Emotionally connected customers are likely to spend double with their favourite brands - Spiralytics

Take a moment to think of a brand you love. A company you’re likely to go back to over and over again. If you feel a swell of emotion when they come to mind then the chances are they’ve managed to connect with you on a personal level. Did you realise they were doing it? 

The most impactful way for your business to retain customers is to engage with them emotionally using subtle yet ingenious tactics. Join the experts at Infoserve as we explore the various methods you can use across your website that bring emotion to the forefront of your conversion tactics. 

1. Start with the why, not the what

When writing content, people often fall into the trap of explaining the ‘what’ of their product rather than the ‘why’. 

This means that you can get so enveloped in describing the features of your product that you forget to explain why your product benefits your user. 

Let’s use a couple of examples to explain this: 

Luxury Holiday Accommodation: 

Imagine you offered luxury holiday accommodation. You’ve spent weeks carefully decorating your properties into the picture of relaxation, complete with a toasty fireplace, games room and fully equipped kitchen. 

Listing these features is useful, and may well entice visitors, but let’s reimagine the way these features could be interpreted as benefits.

Rather than seeing the feature, your audience will now be picturing themselves and their loved ones in the accommodation, creating long-term memories. 

100% Premium Leather Shoe Retailer: 

Now, for a slightly trickier example. The features of a product like this might seem trickier but the easiest way to turn them into benefits is to remember why you decided on the features in the first place. 

For example: 

2. Tell the story of your brand 

This one is fairly self explanatory. 

Having a brand story shows the user that you are human, which makes you more relatable. 

It is quite often the case that people see big corporate businesses as instruments that are out to get their money, and a brand story can soften this feeling. It is the reason why an ‘About Us’ page is considered an almost essential element of any website. 

Explain why you began your business. What was your idea? Where did you come from? Why did you think the product/service you sell would make other people’s lives easier? 

Bring them into your world.

3. Address your audience personally 

You might have noticed that this entire blog is written in second person. 

That’s not an accident. 

One of the easiest ways to ensure your audience is connected to your content is to address them directly. 

Instead of saying ‘plants should be watered when the top layer of soil becomes dry, say ‘you should water your plants when the top layer of soil becomes dry.’ 

Instead of saying ‘this blog is written in second person,’ say ‘you might have noticed that this blog is written in second person.’ 

Use the words you, your, yours and yourself so your reader feels as though they are being spoken to personally.

4. Find your vocal niche 

Your brand voice is more valuable than people believe it is. 

Invoking emotion doesn’t always reference tugging on the heartstrings of your audience like an invasive pair of tweezers. It can mean that as a brand, you present yourself as compassionate, as relatable, or even as funny. 

For example, Innocent Drinks relate to their audience through their sarcastic and humorous brand image. By not taking themselves too seriously, they bring joyous emotions that leave a lasting impression. 

5. Utilise imagery effectively

Images are incredibly powerful when it comes to engaging your audience through emotions. 

A one-size fits all approach doesn’t work when it comes to selecting the right photos for your brand, as your audience’s perception of the images will differ depending on your brand and your product/service. 

However, it has been proven that customers are more likely to respond emotionally to images that have faces in them. This means that showing people using your product can be far more effective than a picture of the product itself. 

For example, although breathtaking scenery can generate feelings of longing, try including images of people enjoying the area. For example, families on walks, a couple enjoying a picnic or even a wedding party. 

Take a look at your service and determine which emotion you want people to feel in response to it. Do you want them to feel nostalgia, happiness or comfort? 

Determining the feeling can help you find the right imagery, regardless of whether you take it yourself or utilise stock footage.

6. Colour perception 

The psychology behind colours is a topic that is constantly fascinating designers because the impact it has on user perception is astounding. Choosing colours for your brand, finding images for your website and choosing a mood for social media all heavily depend on emotional response. 

Pay close attention to: 

• Colour tone 
• Shading/softness 
• Gradation 
• Contrasting/complementary colours 

Each of these can set the tone for your company image. 

Likewise, individual colours can generate different emotions in people: 

Not sure where to start? 

Here at Infoserve, our web design experts are on hand to help you create a website that engages your audience through emotion, and our PPC and SEO team help your website get found.