Marketing With Respect

She commented on my sponsored ad and said, “I really dislike the ads where people say they are paying for you to see this.”  

For a moment I thought she was talking about my ad, or that Facebook had rolled out yet another change to how they showed sponsored posts. I could almost envision a line that said “I paid for you to see this,” in place of the word “sponsored” in an effort to increase their transparency to their users.  Of course, that’s not what they did, and it’s not what she meant either.

What she was talking about is actual marketers using copy that says, “Hey! I’m paying for you to see this ad” as the first line of their ad copy.

I kind of get it, the marketer (who in this case was a woman) is trying to draw attention to the fact that she is paying to market to you but…

Did she consider how that might make her potential buyer feel?  

The woman who showed the ad to me said it was smarmy. She questioned if the intention was to shame potential clients into taking action, seeing as this individual was offering a free 45-minute call to enroll you into her $10K coaching program.

Here’s the lesson:

Market with respect. Your buyer is not a dummy. They know you’re re-marketing to them because they spent time on your website, watched your last Facebook live, or you’re on their mailing list. They know you’re capturing and using data to try and track and trick them into buying…and it doesn’t feel good.

You can use marketing copy that speaks to them in a way that doesn’t make them feel played, scolded, or smarmed but you need to be thoughtful to do this.

The more aggressive you get with your ads, the more they start to feel like an annoying big brother. The bossier and less personalized your ad copy comes across, the bigger the gap between you and your buyer.

You’ve got more competition for attention than ever before for organic and paid online reach.  Those who are thoughtful will win out.

Think through your copy and write it as though you were having a respectful conversation with someone, face to face, belly to belly, heart to heart.  Being truly interested in talking with someone instead of talking at someone is where your marketing can do it’s best work. Make it meaningful, not off-putting.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you would respond to an ad that starts with, “Hey! I’m paying for you to see this ad.”