As a small business, creating compelling content to engage your audience is a must. Whether that’s social media content, blog content or even external marketing materials like newsletters or pamphlets, the aim of the game is to capture the attention of your audience and keep it long enough to make an impression. That can be a challenge if you’re solely relying on the information itself – our (very short!) attention spans can’t handle it.
Instead, a great way to capture the attention of your audience before their eight-second attention spans are up is by utilising emotional triggers – specific psychological cues that evoke emotional responses. You’ll recognise that these are used frequently in copywriting, like in CTAs or headlines, but they can also be pretty powerful weapons in content too, if you know how to wield them.
Let’s explore the psychology behind emotional triggers and how you can use them effectively, authentically and ethically in your content…
The Psychology Behind Emotional Triggers
Using emotional triggers effectively in your content starts with understanding them, and the way they impact your audience. Emotional triggers work by activating specific neural pathways in the brain that influence decision-making and attention. According to neuroscientific research, emotions play a central role in how humans process information and make decisions. The part of the brain involved in emotional processing reacts more strongly to emotionally charged stimuli than neutral ones. Basically, if something makes us feel something specific, we’re more likely to pay attention to it.
In a marketing context, and in the context of your small business content, this means that your audience will often be making decisions based on how they feel and then justifying those decisions with facts later down the line. This is why effective content needs to engage your audience with emotion first and throw info at them later on. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing their attention before you’ve even gotten started.
Using Emotional Triggers Ethically
Just a note before we get into the nitty gritty of why emotional triggers are great and how to use them in your content – they must be used ethically. There’s a fine line between making someone feel something and manipulating them into feeling that way. For example, suggesting that your limited time deal is running out when it isn’t can damage trust. Similarly, bigging something up to garner attention and then not following through on your promises has the same impact. If you’re using emotional triggers, make sure you’re using them honestly and authentically. Otherwise, your risk damaging your credibility, reliability, and your audience’s trust in you. Trust us, it’s not worth it!
How to Use Emotional Triggers in Content
We’ve already discussed briefly how emotional triggers are frequently used in headlines and calls to action in sales copy, but what about in your content? Using emotional triggers in blogs, newsletters, or articles requires a little more care and a lot more subtlety. Blogs in particular serve multiple purposes, like educating, informing, and building trust over time. This means taking a less overt approach to using emotional triggers, weaving them in seamlessly to create content that engages your audience on a deeper level.
For example, storytelling is a highly effective method for using emotional triggers in blogs. You can use storytelling to inspire a range of emotions, make your content and your business feel relatable, and enable your audience to feel connected to your cause. And we’re not necessarily talking about spinning elaborate tales or turning everything into a spun-out lesson. But something as simple as sharing a narrative about customer experiences, challenges overcome, or founder journeys taps into universal emotions such as hope, admiration, or empathy. These emotions capture the attention of your audience and allow them to start forming a deeper connection with what you have to say.
As well as storytelling, you can use emotional triggers in blog content by framing information through lenses such as fear, relief, belonging, or aspiration. For example, if you offer support for entrepreneurs, you could write a blog detailing the success of a small business who utilised your services. Not only does this display what you’re offering in a positive light, but it also serves to inspire and motivate your audience to take the same path, and potentially use your services to help them reach their goals. In a similar way, if you’re an IT company, a blog written about the importance of cybersecurity may invoke feelings of anxiety that your audience may feel inclined to quell with your services. It’s not about manipulation; it’s about tapping into what your audience needs from you and using emotion to guide them there.
The Benefits for Small Business Marketing
While using emotional triggers in your content is mostly about ensuring your audience feels engaged and connected to your cause, doing so also has some long-term benefits for your business.
Increasing Organic Reach
Emotionally engaging content is more likely to be shared, increasing organic reach. A study found that content that evokes high-arousal emotions is more likely to be shared online. Think of it this way – which viral videos do you remember most? Ones that made you laugh? Made you cry? Made you angry? People share content that makes them feel a certain way, and that content sticks in your head. Sharing content that evokes emotion in your audience is much more likely to be shared and remembered.
Increases Dwell Time and Reader Loyalty
Emotional engagement increases dwell time and reader loyalty. If a reader feels understood, inspired, or reassured by your blog post, they’re more likely to come back for more of the same. Humans are creatures of habit; we like what we know and avoid what we don’t. If we know your business provides us with relatable, engaging content that inspires a specific feeling in us, we’ll be happy to keep returning for more.
Higher Conversion rates
Emotionally resonant blog content can contribute to higher conversion rates over time. While a single post may not drive immediate action, a sequence of emotionally aware content builds trust and connection, leading readers further down the marketing funnel. Research from Nielsen shows that ads with above-average emotional response from consumers caused a 23% increase in sales compared to standard ads, which suggests similar outcomes may apply to emotionally resonant content over time. Basically, if you’re posting emotionally resonant content consistently, it sets the tone and expectations from your audience and keeps your content top of mind.
Content Support with The Edwards Company
Here at The Edwards Company, our Content Team supports your business in writing authentic, relatable, engaging content that keeps your audience coming back for more. For more information on how we can help, please do not hesitate to get in touch.