Can a softly, softly approach of marketing online really work? In fact, is there any other way to do it?
While waiting for a flight a couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of Monocle, an excellent read if you like to keep up to date about Global Affairs, Business, Culture & Design.
This particular issue of the magazine covered the topic of ‘Soft Power’. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s basically…
“…an ability to effect change through persuasion and not coercion”
I would love to say that the days of hard marketing are gone, where pop up windows were all the rage, tempting us to ‘CLICK TO PURCHASE’, or ‘SIGN UP NOW’ but sadly that’s not the case. Technology has progressed and consumers are getting savvier. No-one likes to be forced into doing anything. Why would they? This is where soft marketing comes into play and gentle persuasion
wins the day.
What are your thoughts on this subject?
Hello Clinton.
I have subscribed by RSS.
I found your blog through Google Alerts (Adwords Belfast).
Interesting subject.
But I do think that tired old calls to action like ‘Get Your Free Consultation Now!’ still work very well with Google Adwords adverts…
Hi Jordan,
First of all. Thanks for the information on how you found the site.
Yes. Adwords does work very well in this regard. I will go into this in detail in a later post. There is so much to talk about on this subject.
I myself feel that Adwords can be used for both Soft and Hard Marketing. It’s not the wording of the advert, but the placement. One thing that really puts me off reading articles and blog posts, is having an advert displayed right in the middle of a post which throws a user off their train of thought. I have actually ended readership of quite a few big brands recently because of this (Obviously, this is just my opinion and it can, and does, work in some instances).