What type of marketing triggers online users to purchase your company’s product or service? There may be a secret in some-what controlling the process and increasing conversions.

Medical research has shown that when the neural connections between the amygdala and neocortex sections of the brain are interjected, in other words when people are not able to experience emotion, they tend to be incapable of making decisions. Thus, emotions are most likely essential in deciding to buy your product or service.

Furthermore, many psychological theories dictate that a majority of humans tend to act on painful emotions rather than content ones (Nir Eyal, Hooked). So, what are common painful emotions your target audience would experience before buying your product? For example, if you are an internet provider are you targeting impatient users with slow internet? Next, what platforms do they use to find a solution to their problems?

Step #1: Identify the pain your company is solving

Defer to keyword research or internal search data to determine the most popular pains your target audience experiences. In a previous blog, I conducted an analysis of search terms rising in popularity that would aid you in this process. See an example below:

Step #2: Next, target your customers on a platform where they would be experiencing those pains

Below are examples based on industry surveys:

• Lonely: social platforms such as Facebook, Sina Weibo, Line, or the like
• Fear of losing the moment: Instagram and others
• Hungry: Food sites such as Yelp
• Impatient, Unsure: Search Engines such as Google, Yandex, Baidu, Naver
• Anxious, Depressed: Email
• Lost: GPS, Google Maps
• Mentally Fatigued: ESPN, Pinterest, and other partner sites.

People who are feeling unsure or impatient tend to use search engines, mainly Google to find quick answers. Moreover, if you are in the restaurant business or selling weight-loss food for example, you may have a larger opportunity to catch the right target audience when they are hungry, so conducting a paid media campaign on Yelp or Grubhub may be more successful. People who are mentally fatigued are more likely to watch ESPN or go on Pinterest, so if you sell energy drinks, you may have a more successful campaign on Pinterest or partner sites such as ESPN.

Step #3: Incorporate the need you are fulfilling within your online campaigns

Consider including these common pains and solutions to the problem within your marketing campaigns:

• Branding/messaging
• On-page website content
• PPC ads
• Display ads
• Meta descriptions
• Email marketing
• Social media

Examples:

• Meta Description based on research above: Is your internet slow? Discover what it’s like to never have to wait for a web page to load again. Get 50Mbps for $59.99 per month.
• PPC ad:
  

Actionable Insights

Companies have seen greater success when they focus on creating an emotional connection with the audience instead of focusing on offering the best price or service. This is what we should be considering when conducting research or creating online strategies –the user’s intent and what type of searches would bring you higher conversions. In order to have a higher converting search campaign, it is recommended to conduct keyword research based on your customers’ intent and ‘pains.’ Target customers where they are experiencing those pains. Then, incorporate those ‘pains’ and solutions into your online marketing channels and content.