How to use Emotional Marketing to Reach your Audience

People are savvy these days when it comes to the Internet. They aren’t just searching for fluff, but concrete facts and information that they can use. No matter what you’ve heard, content is still king and people want as much of it as you can give them.
Customers are not swayed by a sales pitch alone. There has to be something more. Businesses are learning to use strategies that involve emotion to draw the customer in. I‘m not talking about or condoning trickery in any way. It has been shown time and time again that people become loyal customers of certain products when there is an emotional attachment of some kind involved.
In fact, this has evolved into a method of marketing: emotional branding. At the base of this marketing technique, is putting the needs of your customers ahead of the product or service you are selling.

“Customers define themselves through brands they use. The branded clothes they wear, the cars they drive, the drinks they consume, university they attended, favourite spots to hang out, and so on.”  ~ Nyimpini Mabunda, Smirnoff Vodka Marketing Manager:Emotional Branding In a Changing Marketplace

You probably know several brands that demonstrate the power of emotional marketing. Brands such as Pepsi and Oil of Olay share a deep emotional connection with their customers by appealing to youthfulness or status. In doing so, they earn unwavering consumer loyalty.
One example, that I think is outstanding, is Harley Davidson. Watch this video from Graeme Newell of 602 Communications on how Harley used emotional marketing and created their lifestyle brand:

 
Here’s another example. A budding entrepreneur watches a commercial where someone much like themselves uses the same CRM, such as Infusionsoft, successfully to build their six figure business. In the next shot, that same entrepreneur is now successful and living the life they aspire to. The new business owner who feels a tug of greatness will associate that brand of CRM with business success.
Content can achieve the same thing for you. Customers don’t want to be preached to 24/7 about buying your products, even if they are part of your niche audience. What they want is to know how your product can impact their lives in a positive way. They are looking for added value.
Content on your website should focus on providing information on subjects and issues related to your products or service. If you are an interior designer like Jeanette Chasworth of The Color Whisperer offer content on the best colors for a bedroom to create a calm and relaxing environment. Keywords are crucial in your content because you want to use words that people search for that will lead them back to you.
Before someone remodel’s their home, they might first want to find the best colors to use to create the right atmosphere in their bedroom. If you have that information in a well-written article or blog post, chances are they will read it and visit your site for other helpful articles as well as products or services they might purchase.
Don’t forget that every article that you write on your website should be linked to your social media page. This gives people who initially find you on Facebook an opportunity to preview the types of information they will find on your website. If you use WordPress, social sharing is easy to set up with one of a vast array of plug-ins.
You can use content marketing to build trust and form an emotional bond with your target audience. Provide quality information and your brand and website will be the place to go for answers. When you are recognized and known for being a source of the best information in your field, your paid offerings will basically sell themselves.