Marketing can be a challenge for a lot of businesses, particularly when it comes to content and imagery. In a world where social media dominates, making some products and services appealing has been known to cause sleepless nights and communication black holes.
Let’s assume you’re in the IT hardware business. Now, no disrespect whatsoever to anyone in that sector but how on earth do you get people to NOT scroll past your Instagram posts of USB sticks?
The secret weapon that every marketeer should have up their sleeve is the “aaaaaaah factor” – shamelessly and without apology using cuteness in your marketing. Yes, we’re talking kittens, puppies, babies, toddlers – basically, anything that will stop the scrolling and put a grin on someone’s face. Even if you’re trying to flog them the benefits of the latest SSD card.
Approximately a third of TV ads in the UK feature dogs. Now, whilst your marketing budget may not stretch to a 40 second cute-fest during Corrie, think of your social media presence, your website, any PR or direct mail campaigns. Cuteness sells. End of.
Think about some of the most successful, and memorable, advertising campaigns over the last few years:
· The Andrex puppy. So cute, even though he nicked the loo roll.
· The milk-loving Cravendale cats – catvertising at its best.
· The Dulux dog. He sold more tins of paint than B&Q!
· The loved-up cat and budgie used by UKTV.
· Kids in PJs in every John Lewis Christmas ad ever made.
· Cadbury’s drumming gorilla – unbeatable!
OK, maybe the last one was a man in a gorilla suit …..
Maybe you want to think about including your family pet dog as part of your staff/team and giving it a profile and job title of its own on your website… just like our client Cloud Accounting Support Services. Whilst you’re at it why not give it a voice on your socials too – not forgetting the cute pics!
It may sound strange but when potential new customers scope you out before getting in touch, it will make them smile and do wonders for your business on the approachability scale!
Just a quick word of warning: if you’re going to use children in advertising or marketing make sure you check out the ASA guidelines beforehand.
Another handy hack to grow your Insta audience is to include pet-related hashtags. Try it and see how much more organic reach your posts receive just by adding #instadogs, #instacats, #dogsofinstagram, #catsofinstagram, #instababy etc. to your posts.
We’d love to see how brave you’re going to be after reading this blog post. Let us know if the cute factor worked for your marketing. It’s good to share! Get in touch NOW!