Humans are Selfish

And lobsters are shellfish. Our brains are naturally hard-wired to be selfish. Even if you’re a kind and giving person, I bet when you’re in a group photo, the first person you look at is yourself. And that’s okay – it would be weirder if you didn’t do that.

Your brain likes when you talk about yourself. In fact, according to an article written by Time, “We spend almost 40% of conversation talking about ourselves and our brain chemistry drives us to do it.”

What does this mean for advertising?

As a Business

We get it. Your product is the best one, here’s why, and let’s try to fit as much information as we can into one ad so we can really sell it through. Right? Wrong. Someone hearing or seeing your ad really doesn’t care why your product is great. The only thing we care about (because we’re selfish) is how we will benefit. You’re selling the benefit – not the product.

Here’s a formula to keep in mind as you work on your ads:

Why + How = What

Start with why someone needs or should want your product. The ‘why’ is your benefit or USP (unique selling point). This is your chance to grab their attention. After all, you only have a few seconds to do so. Make it count.

Would you buy a product you know nothing about? More than likely, the answer is no. Here’s where the ‘how’ comes into play. Educate your audience and inform them. Unless you’re making an infomercial, try to keep this short and sweet – and remember to be honest. An analogy my boss uses, “like a cheerleader’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting.”

By the time you answer ‘why’ and ‘how’, your audience will be interested and asking for the ‘what’. This is where you’ll introduce your product.

Most ads are executed using this formula backwards and replace the ‘why’ with ‘buy’:

What + How = Buy

“Introducing XYZ! The product that does this, that, and the other thing! Buy it now today!” Here’s a great example:

Does anyone remember Blendy Pens?

As a Consumer

Take the surveys, submit feedback and contribute to a company if you’re a frequent buyer or consumer. I often tweet at companies and 99% of the time it’s something positive. Knowing what they’re doing right is a good thing and they can’t emphasize or continue if they aren’t aware of what people are enjoying. The same goes for if you’ve had a bad experience, but depending on the circumstances – I think it’s best to address it with them directly before blasting them publicly. Most of the time they’ll get it fixed and want to do right by you.

Their business wouldn’t run without you, so your input is important.