All Millennial's Are Being Influenced By This Form Of Marketing In 2020
We have all seen them. The people who have outstanding advertising for their coaching courses that promise to make you a millionaire within the next 6 months. The people who have the money to use Facebook, Youtube, and Google to track your interest, so they can sell you there services at every corner. Whether it is a coaching course, webinar, Youtube video, or product offering, we need to educate ourselves before committing to these run-off-into-the-sunset opportunities.
This article is not meant to shame those who choose to provide these services because they potentially could work! The main goal of this article is to bring attention to a form of marketing that has been used by these internet guru's to influence millennial's. This form of marketing is called alarmist marketing. It has been used in almost every Facebook ad, Youtube video, Instagram ad, Snapchat, and Tik Tok to influence the world in its darkest moments.
Alarmist Marketing On Social Media
Social media has been the main platform for this form of marketing because during a pandemic who wouldn't want some form of entertainment. Titles like these have plagued us for the last few months:
Be careful we are going into a depression!
We are all in trouble, prepare now!
Understand this and your life will change!
So we are constantly being surrounded by people who are really tapping into the vulnerability of us all. Its up to us to find new ways to educate ourselves about the world around us. One suggestion for this would be to take the time to read books that inspire action and not fear of inaction.
Inflated Headlines During The Pandemic
Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the COVID virus has raged a war on our lives, alarmist marketing headlines have made a substantial impact on our buying behavior. According to Axios, many of the coronavirus stories getting shared the most on social media are packaged to drive fear rather than build understanding about the illness. We see these effects in our grocery stores the most. Shelves have been emptied and lines (I absolutely despise) have become the norm when you are entering and exiting these establishments.
It isn't just grocery stores. As we have heard on the political spectrum on several occasions, alarmist headlines have impacted how countries operate. As people and countries become unstable and fearful, we can see what this can do to our economies and stock prices. Although alarmist marketing has not been the complete culprit it has definitely made a impact on the world around us.
How We Can Leverage Alarmist Marketing To Spread Positivity
However, as bad as things were, the worst was yet to come, for germs would kill more people than bullets. By the time that last fever broke and the last quarantine sign came down, the world had lost 3-5% of its population. - Charles River Editors
Although these headlines have made the spotlight in a negative way, there is still time to yield positive results from this form of marketing! My hope is that we can find new ways to spread factual information about these pandemics. We need to take the time to share stories of victory and spread joy when our government reopens new sections. This isn't the time to drawn our sorrows, its time to take action on a issue that has impacted us all.
Create Gofundme pages and fundraiser pages for the less fortunate
We need to take the time and understand others point of view. This way we can bring awareness by making headlines that highlight the impact this virus has played on the less fortunate. This may inspire others to take the necessary actions to help others in there community. We are all fighting this together and its time for us to collaborate to help those who may not be able to help themselves.
Spread Good News
One of my favorite characters from the Office made a online show during the pandemic and it highlighted the events that were deemed as "Good News". For me, this was one of the best ways to help us cope with this pandemic. You can check this out on his Youtube Channel.
Final Thoughts
Alarmist headlines may plague us throughout viruses, social media, or on a casual Sunday, its up to us to find news ways to use this to our advantage. Make a effort to help others by spreading trustworthy information that could help your community. Also as we (finally) start to get through the first half of this year, lets remember to educate ourselves through several different mediums. By doing this, we can stop being influenced by those around us and make more informed decisions.
Good Luck and Stay Safe!