies, tolerance—acknowledging the dignity of all, respecting the rights of others, refusing to hate, being open to other points of view, responsibility—care for yourself, care for others, care for the future, and.
Why do companies use emotional appeal in advertising? ›Advertising professionals can use emotional appeals to establish a connection with customers because these can elicit an emotional response and make them feel more engaged. Improving your understanding of various emotional appeals can help you learn how to advertise products and services to a variety of audiences.
How does Adidas use emotional branding? ›Through storytelling, Adidas have not only established their emotional connection with their customers, but have also begun to help consumers feel better about themselves, thanks to the positive connections that are being built between the brand, and the people who purchase their products.
What emotional needs does Nike satisfy? ›So, when it comes to Nike, the answer to our third question is emotions related to victory, success, morale, self-improvement. This is a great example of a good commercial that invokes strong emotions but doesn't take a lot of money to make.
What type of brand is Nike? ›The world's largest athletic apparel company, Nike is best known for its footwear, apparel, and equipment. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports, the company became Nike in 1971 after the Greek goddess of victory. One of the most valuable brands among sport businesses, Nike employs over 76,000 people worldwide.
What is emotional advertising appeal? ›advertising messages, usually based on imagery rather than information, which attempt to achieve the advertiser's objectives by evoking strong emotionsl feelings (fear, anger, passion, etc) rather than by a rational appeal. See: Rational Appeals in Advertising.
How effective is emotion in advertising? ›Rigorous testing shows that advertising with a strong emotional content is most likely to engage consumers and develop a stronger attitudinal and behavioural response.
What is emotional benefit in marketing? ›Emotional benefits provide customers with a positive feeling when they purchase or use a particular brand. They add richness and depth to the experience of owning and using the brand.
What is an example of an emotional appeal? ›Then, there is the appeal to emotion. We all get uncomfortably sad and want to help this sweet starving orphaned six-year-old girl. We don't want her to do die of starvation, we wish that her parents hadn't died, and we wish that she wasn't homeless.
What are examples of emotive words? ›Emotive Words
Some examples of these are: Adjectives - Appalling, Wonderful, Heavenly, Magical and Tragic. Abstract Nouns - Freedom, Pride, Justice, Love and Terror. Verbs - Destroyed, Vindicated, Saved, Betrayed and Adored.
What is emotional advertising appeal? ›
advertising messages, usually based on imagery rather than information, which attempt to achieve the advertiser's objectives by evoking strong emotionsl feelings (fear, anger, passion, etc) rather than by a rational appeal. See: Rational Appeals in Advertising.
What is an example of emotive language? ›Let's look at an example of emotive language. The defenseless wolf was violently attacked by the gruesome bear. In this example, we can see a lot of descriptive words that evoke emotion. Defenseless wolf is a phrase that is emotional because it makes the reader sympathize with the wolf.
What are the 3 emotional appeals? ›Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are three strategies commonly employed when attempting to persuade a reader. Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.
Which answer best describes an emotional appeal to the audience? ›Pathos - The Emotional Appeal
Pathos is to persuade by appealing to the audience's emotions. As the speaker, you want the audience to feel the same emotions you feel about something, you want to emotionally connect with them and influence them.
Pro: Emotional appeals help to reach the audience on a different, psychological level. They'll make a potential customer “feel something.” It can be helpful to connect with audiences like this because many purchasing decisions are, in fact, based on feelings and emotions.
How do you express your emotions in writing? ›- Be specific with word choice. When writing your first novel, it's easy to fall into cliché when writing emotions. ...
- Make sure readers identify with the protagonist. ...
- Vary your descriptions. ...
- Build up to intense emotions for greater impact. ...
- Try journaling.
Examples of Emotive Language in Everyday Life
Here are a few examples. An innocent bystander was murdered in cold blood in Downtown Chicago. The words “innocent” and “murdered” and the phrase “in cold blood” are the uses of emotive language in this sentence.
In sum, emotional writing means to get the audience immersed. Well set up protagonists are key to doing just that! Furthermore, don't tell your audience how they should feel; show them the circumstances and let them decide how they WANT to feel.
What is emotional benefit in marketing? ›Emotional benefits provide customers with a positive feeling when they purchase or use a particular brand. They add richness and depth to the experience of owning and using the brand.
How do you attract customers emotionally? ›- Embrace meaningful storytelling. The human mind loves a good story. ...
- Surprise your audience and get them curious. ...
- Know your audience and focus on them. ...
- Pay careful attention to creative elements. ...
- Always be authentic. ...
- Reward responsiveness with engagement.
What are the 5 advertising appeals? ›
The seven major types of advertising appeals include musical, sexual, humor, fear, emotional, rational, and scarcity, which all have the common goal of influencing the way consumers view themselves and the benefits of the products or services being advertised.
What is emotional language? ›Emotive language or emotional language is the kind of language that through the choice of words, causes emotions in the reader.
What are the 3 parts of speech that function as emotive words? ›In this module, you will learn how to use powerful verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in writing in order to create an emotional response to the readers. These emotive words can be used to convince others.
What is emotive language in communication? ›Emotive language is a rhetoric used to influence the audience in a certain way. We choose words with the aim to evoke an emotional response. Those emotions can be positive, such as: Joy. Pride.