Even if you’re the busiest business owner on the planet, we’re betting you have at least one favorite TV show. There is one night per week that you turn off your phone, stay away from social media, and avoid making plans with friends. That’s your TV night, and you aren’t missing your favorite show if you can help it.
Television provides us with an escape from reality, much-needed entertainment, and… lessons in marketing?
Yes, it’s true. You can actually use some television strategies in your own digital marketing campaign! It’s all psychology, after all, which means understanding human behavior. Once you can figure out what keeps you coming back from one week to the next, you can do the same with your own customers.
Television writers and producers pull these five tricks all the time, to keep their audiences begging for more. Decipher them, and apply them to your digital marketing strategy, and you can create your own captive audience.
They mirror current events. This is a particularly common strategy among writers of crime dramas. They understand that their viewers have already formed an emotional attachment to, and opinions about, recent news stories. They capitalize on that interest, creating similar story lines to attract viewer attention.
How you can do it: What news stories are relevant to your business? Could you expand upon general interest in a topic to build interest in your own products or services? Pay attention to the headlines, and the ebb and flow of public attention. Learn to capture that attention and funnel it toward your business.
They run two-part episodes. Just as the plot begins to thicken, and a twist seems to be right around the corner… the show ends. It will be continued next week. Meanwhile you, and millions of other viewers, are counting down the minutes until you find out what happened to your favorite characters.
How you can do it: When you create blogs or videos for your audience, consider splitting topics into a two- or three-part series. This allows you to explore the topic more thoroughly, without exhausting the attention span of your audience. They will be enticed to read your next blog, or watch your next video, without feeling overwhelmed by too much information all at once.
They offer you a preview of next week’s show. By now, you know how previews work. You don’t actually find out what will happen next week, but the action is presented in such a way that your imagination begins to churn. You have some idea of the story line, but no idea where it will lead. You’re excited to watch your favorite show next week.
How you can do it: When you post a blog or video to social media, you hope that your audience members will click through to read or watch. When you include a preview – a snippet of information that captures their interest – your click-through rates will soar. Remember, also, that visuals are more memorable. Include a picture with your post, and it will entice more attention.
They know where their audience is. You’re watching “Arrow” and the network shows you previews for the “The Flash”. Both are super-hero dramas, and the network understands that people who enjoy one show are likely to be interested in the other one. They know their audience and what you like, and they use that information to market more material to you.
How you can do it: Facebook and LinkedIn offer you similar opportunities to find your ideal audience. On Facebook, you can choose the audience for your posts based on criteria that you select. Facebook has already tracked this information for you, so your audience is just waiting on you to find them! On LinkedIn, you can target an audience via groups. Everyone in the group has joined because they share something in common – an interest, or a geographic location, for example. Use this information to your advantage, and you can market directly to an audience that is already pre-selected for you.
They’re consistent. Your favorite TV show comes on the same channel, on the same night, at the same time every week. Everyone knows that changing days or times is often the kiss of death for a TV show, because the audience loses interest when the schedule is interrupted.
How you can do it: Be consistent! Post a new blog or video once per week, and update your social media audience regularly. Set aside time to accomplish these tasks each week, or consider letting the pros take care of it for you. Digital marketing is a serious endeavor that can pay off in spades, so give it your time and attention.
