Nudge customers with framing
We live in a world in which we are continuously flooded by advertisement. Turn on the radio, look at Youtube, or take a stroll through town: marketing is everywhere. As a consumer, we are exposed to an overload of stimuli. And as a marketer, there is a lot of competition to take on. You need to stand out and persuade your potential customers.
This could be achieved by understanding the AIDA-model and using powerful and clear communication. That is why this week we will discuss a psychological effect that is all about persuasive communication called framing. Like priming, by using framing, small changes in your content could have a major impact. Get ready for some wordplay and learn how to optimise your content!
What is framing?
The most important thing to understand about framing is that it is perceptual. This means it’s not about what you say, but how you say it. In other words, you need to choose the right frame for your words and images. Compare this with choosing a frame for a picture you printed: when the frame doesn’t suit the picture, the overall look will not come together. When choosing the frame, it is important to know your target audience. In the end, you want to frame your content in such a way it will impact this audience. Dove is an example of a company that clearly chose their target audience: with their real women campaign, they wanted to deliver a message addressed to the average woman. They have commercial showing women of all shapes to emphasize the idea that women should embrace their body. Now, who’s your target? [bctt tweet=”Framing is not about what you say, but how you say it”] If you haven’t found your target audience yet, we will give you some tips to determine it.- Determine the purpose of your product. What benefits will your customers get from buying it? How does it fill the needs of your customers?
- What type of person will buy your product? Make a list of features like age, interests and gender. Do they browse online? These are important things to know.
- Determine the expertise you deliver. Is this a very specific area, or do you target a broad group of people?
- Who is your competition? This will help you determine why you are unique in what you do. Try to look for the gap or the service that is still missing.
Choose your words wisely
Now that you have determined your target audience, let’s see how to put your content in the right frame. We told you framing is all about what our eyes see, or in this case, read. Like priming, framing automatically trigger connections and words in our brain. Try it yourself: don’t think about a bear. Did it work? Probably not, because the word bear and associating words were automatically triggered in your brain. Choose words that you want to trigger in your consumer’s brain. When doing this, think about content that your customers are drawn to. These words will, in return, affect your customers’ emotion. If you master this, your content will contribute to a convincing message. Let’s show you a simple example of how to frame words. Compare the next two sentences and guess which one will be more effective:- This chocolate chip cookie only contains 20% sugar.
- This chocolate chip cookie only contains 6-gram sugar.
We hate to lose
Emotion and feelings play a huge role in neuromarketing. They can drive consumer behavior. We try to place ourselves in the customer’s mind and figure out what their motivations are. There are two forms of framing:- Gain-framing: the profit someone will gain by making a specific choice;
- Loss-framing: the loss someone will experience when making a choice.
- Use the right language that triggers corresponding emotions; think about your target audience and the words they are susceptible too. Example: if you own a travel agency, use positive and appealing words. Going on a holiday makes you happy, so your goal is to trigger these positive emotions!
- Use a form of loss in your content; tell your customer what they will miss if they don’t use your product. Example: if you own a webshop that sells chocolate, offer a limited edition bar for just one week. This will trigger loss-aversion, meaning your customers are more likely to try the limited edition chocolate as long as it is available.