Why Content should Hit the five Senses

Every human being has five sensory organs and uses them to learn, remember and memorize situations and incidents. These memories help shape their character and behavior. As a content person you need to ensure that at least two to three of these sensory organs are getting stimulated to make an impact on your audience. But, hey! They are once removed from you and hence, virtual. So, how will you work it out?

This is a problem that anyone creating marketing campaigns would face. Because, unlike a sales person, a marketing content writer does not have access to a live audience except during an event. But, organizing events is a pretty expensive proposition which would require a whole lot of propaganda to rope in the target audience.

So, how to sell an idea to a virtual person?

The answer is simple, target their five senses.

I'll take a simple example. You need to create a campaign for an audience that travels frequently and enjoys it. You have to 'help' them decide that it is best for them to cook their own food when travelling and then, help them train on basics of cooking using vlogs or videos that have been either made by your team or by a client. Or maybe sell a cookbook or dried ingredients that can be carried around the world easily as they travel.

Your brief is clear but, how about the audience?

Obviously your audience is a bunch of travelers who wake up in two to three different places every month, cooking would be the last thing on their minds. As it is, they can grab exotic local food for very less price wherever they are.

What can you do to make them change their minds?

This is usually the most important part. And this is exactly what your client expects you to do.

Your client wants to sell the concept of cooking-on-the-go to people who are least bothered about cooking because they are travelers. They may not even be looking at anything cooking-related at this time. So, what is the way around to get their attention?

Often a content specialist is expected to sell an idea to an unresponsive audience and therefore, is no less than a sales person. While a salesperson uses spoken words demonstration to sell items, a content person is stuck with the difficult prospect of often selling ideas and concepts to people who are not even engaged. They may not even look at your efforts as they are not hardwired to look for it.

Don't worry there is always a way around. That is why you get paid. Get the attention by hook or by crook. If normal is boring then try disruption. It will at least get you attention. Remember, Shakespeare said it first, "Beg, Borrow or Steal." Or as in this case, use your guile to pull the audience into a cauldron of sensory perceptions.

How?

Do what you have to. Use emotions, explore their interest areas and the mediums best suited to reach out to them because they would be using them more. You have to be aware of your target's head or rather how it works.

Remember, the most important sensory organ are the eyes. Research says that:

• Almost 50% of your brain is involved in visual processing at any given time
• 70% of your sensory receptors are in your eyes
• A visual scene is sensed in less than 1/10th of a second

So, there you are. Grab the eyeballs - literally!

Remember, unless you delve deep, you cannot succeed. I'd say that if the stakes are high, go walk a mile in your users' shoes. You can befriend them online, join clubs where they frequent or travel to a new location where you can hangout with them. In short, see and figure out what they like to see or would want to see.

This is research and is often hard work.

But once you know your audience and what moves their groove, target it. Develop a campaign around it. Maybe they genuinely miss home cooked food or they just want to save money. Who knows? Try all the pressure points you discovered during your research because not everyone will have the same taste or thought process.

Now, start by creating curiosity about your product. How it can change their lives and make it better than it already is? Let the sense of hearing be clubbed here and make interesting videos that not only show and tell but, also compel to touch and taste.

Once the target audience starts hitting your website, they need to be hooked. They need to be interested enough to stay and check it out. That's when your skills at content creation and designing comes in. Your web design should be minimal and website, easy to navigate. If you think that your hard-earned visitors will be hard-pressed for time, make your campaign the central point on the website. It can be a stand-alone page that tackles nothing else.

So, now that your audience is here and looking what should you do? Well! It again depends on the visitors you are attracting. Use this attention wisely. They will only give you a few seconds at first so, be sure that you have your pitch ready and run with your idea before they can say, 'blink'.

Now that you have lived their lives, you must now what ticks their boxes. Go for it. If you think they miss home-cooking then, showcase a tempting video of easy-to-cook meal that tastes just like home and give it away for free. Let them try it out at their own pace. Let their nose smell and tongues taste the labor of their own cooking using your sample video.

If you think, that they need a push in the right direction, you can show them the money or the health benefits of home cooking.

You could use an infographic on how cooking their own meals with simple ingredients can considerably lower their overall cost of travelling. That should make them sit up. Show through it that with the money saved they will be able to take an extra trip every six months maybe. You will of course need to work it out.

Or use the health and safety plank. How cooking their own simple meals can help them stay healthy on foreign trips and unhygienic food.

Use your research and go for the kill. Ensure that they click on a free video to check how to make this miracle happen.

Once, they have tried your product for free, then they can decide if they can really go with it or not.

You must realize that only 10 in say 500 will actually pay and sign-up for your product and maybe just 1 or 2 will further endorse you and refer you to others. So, you need to keep the traffic coming.

Happy fishing!