I hate being lied to.
I am someone who has reasonable expectations and struggles when they’re unmet (I know expectations aren’t good, mom).
Marketing, or better yet advertising, is simply a promise or expectation you’re giving your prospect.
“Buy these leggings and you’ll have an ass.”
“Drink this beer and you’ll be cool.”
At times these expectations/promises seem silly, but we’re making them in our marketing.
And we better be able to back them up. The issue?
When we make general claims, it’s nearly impossible to back them up.
“Achieve more/your dreams”
(This means a million things to a million different people.)
“Lose 15 pounds in 15 minutes by using our herk and jerk machine every day (for 15 minutes).”
(While a strangle expectation, it’s specific and allows better guidelines to know if it’s working.)
Today’s ad makes the biggest general claim of them all.
Buckle up.
Assent (What I like)
- The creative (image) has diversity which appeals to many people
- That’s it…
Dissent (What I dislike)
- "Ready to change your life?” Is this an ad for DMT or acid? This is the general of all general claims
- One block of text instead of proper spacing (like every other LinkedIn post)
- “Learn more” What am I learning more about? (A general CTA)
Here is how I’d improve this ad:
What did I change?
- Got specific with how many busy students we’ve helped graduate and get a job (956 students)
- Turned the generic “Ready to change your life?” into a more concrete question, “Wish you were on a better career path?”
- Added clarity to the CTA by getting specific around the outcome of clicking the link (“Create a personalize path to a better future”)
How do you get more specific?
Answer with precision: “Who is this (ad) for?”
Using a generic claim proves to me that you’re service/product is not tailored and will not bring unique and powerful results for people like me.
The challenge is putting your flag in the ground for who you serve.
We all can serve everyone but aiming to do that will result in serving no one.
Who do you best serve?
🧠 // JO