In this blog I’m taking you through how to make your marketing “sticky”!

It’s hardly a new concept when it comes to marketing, but perhaps it’s a new idea, thought, angle, and tactic for you and the business marketing for YOUR business.

So, what is sticky marketing?

Put most plainly, it’s marketing that your audience remembers after the moment has passed.  After they have scrolled passed it after the ad has finished or the video is done – you get the idea, it’s “sticky” – it has STUCK with them.

We are exposed to hundreds of thousands of pieces of marketing every week or probably every day, so we want our marketing to be what they remember as they finish up their busy days/weeks.

A lot of sticky marketing comes down to two things:

1. You know your ideal client back to front, front to back, and
2. Good customer-centric, catchy or memorable copy.

You can’t have one without the other.

You can’t make your marketing stick if you don’t know how you are aiming at it or who your ideal client is – if it doesn’t relate to the watcher, listener, or reader, then it’s never going to be sticky.

Okay, well, maybe not NEVER.  Is there a piece of advertising that sticks with me that you can’t stand to see/hear? You know that jingle that makes you turn off every time you hear it? In that case, sticky is icky!

But – why would you want it to be sticky?

Well, honestly, purely for keeping top of mind.  They think of topic X, and that’s the thing you do, so they remember you, buy from you, engage you, and contact you.  It’s honesty that simple.

There’s a few features of sticky marketing that can help you create your own:

1. Simple and Clear. The message is “simple”.  If you want your message to be kept top of mind by your buyer, the overall message needs to be simple.  Just to clarify, your marketing doesn’t have to be short or small – that’s different to the message, the actual message you want to get across, being simple and clear!
2. Story Telling. Often marketing is sticky because it’s done in the form of a story.  People relate to a story and therefore they remember the simple (remember!) message.  If your message is all about facts and figures, the things most people don’t remember, then your marketing isn’t sticky.  Sticky marketing can’t be boring either – clearly – so storytelling often eliminates that too!
3. Make it relevant! Cut through the noise by knowing exactly what your client needs/wants, and your copy is to the point and excels at the “head nod test”.
4. Evoke a response. As well as storytelling helping and excelling at the “head nod test”, sticky marketing often evokes an emotional response. – like AHA! And the feeling that this is JUST what they needed to hear, see, buy, and have.
5. It’s for them. Sticky marketing is written to the customer/client. It talks to them and they think it’s written for them, no one else, just them.
6. The metaphor. Without the use of a good story, sometimes it’s a good metaphor and makes a piece of marketing sticky! The metaphor lingers with them.  Just make sure that they not only remember the metaphor but who said it or put it in front of them!  Metaphors are good, jargon is not!  Stay away from industry jargon that you customer/client might not understand yet or ever!
7. Be unexpected. Sometimes sticky marketing is “unexpected”! Unexpected claims or usual angles help make something memorable.
8. Call to action. Lastly, sticky marketing has CALLS to ACTION – always! I have your attention, and I want you to do THIS next ……

Another angle of sticky marketing, especially when it comes to websites, is about attempting to create copy that entices visitors to your website to stay longer, and remain on the pages longer – again, “sticky”.

Ways to Improve the “stickiness” on a website is to:

• Great User Experience. How quick things load, how easy it is to navigate, check out etc,
• Showcase Uniqueness. showcase what makes your business unique, unforgettable, and sticky! Just not another place to shop!
• It’s Interactive. Encourage visitors to interact more – for example, download this, here’s a discount code, come join my exclusive Facebook group and so on and so on.

Making your marketing sticky not only helps improve brand awareness and sales, but also referrals.  Your marketing has stuck with someone, and in a conversation, they say “yes, I saw this post on social media the other day, you should check them out, I’ll send you a link to the post I saw”.

Think of a piece of marketing you have seen today (or heard or watched).  Can you?  Has anything you’ve seen today stuck?  Any sticky marketing happening?

Reels, and TikToks, are taking sticky marketing to a whole new level.  Instagram reels for example, how people use “music threads” and add their angle to it – is the principal of hoping that song will stick with you and so will the actions or events from the business owner that went with the song!  This is the top of mind marketing – the STICKY marketing.

Examples of sticky marketing are often jingles.  I bet you could name a few jingles that just keep sticking – even if they no longer apply to your life. Iconic jingles include:

• Cottee’s cordial
• Vegemite
• National Tiles

In my business, the things I want to be sticky when people read or hear it include:

• Make marketing a priority
• Ready Fire Aim
• Jenn Donovan – the go-to business marketing coach

Those three points are similar to how I would answer the “what do you want to be famous for” question as well.

So, that’s sticky marketing.

Is your marketing sticky?  Is your website sticky?  Are your socials sticky?

Let’s continue to chat about this over in my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – you can join on Facebook if you haven’t already!

On the topic of my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group – I have some amazing guests coming in there to do lives with me throughout this year.  I am super excited by this.  From finance experts to PR and marketing experts (besides me) to Law experts – they are all coming on to give you their time and do some Q&As with the group.

Another amazing reason to come and join that community!

CONTACT JENN:

I would love to chat to you about your Sticky Marketing and help you build some strategy around this. Simply book a discovery call with me here!

And again, don’t forget to join my Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group. The people in that community are amazing – it is a great place to get ideas, seek feedback and generally get some awesome support!

Or you can DM me on Instagram or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.  Jenn’s a coach and mentor from rural NSW and is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.  The Founder of Buy From a Bush Business, Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace and host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple, Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!  H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk! Jenn’s online community is over 320,000 with her famous Facebook Group currently at almost 365,000 members and still growing every day.  She’s the major of her own little online city!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram – @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Jenn Donovan

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan