The Power of Emotional Content Marketing

Think back to the movie that made you cry the most. What was it? Titanic? The Notebook? Jurassic Park? For me, it was A.I. Artificial Intelligence. That might sound like a strange movie to cry during, but trust me, if you see it, you’ll understand.

Even though it’s been years since I first watched A.I. Artificial Intelligence, it still has an impact on me today. And you know why? Because it played with my emotions. It made me feel sad and happy (even simultaneously) for a fictional, little robot boy. And that emotion I felt was powerful.

How Does Emotion Affect Content Marketing?

So, what if you harnessed that emotion and brought it into the world of content marketing? You would see some impressive results. The thing is – emotion plays a major role in the success of content marketing. Which means that it’s pretty hard to succeed without bringing people to tears every once in a while.

Okay, so that was an exaggeration. Don’t try to make your customers cry every chance you get. In fact, that could backfire on your campaign. Instead, help them feel a variety of emotions: happiness, fear, anger, surprise, amusement, and of course, the occasional pang of sadness.

What Role Does Emotion Play?

If you think about the most successful brands and companies out there, I’m sure some emotion comes to mind. Think about Nike, for instance. It’s a brand that has been popular for so long. So, does this long-running success boil down to just luck? Of course not. Nike fires up our emotions. They help us feel strong and confident while motivating us to “just do it.” In their content marketing strategy, they help us feel like the hero with the help of their product.

So, why is emotional content marketing so powerful?

Well, that’s simple, because we’re humans, not robots. Actually, that’s a bad analogy if you think about the boy in A.I. Artificial intelligence.

But if you don’t think about Haley Joel Osment’s character in the movie, it’s a pretty good analogy. Once you establish an emotional connection with your customers, you’ll have them hooked, because you’ll instantly become relatable to them. People are much more likely to buy from companies that make them feel an emotional connection.

Put Some Heart into Your Content

It’s no surprise that emotional storytelling is becoming an increasingly popular way to provide content marketing. We see hundreds of content marketing messages from companies every day, including blogs, press releases, infographics, articles, videos, advertisements, and more. If there’s no emotion to it, you’re probably going to forget it by the time you see the next piece of content marketing, which could be within seconds. When you put heart into your content, it gives you a much better chance of people remembering you. So, what are some of the emotions that will give your content heart?

• Happiness – Obviously, this is the most popular of all the emotions, by far. Happiness (whichever gender it is) would win the homecoming king or queen every time if the emotions had a popularity contest. It’s no mystery that people want to feel happy, but the catch is – you have to do it right. Most of the content marketing campaigns out there are designed to make people feel good, so it’s a good idea to sprinkle some other emotions in there too, sometimes.

• Fear – Believe it or not, fear is an excellent way to emotionally connect with your target audience. But remember, it’s usually meant to make people do the opposite of a specific action. If you’ve ever seen any of those jarring texting while driving commercials, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

• Anger – Although it’s not an emotion most people like to feel, anger does usually inspire action. Content is also usually more likely to be shared when it incites anger. This type of emotion fires people up and sparks them to make a change. But be careful with how much you use it because it’s an incredibly strong emotion.

• Sadness – Of course, I have to include sadness; otherwise, it might be sad…wait. Although you’ll want to use it sparingly, sadness can be very effective and beneficial for your content marketing campaign. It evokes a personal response in people and helps them connect with you on a deeper level. Just don’t forget to make people laugh now and then. They like that, too.

Emotion = Power

I think Albert Einstein came up with that equation. Anyway, if you want to connect with people and make sure they remember you the next time they have to choose between you and your competitor, use emotional content marketing. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use to relate to customers or inspire an action. It could also make an impact on them for years to come.