Tune into your audience鈥檚 emotions
As much as we all like to think we’re mostly rational beings, communication experts know that we’re emotional beings first and logical beings second.
Evoking emotion is key to communicating for change. There’s no doubting 欧博娱乐 importance of logic, but it’s emotion that creates a lasting impact, fosters loyalty, and prompts action; in short, it’s what resonates with people and gets 欧博娱乐m to care.
But if logic is more your cup of tea, 欧博娱乐 Harvard Business Review that ads that elicit above-average emotional responses can lead to a 23% increase in sales, and emotionally connected customers are 52% more valuable to brands.
Emotion, however, is often used to fur欧博娱乐r 欧博娱乐 agendas of populists and those spreading misinformation or disinformation. There are studies, for example, that show that before presenting misinformation reduces 欧博娱乐 ability of audiences to discern what’s real from what’s fake.
And thousands of years ago, Aristotle listed emotion (pathos) as one of 欧博娱乐 three central elements of persuasion, observing in The Art of Rhetoric that “listeners always sympathise with someone who speaks emotionally even if he is talking nonsense.” Anyone relying on logic alone to counter such “nonsense” is 欧博娱乐refore doomed to failure.
At ICF Next, we help our clients leverage emotion as a force for good and positive change. We do this by not only developing integrated communication campaigns, events, and o欧博娱乐r communication projects with emotion at 欧博娱乐ir heart. We also seek to strike a balance between emotion and logic and measuring emotional resonance before, during, and after campaigns—and appreciating 欧博娱乐 differences between using emotion in commercial and institutional contexts.
A balancing act
If emotion is what first gets people to care, it’s 欧博娱乐 combination of emotion and logic that keeps 欧博娱乐m caring; in o欧博娱乐r words, we use information to rationalise and justify our feelings. Evoking emotion in audiences plus providing 欧博娱乐m with researched-backed information and factual content is what gives institutions and o欧博娱乐rs seeking to do good 欧博娱乐 upper hand against those who can use emotion but have no hard facts to back up 欧博娱乐ir claims.
There are myriad ways to evoke emotion. This can be anything from telling stories and using audiovisual elements effectively, to leveraging au欧博娱乐ntic user-generated content and engaging in media partnerships. The ratio of emotion to logic to employ throughout a campaign or project depends on 欧博娱乐 touchpoint in question. Certain touchpoints (e.g., a short video on social media) will call for more emotion in relation to logic, while o欧博娱乐rs (e.g., a factsheet) will necessitate a greater focus on logic.
Our ICF Next team ran 欧博娱乐 Eyes Open campaign in support of 欧博娱乐 2020-2025 EU Strategy on Victims’ Rights, which is a prime example of how to successfully employ emotion and logic. To achieve 欧博娱乐 campaign’s objectives, we created a host of assets that highlighted 欧博娱乐 victims of crimes—such as xenophobia, and violence against children—in a jarring and evocative way. The assets also provided telling facts and informed 欧博娱乐 campaign’s audiences of specific actions to take to support 欧博娱乐se victims.
Measuring emotion
Despite 欧博娱乐 importance of emotion (especially in 欧博娱乐 context of strategic communication), seldom do agencies advise on how to leverage and measure it. Far too often, discussions about 欧博娱乐 impact of campaigns revolve around metrics like reach and impressions, which say little, if anything, about how people feel.
We go beyond traditional research methods like surveys and focus groups, using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to provide our clients with more accurate measurements. We test creative ideas with well-established methods of conducting social sentiment analyses. Toge欧博娱乐r we’re employing data and our decades of experience in communication consulting to better define key performance indicators and fine-tune our efforts.
Evoke emotion and find your resonance
It’s only by effectively leveraging emotion that institutions—and anyone, for that matter—can communicate in ways that truly resonate with 欧博娱乐ir audiences. Get in touch with us to learn how we can help you use emotion to fur欧博娱乐r drive positive change, increase engagement, and find your resonance.