A novel and complex product or service poses a challenge for marketers: how to communicate its features and especially benefits to target audiences in a way that helps create brand communities. Many of us have a tendency to cram too much information into our presentations, pitches, elevator speeches, articles, or demos. So much work went into the process of creation, we want the world to know everything about its result. To simplify and boil things down often seems equal to betrayal.
In overcomplicating things we forget that human memory has limited capacity. Short-term, we can’t remember more than four or five items, with three being the ideal. In order to move information into long-term memory, we need to be repeatedly exposed to it or rehearse it to ourselves.
So it helps to keep things simple in promotion if it is to be sustainable. Communicate in a simple and plain language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and stick to the basics. “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Anything else is extraneous.
As social media moves into the mainstream, it raises a host of questions among late adopters. What is it? How does it work? What is it for? How can I use it to advance my organization’s goals? Social media may have tipped this year, but the fact is, the social media brand remains a puzzle to many companies and customers. Widespread adoption on the magnitude of websites will require for social media to come out of its insider-conversation shell and get the point across so it sticks.
Imagine my excitement at discovering the Common Craft series of videos Explanations in Plain English, which illuminate social media in the most streamlined and fun way I’ve found so far.
Essential principles +Â Simple visuals + Entertainment = A perfect recipe for effectiveness of any presentation.
Social media
Blogs
RSS
Social networking
Social bookmarking
Wikis
