Messaging

What is messaging?

Messaging is how you position your products to your target audience. This is why understanding your audience is so important.

It’s very unlikely that you would only have one message to position your products and services, more likely 3 or 4 sets. For example, if you’re selling Software, you would have a set of messages for each line of business e.g. HR Software, Training Software and then broken down into each audience level e.g. director, manager and user; this is because the directors, for example, are less concerned with how easy the software is to use, but more interested in how it will boost profits. Managers on the other hand are interested in how it will save them time and improve processes.

The messages you choose will depend on your brand and who it’s being delivered to. The classic example is using the word ‘cheap’; this has a double meaning and you may not want to be associated with that message.

Working example

For funky, customised t-shirts you have several target markets; 10 to 14 years, 15 to 17 years, 18 +, large parties e.g. hen and stags and so on. Selling to these markets requires different messages, so you set up a display advertising campaign for large parties; your message is simple and clear ‘affordable printed t-Shirts’, you decide to have a couple of variations to see which messages work best ‘discounted printed t-shirts’ and ‘t-shirts- delivered to you.

How does messaging fit into Digital Marketing?

Messaging will turn your flashy, good looking digital marketing material in to a meaningful campaign; ultimately generating leads for your sales team. Your messaging will be a theme throughout all of your digital marketing collateral; from strap lines on your website to the presentation in your videos. Messaging is how you relate to your audience and it must be clear.

If someone arrives at your site and it’s not instantly clear on what you do and how it could benefit them, they will move on. Similarly when people read one of your ads and arrive at your landing page the messaging has to be clear and what they were expecting, else they will move on.

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