People have no patience for things that don’t impact their right-now reality. If a flood is happening across the world, they may spare a compassionate moment, but are soon refocused on their daily priorities. If that flood is 2 miles away—and closing—they're riveted, intent on learning more about how their reality may change.
A bit dramatic, perhaps, but very true.
The biggest challenge for marketers today is determining how to create relevant, fresh content that catches and keeps potential buyers’ attention as well as that impending flood. The first part is getting noticed (favorably), the second is creating anticipation for what’s next—in consistently repeatable ways.
Often, it’s a matter of focus.
We've all repeatedly heard the phrase it’s all about the customer. The fact that it’s true doesn’t automatically shine a light on what that means for compelling content execution. That’s what Amplifiers help you do. But before you can do that, you need to know your target markets' situation in relation to the problem your offerings solve.
People assign relevance based on how the topic discussed relates to issues they’re dealing with right now. Knowing that “back story” helps your content immediately prove relevance by connecting with something important prospects are currently thinking about. That's the challenge of relevance.
What you need is a structure that will help you design context to attract and amplify buyers' attention.
Amplifiers serve as guides that help you tap into the natural ways buyers think. They make sure you have the best shot at addressing high-value issues with greater relevance. Since it takes multiple touch points to move a prospect forward in their buying process, Amplifiers provide a variety of ways to catch their attention and keep buyers focused on how you can help them solve their most pressing problems.
There are 7 Amplifiers that can serve as structures for developing value-driven content. They work best when marketing’s goal is to establish more than the fleeting attention that results from one-off messages. Moving prospects from attention to anticipation is the beginning of engagement. Amplifiers also help you build momentum that promotes the progression of your prospects through the buying cycle.
These 7 Amplifiers provide templates to create content that connects with buyers via their natural thought processes and relevance antennae.
- Answer a Question - what is it your buyers need to know?
- Relieve a Doubt - why would they think the solution won't work?
- Confirm a Suspicion - what can you do to build their confidence?
- Simplify Complexity - make an issue easy to understand.
- Provide a Path - show them how to get to the end result they want.
- Correct a Misconception - misinformation is everywhere - correct it and explain why.
- Mitigate a Risk - show them why your solution is credible and build their trust.
If your content tries to use all 7 amplifiers at once, you'll lose their attention by introducing friction and confusion. Choose one amplifier to inforrm the context of a content asset. Content should be designed to do one thing. When you choose one amplifier to focus how you'll execute on the premise of your content asset, you have a better shot at extending engagement.
People have a high desire to know that their assumptions, beliefs and knowledge are correct. Industry advances happen quickly. Keeping up-to-date is vital to producing consistent, successful outcomes. By developing your content and communications to confirm, correct or expand understanding and knowledge buyers need, you’ll be seen as a valuable advisor helping to develop solution to problems they must address—or opportunities they need to explore.
Ardath, good post.
I agree, context is king. Thus, content must be queen.
Thanks for the list of the seven amplifiers. Very helpful.
Mac at http://Clientonomy.com
Posted by: Clientonomy | June 06, 2011 at 04:10 AM
Great point: "If your content tries to use all 7 amplifiers at once, you'll lose their attention by introducing friction and confusion. Choose one amplifier to inforrm the context of a content asset." It's like trying to target more than one audience or fulfill more than one purpose; it dilutes your efforts. Creating content for everyone ends up serving no one.
Posted by: Carmen Hill | June 06, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Ardath;
Great post - loved the info on Amplifiers. Thanks. If I may, I'd like to add a little about the process you are describing.
We find that it helps to create what we call a Content Map to match your Personas to the content they need as they move around their buying cycle. In other words, the map helps you design the content you need to make your Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation system (IMA) work.
Obviously before you can do this you need Persona Definitions and those must include an awareness of the persona's needs, especially the information they need at each stage of their buying cycle.
The columns of the spreadsheet which will become the Map are made up of the Personas, the rows are their individual buying cycle stages, and the cells describe the article or item of content for this persona, for this stage.
If anyone wants to learn more about this process, please feel free to visit the resources section of our website. You may download any of the white papers, or read any of the many blogs on this topic.
Posted by: Eric Goldman | June 06, 2011 at 01:57 PM