6 Principles of Emotional Connectivity:
Look at this email.
Watch this video.
Listen to my podcast.
We are bombarded every day with thousands of messages. There is some deep research around how many messages per day we are seeing, but most accounts range from 3,000 to more than 5,000 message per day. I’m not going to quote them as the variance is too great and many are more than two years old. The reality is we are all feeling the pull to get our attention.
Some of the messages make it through our “filters.” We have trained our brains to only see what will benefit us. The messages that make us stop and take notice are ones that have caught our attention and have a perceived payoff for us. This could be a laugh or a piece of new information. Maybe it is the key to unlocking a problem that we are experiencing. Or it is a new awareness of something we didn’t know we could solve with ease.
Take a look at how you interact with Facebook (unless you are one of the few that have resisted this channel of messages).
Do you read everything?
Do you watch every video until the end?
If you did, you would be there 24-7. It never ends. The scroll goes on and on. The Facebook algorithm has been developed to do some level of filtering to give you what THEY believe you want to see. It considers things that your mutual friends who have engaged with the content and how you have responded before as well. It is still not enough.
My point here is that we are always selecting what we spend our precious time doing. It applies to social media…email…online searches and offline too.
Based on working with more than a hundred of companies over the last five years, I have seen that we tend to look to material that has what I call “Emotional Connectivity.” Yes, I have combined two words that you likely know to come up with an explanation for why we pay attention to messages that we engage and the index of Emotional Connectivity gets higher the closer we get to the purchase decision. It grows even bigger with the desire to be a raving fan. Raving fans can’t help but talk about brands because of their emotional connectivity to the brand and the impact that brand has had on their future.
Emotional Connectivity is another way to look at the word resonate. It is about relevancy and interest. It also includes emotional responses to moments that make us lean in and want more.
I remember scrolling Facebook a few weeks back to see a clip of a young girl singing. She said she was twelve years old. She was auditioning in front of celebrity judges. She was precious in her answers. You could tell she was nervous, but this audition meant too much to let that stop her. She was holding a ukulele and about to sing an original song. It could have gone either way. She could have been terrible, or she could have been amazing. One of the judges asked her, “Do you believe you can win?”
[I know this is not a business example, but it serves you because of what it stirs inside you.]
This tiny little girl quickly responds in the most enduring voice that melted the audience (and me too) with “…miracles can happen, so possibly.” Grace Vanderwaal began her song and immediately you could see the responses from the judges. This audition turned very quickly into a thing. I just listened to it again to share this story with you. Let me be honest I have listened to this video more than five times in the last few weeks, and it still gives me goosebumps on my arms (a physical indicator of emotional connectivity). I’m not the only one either as I type this message, Grace’s audition video has been viewed more than 66 million times on YouTube.
This is “Emotional Connectivity.” She captured attention and made me lean it. Grace was not trying to sell anything but what she did was stop each of us for a moment. However, she was selling the judges on her talent. This may be entertainment, but it also holds truths about marketing that could you spread the word of your business.
I am going to share with some of the principles that drive emotional connectivity so that you can see how they apply to your marketing messages. By the way, Grace went through the entire competition of America’s Got Talent in 2016 to win the whole thing. I watched that video too because I got sucked into the story and was curious about the ending.
Most people create messages that aim to INFORM. This is important. But if all you do is inform…you miss an opportunity to CONNECT.
Here are eight principles that drive Emotional Connectivity and these are the cornerstones of Customer Acquisition.
- Audience Principle: People can tell when you are right for them. We are emotional connected to those that understand us. However, too many businesses attempt to be all things to all people. If you want to establish yourself as an expert to your ideal clients you have to narrow your audience to the exact people that can best serve. This is about being seen as an INSIDER to them (not an outsider who only wants to get money. An INSIDER is an advocate to their success. This is about finding the tribes and sub-tribes that are best for your product or service.
- Helpful Marketing Principle: You can tell others that you can help them or you can show them by actually helping them. Creating marketing that transforms someone from one state to another by helping them solve or understand a problem. Helping them adds to the emotional connectivity by increasing trust and hope that you can solve their problems. This is about valuable content or another way to say it is useful marketing is more likely to get talked about and shared. It also positions your company at a different place than those that offer trivial discounts or special offers.
- Story Telling Principle: Sharing stories engages a creative element of the mind that allows the audience to go beyond listening, but engage with the story using their own stories to relate to the message. Telling a story amplifies the emotional connectivity in a way that sharing features and benefits just can’t do. When you tell your stories well, you will raise the emotional connection to you and your brand. Your do have different kinds of stories that you can use, such as: the “Why you are in business” story, the “Founder” story that relates to righting the wrongs in the industry, the “Case Study” stories that reflect the proof of your value, and the “Brand Idea” story that shares how what you do is unique and powerful in the marketplace.
- Authority Positioning Principle: Thought leaders have agency that seduces the audience to see them differently. Agency is just another way to say authority. Emotional Connectivity factors are raised when we perceive the person that has is leading the charge on a given topic, or in other words the authority. We give people perceived authority when we see that is published by a major publication or when they address the audience from the stage. The more authority you have, the higher your emotional connectivity is in the eyes of the audience.
- Deep Research Principle: Our bullshit detector has grown very sensitive with the advent of the internet. Every expert has an opinion about their topic. We value those that have to take the time to do deep research versus the ones that have just hammered out some platitudes on their laptop while sitting in a coffee shop (The irony here is that I’m typing this from my favorite coffee shop near my house.) The emotional connectivity increases when you have put in some effort to consider others in your theories. Note: I have interviewed over 270 people and worked with hundreds of companies to look at their marketing to develop what I’m sharing with you in this guide.
- Unique Principle: Most companies focus on how to be better. Better customer service. Or a better price. However, better is hard to measure. In fact, it causes doubt which lowers emotional connectivity. I have discovered in working for so many companies that “Unique is Better Than Best.” Best is relative to them believing you. And “unique” is about how they see your differences to others in your market. Being unique increases the emotional connectivity if you have put the uniqueness in context to why they should consider your promise.
These principles to getting your message heard and had your audiences take action from your message is what I do. I share messages like this through my speeches and my work with clients. I’d love to know what you do to increase “emotional connectivity.” Send me an email to [email protected].
