by Marketing message, by its very definition, means how an organization communicates to its target audience to talk about itself and what it does. That would be the marketing message definition.
A message strategy should comprise of a positioning statement and some points that support it.
What is a positioning statement? Well, think of it as your core offer. It addresses your target market’s most pressing problem and how your product, service, or technology can solve it.
Messaging turns a positioning statement into a series of key messages that marketers can use to prepare material for marketing communication. Think press releases, ad slogans, social media posts, scripts, advertising copy, etc.
Effective business marketing messages also make sure that everyone in an organization can communicate in a “language” that their target audience speaks.
A practical and well thought out strategy makes it easier to deliver the key message in all your communication channels consistently.
The ideal marketing message should do the following:
- Explain your core offering to the people in a manner that’s easily digestible and memorable
- It should resonate with your audience and make them feel like that their concerns matter
- Give them a clear idea about what problem you solve, how you are different, what you stand for, etc.
- Establish trust in your product or service, so that they don’t hesitate to buy and also refer to others
What
Message development begins with research about the needs of your organization. To do this, you’ll have to revisit the company objectives and positioning to reaffirm the outcomes that your messaging will help achieve.
It would also be wise to review some of the existing brand messaging examples to get a clear picture of the organization’s values, identity, and voice.
Who and Why
Once you have precise knowledge of the organization and their values, it’s time to focus on the “Who,” which is your target audience. Some messaging documents would need different sets of key messages to cater to different sets of audience.
For example, when a company has to report weak quarterly earnings, the leaders will develop different sets of key messages to deliver to the investors, employees, and their customers.
They will all convey the same message (more or less), but the important takeaways will be much different for an investor from that of an employee or customer. It depends on what they need to hear and know, moving forward.
When developing a marketing message, you should strive to avoid making it sound like everybody else’s. For that, you’ll need to conduct a thorough messaging analysis to identify the key messages and concepts other organizations are using.
6 EFFECTIVE MESSAGING STRATEGIES THAT BIG BRANDS USE
If you’re planning to run an advertising campaign to put your marketing strategy into practice now would be the best time to think about the messaging. We have got for you six tips to boost message strategy in advertising.
- Ads using emotions
“People buy with their emotions and justify it using logic.” You probably have heard that quote before, and it’s true that the most efficient way to get people to buy something is by appealing to their emotions.
You can use this fact to your advantage by preparing a message strategy that capitalizes on your audience’s emotion to sell. You can create an ad that makes people develop an emotional connection to your brand or product.
- Ad using your USP
USP or Unique Selling Proposition is supposed to highlight something about your brand or product that others cannot/do not offer. To create the messaging for this type of ad, you must figure out what sets you apart and if that resonates with the audience.
Apifonica, for example, offers companies an all in one platform where they can build superb customer communication service with SMS, voice, and social messaging.
Every product or offering “should” have a USP, how you get across to people depends on your marketing message.
- Ads using Brand image
Not every sale has to come from the advertising you’re offering. In fact, the best way to secure customers and keep them with you for a long time is by creating a psychological connection with your brand.
- Ads using Positioning
Using positioning in your message is the best way to compare yourself to your competitor. We talked a lot about positioning before; what we didn’t mention is that it needs to be believable and unique, above all things.
Otherwise, the message will go largely ignored by your target market. Here’s some advice to keep in mind when writing your positioning statement:
- It should be short – ideally fewer than 12 words, not counting your product or brand name
- It should be written in a simple language, devoid of jargons
- Should be adaptable to different types of mediaShould consist of one significant benefit
- The major benefit should be supported by three or four additional claims
- Should be unique, usable, imported, and most importantly, believable!
- The generic ad
The generic ad is…well, one of the most obvious and commonly used. It focuses on selling a particular category rather than a specific brand or product. The goal here is to educate and give the audience something to think about; not hard sell.
- Preemptive advertising
Pre-emptive marketing is something anyone could use and get great results from. Yet almost no one does! This form of promotion is so simple; it’s almost scary. What you have to do? Just explain to your customers and prospects the processes upon which your business relies.
That’s it! It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person doing it; as long as you get the word out first, you win.
If you’re in retail, tell your customers all about the meticulous planning that goes into picking out the product line for your store. Tell them how your employees are some of the finest and how much they are dedicated to guaranteeing your satisfaction.
If you have a creative or manufacturing business, explain to your customers the complete process that you follow step-by-step to ensure they are getting the absolute best. Talk about the raw materials used and why.
Tell them about the strict quality checks and brainstorming that precedes production. None of this has to be “unique;” they just have to be real and told before your audience hears it from somewhere else.
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