How to use emotional targeting to convert more leads

A recent study found that ecommerce websites with a stronger emotional impact produced a greater intent to buy. You can read the study here.

Another study found that emotional campaigns outperform on every single metric, including revenue, profit and market share gain. You can read the study here.

So are you ready for your next challenge?

Memorable Experiences

Memories are the moments in our lives that we haven't forgotten. Who remember's what they had for breakfast on 13th July 1997? Probably not many. But who remember's their last day of school or getting their exam results? Probably you.

Associating your brand's shopping experience with your customer's life experiences can trigger a great emotional response.

Hershey's campaign to emotionally reconnect you with a moment in your childhood where you enjoyed eating chocolate is a great example of this.

Visual storytelling

A good visual stimulates the senses. And visuals are now an integral part of any marketing strategy.

But, as Dawn Papandrea notes, "you can’t simply slap a few stock photos onto your blog or social media posts". You should think about how to use images to convey an emotion to your audience.

Social proof

We hear a lot about social proof these days, and that's because it really matters.

A proven testimonial or example is the emotional trigger that a potential customer needs to turn into an actual customer.

Your brand needs to fully understand your consumers' motivations and intentions.

Learn what your customers respond to and give people the social proof they need to buy your products.

Psychological triggers

Emotions determine most of the decisions we make every day.

Ecommerce store owners know that customers buy when they're happy and buy when they're sad, or buy when they're in distress (nobody wants a washing machine, we buy one when we're distressed because our old one breaks).

Most brands miss the opportunity to develop an emotional link with shoppers. They focus on product features or specifications, rather than understanding a customers feelings behind the purchase they are making.

Controversially, in 2014 Facebook revealed it had deliberately manipulated the news feed of over half a million users to change the number of positive and negative posts they saw. The study conducted found that moods were contagious. Those users that saw more positive posts responded by writing more positive posts themselves.

Here's a link to the academic paper.

Whilst right-minded people might think that the way Facebook conducted the study is outrageous, you can use the results for positive gain for your customers nad your business. Happiness induces people to share.

When your content drives people to a state of happniess or joy, they will respond to yoru offers, feel obliged to share your content with their friends (to share their happniess) and will still at nothing to tell others about you.

Sharing a purchase

People buy things to make them feel happy. Every broken up with a significant other and gone on a shopping spree to make yourself feel better? Ever heard of retail therapy?

Making a purchase makes people happy. So why not encourage your customers to share their purchase with their friends on social media? Trust me, they'll not need much encouragement.

Target emotions

Strive to build an emotional connection with your customers, and invoke an emotional response. As a result of this, customers will feel connected to your website, your brand and want to purchase more.