Process this:
“Hi there. I’m good looking, sexy, smart, and rich.”
What have you just communicated? Of course, the literal meaning is just that. But let’s take this out for a spin and put some wheels on it.
A guy says it to a girl in a bar. What the girl hears: “I’m full of myself.”
A girl says it to a guy in a bar. What the guy hears: “I’m into you.”
Get it?
Now with the return of Mad Men, I’d be remiss if I didn’t slip in some sort of Don Draper reference here. So let’s take a look at Don, shall we? See, in basic terms, Don is an ass. Who the hell really wants to marry someone like Don? He’s self-centered, moody, and unsympathetic. Yet girls want him, and guys want to be him. Why? Because Don doesn’t say things like “I’m good looking, sexy, smart, and rich.” He just acts that way. And we buy into it. Despite the things he says. Don is a person of pure implication. Who cares about his words? We get his actions.
You see, it’s all about subtext. Communication is about the figurative value of what we say, not the literal one. And that’s all communication, whether it be verbal, visual, musical, or whatever else. It’s true about pictures. It’s true about marketing. Let’s take photography. You stick a flash behind a couple to get that beautiful glowing rim of light as they stand lovingly in front of one another, forehead to forehead. For everyone who loves this technique, don’t get on my case about it. If you can make it work, that’s great. For most, though, it’s pretty mediocre. The literal meaning? Something to the effect of “Love is beautiful and sweet.” But that’s not what people look at. They look at the way you’ve chosen to express that love is beautiful. Odds are, here’s what you’ve just communicated…
To an experienced wedding photographer: “I know how to use an off-camera flash.”
To a beginning wedding photographer: “My skills are impressive and my work is stylish.”
To a fine art photographer: “I am not very deep.”
To a bride? Well, that depends on your bride, now doesn’t it? Hopefully, if you have a good fit, you’ve just said “Love is beautiful and sweet.” But not everyone is going to see it that way. And that’s why it’s so important to hit it right.
Now let’s shift gears and talk marketing. I’ve been going through my own marketing materials for the past few months, and here’s what I’ve found. It sucked. Just total garbage. I run a design and brand agency, though not too actively in the present, and I realized if my clients were using the materials and verbiage that I was, I’d have come down on them like a ton of bricks. I’ll share some in the future, but for now, aside from a dated look and feel, the more important thing was that I simply was not communicating effectively.
And neither do most people. Most people’s copy in their brochures and websites reads a little like our starting sentence. “Hi there. My pictures are good looking, well-done, and cool.” Good luck. In promotional literature, when you say something like that, you’re not announcing you’re full of yourself like a guy in a bar, but it’s about as uninteresting. Look at the junk mail you receive everyday. Think about how many of them say basically nothing, even though they’re clearly trying to say something. Why? Because you can see right through what they’re saying. Instead, you see what they’re doing – trying to sell you.
Let’s compare a couple of sentences:
“I take artistic wedding photography for your special day.”
You’ve just told your potential client absolutely nothing. That line fits just about everyone, and it has no character. Who doesn’t say or do something to that effect? You’re basically announcing “I needed to come up with some copy, so here you go.” Not good. Things like “Hi, really glad you dropped by,” are a little better, but not by that much. Remember, your job is to get who you are and what you stand for out there. In this variation you’re saying “I’m friendly.” Well, that’s nice, but what else? How are you different? Who do you want to speak to? “I’m friendly” does not a brand build.
There are basically two parts to it. First, there’s your vision. Most people don’t get that out as it is. But what even fewer do is translate it to the language of the client. Why is your vision valuable to them? What language most strongly speaks to them? Do teenagers listen to their parents? No. Because they speak in parent-speak. What could be more of a turn off? It’s your job to show that you get your client. It’s not theirs to read into things to see if you do.
Now let’s try another one:
“I take yummy pictures so good you’ll want to snack on them over dinner and a movie.”
Feel free to steal that. You’re welcome. No doubt, something perfectly fitting for the Jasmine Star playbook. For the males out there, please hold back the gag reflex. Gag or not, though, now we’re getting somewhere. There’s subtext and it communicates in the language of a specific audience. It’s not hard to guess what someone’s personality is like who would say that. But, better yet, it’s not hard to guess the type of person who like that sentence. You better be a girlie girl to pull it off, but let’s look at what we just said here: I’m bubbly, energetic, and fun. Who does this speak to? Well, certainly not to me. I see photography as an act of life-affirmation, so that’s not for me, nor should it be. I’m not the target audience.
Will it hit home to someone who is into pretty, sparkly things. No doubt. Are there brides into pretty, sparkly things? You bet. It’s also flirty and playful. Do people like people who are flirty and playful? You bet. Will this sell to Jane Power Attorney or the ironic hipsters around the corner? I don’t think so. But that doesn’t matter. It’s communicative and specific, and if it fits your target audience, they’ll know you get them. Do people like products and services that get them? Hell yes. Do they pay more for it? Hell yes.
Let’s look at another example. You go to a website with nothing but a beautiful full screen picture and small text in the corner saying “John Smith Photography.” And, yeah, it’s gotta be small text – big text isn’t reverential. What did you just say? “I am a serious person. Respect my work.” Anything wrong with that? Absolutely not. It’s a little overdone, but the message and subtext are there. If the picture is generic, it will fail, but if it’s striking, then it says what it needs to. Either way, better to use something that communicates and feels right than generic gobbledygook like our first example.
And there you have it. The variations just keep on going – this is just a start. All forms of language are endlessly malleable. But understanding Don Draper will tell you everything. It’s all about what we imply by the way we talk, the things we’d say, and how we say it. It’s not about literal meaning. It’s about what people read into things. Every act sends a message to certain people saying certain things. Every time we engage someone, every time someone sees something we do, something we write, or something we capture, they make an inference. Life is subtext. If you want to find success, make sure you’re getting yours out there.
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