Depending on your particular level of fandom as it pertains to her music, it may or may not come as a surprise to you that for all the flack she’s received for the multitude of break-up songs she has in her impressive catalog, pop icon Taylor Swift’s biggest hit isn’t a song about an ex-boyfriend. It’s actually a party song that while catchy—was harshly criticized by a plethora of music critics.
If you consider yourself a Swiftie, you’re probably already well-aware of the fact that Taylor Swift’s biggest song on the Billboard Hot 100 is actually Shake It Off—a party anthem that ironically, is all about shaking off your haters.
Unbeknownst to the critics who gave the song such terrible reviews, the main reason why Shake It Off became such a huge success commercially isn’t just because the song is catchy as all get-out (take one listen, and it’ll be stuck in your head all day), it’s because Taylor intimately understood her audience so well that she knew exactly which mood they wanted to be in when she wrote, recorded, and released the song as a lead single.
How moods are formed
In his book, Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence, author and neuropsychologist, Rich Hanson, Ph.D., writes, “Your experiences of happiness, worry, love, and anxiety can make real changes in your neural networks.”
He would go on to state, “The structure-building processes of the nervous system are turbocharged by conscious experience and especially by what’s in the foreground of your awareness.”
Put simply, what Dr. Hanson is essentially saying is that contrary to popular belief, our moods are not a product of happenstance. But rather, are affected by our past experiences and what we choose to direct our minds towards focusing on.
By understanding that ultimately—the vast majority of human beings yearn to experience a sense of happiness and to be in a mood that makes them feel good about themselves—much like Taylor Swift did with Shake It Off, your brand could also help its audience receive those feelings through its marketing outputs.
Shaping moods to create a closer connection with your brand’s audience
If someone were to ask you, what did you have for dinner a year ago today?, unless you’re one of the less than 100 people in the world who has Hyperthymesia, which is an extremely rare condition that allows a person to vividly remember most of their life experiences in great detail—you’d probably have a tough time answering that question correctly.
Nevertheless, if someone were to ask you, what did you have for dinner at your wedding reception?, you’d probably be able to describe precisely not only what you ate, but also who all sat at the table with you, how the weather was that day, and whether or not you had seconds.
That’s because innately, we tend to be able to vividly recall our most heartening experiences. What’s more, we innately tend to view those who deliver us good news more favorably. Which would explain why we also tend to build closer connections with brands that help us relive those special moments from our past that put us in a good mood whenever we recall them.
These are a few ways to incorporate those moments into your brand’s advertising, web copy, social media posts, content marketing, and other marketing materials:
Feature sentimental moments: We’ve all seen their ads. And we’ve certainly heard of their popular slogan, “Every kiss begins with Kay” (especially around Valentine’s Day). Kay Jewelers is a brand that is absolutely adored by its audience.
The key component that has helped make Kay such a beloved brand, is that they focus their ads not on their beautiful jewelry—but instead, they masterfully highlight sentimental acts of love in their ads that we all could or aspire to relate to—in which their products simply encapsulates the love shared between two people.
Kay Jewelers is a great example of the brand that has utilized its marketing to create an unbreakable bond with their audience.
Inspire your audience: They say that a good coach excels at teaching their players. However, not only do the truly great coaches teach their players—they also inspire them. I believe the same could also be said about truly great brands. Brands like: Apple, Gatorade, and Nike have all accumulated millions of devoted fans primarily by inspiring their audience to become greater versions of themselves.
Focus on their interests: Here’s where also like Taylor, you'll need to have an intimate understanding of your target audience. What activities are they doing on the weekend? What hot topics do they enjoy discussing with their peers? What are they most passionate about? Remember, consumers gravitate more towards brands that share and reflect their interests outside of the products or services they provide.
Build a closer connection with consumers—or your competitors will
The late poet and activist Maya Angelou once so eloquently stated that, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
When it comes to marketing, whichever brand gets closest to the consumer’s heartstrings by making them feel better—will win their commitment. And if your brand doesn’t make them feel better, your competitors will happily oblige.
Ready to build a closer connection with consumers? Contact us today and schedule a no-cost consultation. We’ll create a marketing strategy for your brand that’ll help your startup advance!
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