Sunday 15 August 2021

Power Words: What They Are and How to Exploit Their 'Power'

Power words are used in content marketing strategies for their power to convert, to intrigue, or to excite depending on the set goal. But what are they and when are they really effective?

Power words are terms that, wisely used in the content marketing strategy, arouse an emotional reaction in the reader.

These are persuasive terms that have the power to trigger a reaction depending on the term used and the structure of the content produced.

Let's see what they are and how to use them to motivate people to take an action on your site, making them curious or excited.

·        Power words: what are they?

·        What characteristics do powerful words have?

·        Power words: how to use them?

·        Where to use power words?

·        The 3 most powerful power words

·        Other examples of power words

Power words: what are they?

The power of the word has not diminished with the transition from print to digital and online. On the contrary! Nowadays, the studied use of words for those involved in copywriting and content marketing is more essential than ever.

Power words are tangible proof of this: powerful words that can motivate people to take a specific action on the website, such as reading an in-depth article on the blog, or subscribing to the promotions newsletter, or even buying a product. from e-commerce.

Calls-to-action that leverage emotions and that, quickly and naturally, increase conversion rates based on the set goal.

As proof of their effectiveness, it is worth remembering that power words are based on the concepts synthesized by Maslow's pyramid that hierarchizes and classifies the needs of the human being: physiological; safety and security; of belonging; of esteem and success; of self-realization.

In practice, power words touch one or more strings of the essential needs of human nature and in this way exercise their persuasive power to action. An emblematic example is the word “ urgent ” which generates a sense of priority and which draws the attention of the person who is reading, or listening to, or watching a video.

What characteristics do powerful words have?

Although power words change in relation to the context and purpose, it is possible to recognize some common characteristics that refer to some aspects of the human nature:

Curiosity : the word has the power to stimulate the desire to go beyond what is seen or known.

Emotion : the word elicits an emotional reaction, a key aspect of emotional marketing .

Balance : a power word is neither too simple nor too pretentious and communicates clearly.

With regard to the context, you will have to consider both the target audience (we'll talk about it in the next chapter), the topic and the tool used: on social media, terms that refer to the community are particularly popular, such as " unite " and “ members only ”.

Power words: how to use them?

The production of content for the web is constantly and exponentially growing, yet the percentage of effective content - in terms of time dedicated by the user to their use and / or conversion of the CTA ( Call To Action ) - is very low.

The reason? In truth, they can be many: the reader has not found what they were looking for, the content is not optimized, the design is not effective, or words have not been used well. And this applies both when creating an article on the website , and when interacting with a post on social networks .

So how to use power words to make them really effective, or what is the method to apply to increase the conversion rate through them? Here are some easy tips to put into practice in copywriting at every level:

Know your audience : to use power words well it is first of all necessary to ask yourself not only what is the goal we want to achieve, but also to whom we are addressing. The basic emotions, however transversal, change in relation to the age group, socio-economic conditions and cultural level of the person.

Do not abuse : the language must be natural and suited to both the topic and the target, inserting words 'at random' and in excessive quantities not only cancels their power, but can be counterproductive.

Use capital letters : especially for Instagram captions, capital characters immediately draw the reader's visual attention, then focusing it in the second place on the concept expressed.

Where to use power words?

Knowing how to dose powerful words, measuring them in quantity and calibrating them to your audience is the most effective trick to get the most out of them. In addition to this it is also important to position them appropriately, for example in the following elements of the text:

Titles : use power words in the titles of your blog articles or even on social media posts, so as to immediately attract the reader's attention and facilitate the increase in the percentage of clicks.

Subject of the email : in newsletters it is essential to immediately go to the center of the speech to entice readers and subscribers to read the content and prevent the email from being prematurely trashed.

CTA : Let your readers know clearly and concisely what you want them to do by prompting them to take action using the right words in your CTA (Call To Action).

First and last paragraph : Adding powerful words in the first and last part of your text is the perfect way to highlight them in the eyes of users.

The 3 most powerful power words

We have said that power words and copywriting are two indissoluble concepts, as the former are a working tool for professional copywriters, for digital marketers and for anyone who wants to make the contents of their site effective.

Evoking an emotion and arousing curiosity are key steps to increase the chances of converting goals: users now browse tens, if not hundreds, of site pages every day and the competition to earn their attention and trust is very high. .

But what are the most effective power words? On the net there are lists of hundreds of power words that can be useful if taken with caution and evaluated according to your target audience and the goal we have to achieve. That said, it is irrefutable that some words capture more attention than others, in almost any circumstance.

The podium of the most used power words

Free / Free : Who doesn't love free stuff? It is a natural instinct that pushes you to desire anything at no cost, as long as it arouses even a minimum of curiosity or a minimum of interest. Offering a free product / service will attract more people , therefore, but only in the right context.


This is why it is advisable to use this word only when it really makes sense, for example to emphasize the free access to guides, courses, support, podcasts etc. The abuse of the term free, on the other hand, can be counterproductive in relation to the fact that it will also attract users who are not seriously interested, but simply attracted to the free and such subjects will hardly turn into those leads you need to grow your business.

Immediate / Urgent : we have already mentioned the word " urgent " and its ability to unconsciously attract the focus of attention. Some neuroscience studies, based on MRI analysis, have shown that the human brain is activated when it imagines instant rewards . Basically, our frontal cortex lights up when we hear or read words like " instant ", " immediate ", or even " fast "". They are power words that emphasize to customers that they will receive their product very quickly, or that someone will contact them as soon as possible.

Using these words in persuasive phrases can give customers the right push to proceed with the purchase, or to send an email, or to leave the phone number. It's a very reliable tactic in converting leads to customers, as long as you follow the one golden rule: always keep your promises ! If you promise more than you can deliver, you will end up compromising your brand reputation and ruining all your efforts to build your community .

New / Novelty : According to neuroimaging research , our brains respond more positively to stimuli received from well-known brands for a natural defense than the idea of ​​drastic change. This premise seems in contrast with the assertion that " new " and " novelty " can be power words. Yet this is true, as the neuronal response centers react to such words that are able to activate the instinct for discovery and natural curiosity.of human nature.

Your products / services are useful to customers, who expect new features and improvements from your brand, or simply a new design or packaging: a response to needs or rather a way to anticipate them, in such a way as to always keep the attention threshold high. of users about what's going on in your business.

Other examples of power words

Although the lists for their own sake are, as mentioned, sterile from the point of view of the effectiveness in the application of the individual cases, it can still be an interesting starting point to know some timeless words. Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of the most influential and long-lasting power words according to advertising guru David Ogilvy:

·        Deal

·        By announcing

·        Wanted

·        Compare

·        Easy

·        Suddenly

·        Incredible

·        Magic

·        Improvement

·        Miracle

·        Remarkable

·        Offering

·        Now

·        Presentation of

·        Revolutionary

·        Hurry up

·        Sensational

·        Challenge

·        Amazing

·        Fast

Abdul Rimaaz

Abdul Rimaaz

Abdul Rimaaz

An example of a marketing plan

The web marketing plan is the starting point, let's see how it is done in 6 steps

What is Web Marketing

Marketing has evolved following the digital revolution and the introduction of new online media. Today traditional marketing tools are no longer enough, because it is necessary to approach the realities connected with the web to produce a successful strategy.

What is a marketing plan

The web marketing plan is the starting point, let's see what can be the phases in which it is structured:

1 Objectives : defining the objectives that the company must pursue is the starting point, because it will be based on the mission of the company that all the work will be articulated. Having clear, achievable and well-defined objectives supports the other phases in which the plan is articulated.

 

Marketing plan2 Internal analysis : before starting to create any strategy it is necessary to evaluate the internal situation of the company, both if it has just been created and if it has been on the market for some time. It is necessary to understand what are the budget margins to be divided for each job, to analyze the skills of the employees and, if necessary, to search for new staff who can respond to the management needs of the web.

 

3 External analysis : goes hand in hand with the internal one, and can be carried out by the company itself or using external consultants. An analysis of the market in which you decide to operate is essential to understand what strategies to adopt, and above all to understand if the market sector in which you are moving is saturated or has a large margin to work on. At this point, with data in hand, we proceed with the analysis of the competitors, or of all those small or large competitors who already operate in the same sector, observing how they behave, what strategies they use on the web and what results they bring. Analyzing competitors is very important because it also reveals mistakes that have already been made by others, and suggests how not to repeat them.

 

4: Identification of the target : at this point all the types of customers to whom the products or services provided by the company are addressed are defined. This step is important because all communication, including that on the web, must take into account the type of people to whom it is addressed. To this end, it is useful to segment the targets based on age, sex, territorial origin, on the basis of preferences and habits, informing as much as possible about who will be future customers.

 

5: Strategies and tools : this is where the real action begins, because the guidelines to follow to reach your targets are outlined, in line with the objectives set and based on the available budget. We then proceed to the concrete definition of the tools that will be implemented for your online presence: website, social network, newsletter, e-commerce, etc. On the basis of market analyzes, the priorities for using the tools can also be defined, as well as the time required for implementation.

 

6 Analysis of results : when the real work has begun, remember to analyze the results of each strategy or tool that has been chosen, to evaluate how to improve the work in the future, to understand if the company is going in the right direction . If necessary, time, budget and target audience can be redefined, always trying to evolve also with the support of constant training.

These six points are just an example of how a web marketing plan can be carried out, in practice each company chooses how to proceed best according to its needs, but having a clear and defined work structure is essential in any case for the achievement of objectives.

Are you interested in a marketing plan? Contact us