Like me, you’ve probably run across numerous articles from so-called “marketing experts” touting ways to use the latest technology to grow your business. For instance, I’ve seen articles with titles such as:
- How to Improve Your SEO and Get to Page #1 on Google Search
- Essential Steps to Land More Customers with Pinterest and YouTube
- Secrets to Social Media Success
The viewpoint of these articles suggest that technology has come to save the day. Anyone who knows the special secrets can use social media, podcasts, search engines, videos, or blogs to make millions and live happily ever after. It reminds me of those old carnivals where people sat in booths and hawked their wares on the unsuspecting.
Everywhere you look on the Internet, there seems to be a guru plugging the latest online must-haves for successful marketing. Keep using Facebook…post pictures on Instagram…record videos on Periscope. All of the focus on technology makes me wonder if marketers have forgotten that we’re selling to humans.
With that being said, I can’t help but chuckle when I see timid confessions from the techno hipsters buried deep down in their articles like legal fine print:
“Content is king. Be sure to pick topics that are interesting to your Facebook audience.”
“By creating great content you’re likely to attract more links organically to improve your SEO results.”
Content?! Wait…isn’t content the opposite of technology? Isn’t content the use of language to connect psychologically with real human beings? Yes, because technology will always be inferior to psychology. People aren’t machines. Psychology is what actually drives the way we purchase products and services. People will always buy products based on the ultimate question, “What’s in it for me?”
For example, readers don’t buy a book just because someone mentions it on Facebook, forwards a tweet, or sends out an email blast. People buy products because they see promotional language that convinces they’ll learn something interesting or enjoy hours of entertainment.
Language is the power of the sale. The human brain makes purchasing decisions based on psychological self-interest. In addition, word of mouth is created when people use convincing language to recommend products to one another.
I’m not against technology. The Internet has opened new global markets, enabled word of mouth to spread faster, and made business more efficient. However, we don’t buy something because a computer or a social media post tells us to purchase. We buy using our brains and connecting psychologically with our need to know, “What’s in it for me?”
Therefore, if you really want to improve the power of your marketing, here’s my guaranteed secret. Take advantage of technology, but place a higher premium on using effective language. Psychology will always trump technology.
