| Here we are… in a new month once again, but it’s not just any month… We are now entering the holiday season! Say hello to all the holiday flavored coffees (Mmm… Gingerbread lattes, here I come!), listening to Mariah Carey on repeat, and gift shopping. It’s a magical time of year, but it’s also a time that brings out the bears in us, don’t you think? If you want to see humanity on full display, just go Black Friday shopping. Yikes!  But if we were honest, there’s something about the chaos of people fighting over TVs or chasing Sinbad all over the city for a toy that is more than just entertaining to us…  We are drawn to the mess. And that’s what led to our marketing idea for today. Are you ready? Let’s talk about negativity bias marketing!  Over the last few years, it feels like the news is always filled with bad news. And it can feel overwhelming, can’t it? We often tell ourselves and each other, “There’s nothing but bad news out there.” But that’s actually not true. Do you recognize any of these headlines? Airline worker thanks former teacher on plane Minnesota community comes together to harvest crops for injured farmer Pregnant firefighter rescues woman trapped in car — then gives birth Indiana mom offers salon services for parents with babies in the NICU These are only a few of the many positive news headlines from just over the last few weeks! But why don’t we know about them? Why does it feel like it is so hard to find the good news that’s happening around us? And if there really is that much good happening around us, why are we still drawn to the bad news, no matter how much we say we want good news? This is because of negativity bias. Negativity bias, according to psychologists Paul Rozin and Edward Royzman, means that we “give greater weight to negative entities”. So, essentially, we are drawn to bad news. It may feel depressing to learn that, but there’s good news here! This means that you can use this idea to up your marketing game! The next time you’re about to post something on Facebook, instead of posting this: The top 10 ways to be more successful at ____ . You can instead post: The top 10 ways people are ruining their success at _____. Same message overall, but a completely different way of framing it! Here are some more examples: “Things your pets love” VS “Things your pets can’t stand” (I know my pets love treats… but what they can’t stand? Tell me more!) “The best bluelight glasses you can find” VS “These bluelight glasses are ruining your eyes” “The best way to get your audience’s attention” VS “The one way you’re scaring away your audience” (Recognize this from today’s subject line? It got you to click, didn’t it?) Test this today with your social media posts, blog post titles, or your email subject lines. Maybe even A/B test it! You can use our negativity bias for good!  Along the same lines as negativity bias, people like stories about change… Changes made in our lives for the better… Changes made to our homes, wardrobe, or gardens… Or even changes made to our perspectives. If an opinion you had about something has changed (especially if you’re willing to admit it may have been an incorrect opinion), it catches people’s attention – most likely because people are not typically willing to admit it. So today on social media, here’s what you can post: “Everything I thought I knew about _______ was 100% WRONG!” This can be about a product, benefit, or service that you now offer, but you had misconceptions about it. Whatever your business is about, there is something you used to believe about it that was wrong… which is what led to you eventually becoming the expert! “Everything I thought I knew about life insurance was 100% WRONG!” “Everything I thought I knew about ads on social media was 100% WRONG!” “Everything I thought I knew about coaching was 100% WRONG!” In that same post, you can then ask your audience to comment with their own misconceptions on that same topic. It’s a great way to share your expertise, learn your audience’s pain points, and get to know them better too!  27 Brilliant Marketing Email Campaign Examples – Today’s marketing idea was only one of many types of emails you can send that will grab attention. Here are 27 more ideas to use! Read More To Keep People from Procrastinating, Don’t Give Them a Deadline – We’ve all done it: “This sale ends on Friday… don’t miss it!” Deadlines are what motivate our audiences to buy before that last tick of the clock… or are they? Some say deadlines may actually be doing the opposite. Read More Oreo Thins, Microsoft 365 encourage workers to take a snack break – How often do you take breaks throughout the day? Some companies not only encourage it, but they also incentivize their employees to take breaks. Do you need additional incentives to take a breather? Read More Negativity bias is an amazing concept to use as you create content for your audiences, but that doesn’t mean negativity belongs all the time. Your audience also wants to know what you’re excited about and what makes you laugh too! As you go about your week, use negativity sparingly and don’t let it get to your head either 😉  Alex Branning Branning Group alex@branninggroup.com  Hey! Want to chat? My team and I are here to serve your needs and business! You can grab a free marketing strategy session phone call at branningcall.com. |