"A B C, it's as easy as..."
There are as many ways of crafting a marketing message as there are marketers. But the best diving off point in my opinion is to start simply with the ABCs.
Trilogies, trifectas, hat-tricks... Things just seem better in threes. Which makes this three-pronged approach the perfect template for writing a strong marketing advertisement. You might think this is all commonsense, but you'd be surprised at just how common it is for messages to be put out there that fail to follow this easy-to-remember process.
Whether your marketing message is being communicated in a Google ad, a TV commercial, a blog, or a social media post, they all should follow the simple ABC format.
A - attention
B - business
C - call to action
Let's break it down briefly.
(1) Attention
Your marketing message is competing against a thousand and one other advertisements to grab the attention of your target market. It goes without saying that the first thing your message needs to do is to stand out, grab attention and hook them in. The first line or image has to be created bearing this sole purpose in mind.
(2) Business (or Blah Blah Blah)
Your target audience is paying attention, now's the time to get down to business. This is where your actual selling happens: now's the time to include the details of your offer, sale, product or service. Sometimes I facetiously refer to the B as standing for Blah Blah Blah, because this is hardest part of the marketing message to get perfect. When it's done well... cha-ching! But when it's done badly, all your audience hears is blah, blah, blah.
(3) Call To Action
The last part of the marketing message is the most important but often the one that goes completely by the wayside. You've got their attention, you've sold them on your message, now what? Without a clear-to-understand, easy-to-remember and simple-to-execute call to action your prospect is going to fizzle into nothing. You need to tell them what you want them to do next. Link them to an order form, your contact page, a phone number... it (almost) doesn't matter. Just make sure they know what action to take NOW.
Conclusion
The ABCs of a marketing message are easy, once they're pointed out and broken down for you.
Grab the audience's attention.
Get down to business.
Include a call to action.
So make sure you apply the attention-business-CTA method to every marketing message you put out there. And if you want to see this method in action, scroll through social media, watch TV or listen to the radio and pick out the good posts/ads from the bad ones.
Or you could start reading this blog again from the beginning and see how I did it.
Want to find out more about how I can help craft an effective marketing message for your business? Get in touch with me today through my website or via LinkedIn.
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