The Importance of a GREAT Hook

There’s no way around it. We are bombarded by advertising and marketing messages everyday.?

In fact, I read somewhere that the average person sees between 4,000 and 10,000 ads in a single day!

With that much data coming at us, our brains are literally programmed to quickly identify advertisements, and then automatically tune them out.?

And you guessed it… This just makes it harder and harder for us as marketers to grab the attention of our target avatar.

In my experience, one of the first things to look at in your advertising is one of the most overlooked variables within the ad itself.?

“The Hook”?

For most people, the first thing they think of when they hear “hook” is taglines, attention grabbing phrases, teases, or a “taste” to leave someone wanting more.?

They can be used at the forefront of ads, sales letters, emails, articles, videos, funnels, social media posts… pretty much any marketing channel you can think of.

But we often forget that marketing hooks can be used as angles too.

Not too long ago I visited Caesarea, a town in Israel known for its historic port created by King Herod and named after Augustus Caesar. Caesarea’s port was a deepwater port that served as a connecting point to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Now, it was important for King Herod to be able to attract people to his port in order to collect taxes, fees, and ultimately drive revenue.

But because there were a plethora of other ports others could choose from, he knew he had to do something to entice customers to choose Caesarea.

So, what did he do?

He created a HOOK.

The hook in this case was an actual theater—a place where people could come and be entertained by a show. Here's my and my family in Caesarea .

Not only did King Herod build a theater, but he also built a race track and many more entertainment venues that differentiated his port from all others!

So although he wasn’t a great leader, (the Jews were not a fan of King Herod), he was a master marketer and knew how to draw people into the city through the hook of entertainment.

In a world where we are oftentimes exposed to? over 10,000 ads per day, Entrepreneurs must know how to effectively take advantage of the art of hooks in order to maximize the number of eyeballs that not only see but pay attention to their products and services.

A great example is IKEA and their strategically thought-out food court.

Because of their massive size, you can only find an?IKEA in city outskirts where the nearest restaurant is often many miles away.

Hence, IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad thought of the bright idea to include a full-sized food court for customers so they wouldn’t have to leave the store when they got hungry.

Not only was the food convenient, but it was also SUPER CHEAP! A full meal at IKEA costs only $3.99, and their hotdogs will set you back a mere 50 cents.

Let’s face it… with prices like these, it’s safe to say that making money on food isn’t their goal. In fact, they even lose money on some food sales.

Instead, IKEA food courts are meant to serve two main purposes:

1. Increase overall foot traffic to their stores
2. Maximize time customers spend in-store, leading to high-ticket purchases

So although they may lose some money by selling someone a hotdog for $0.50, does that really matter if they end up selling that person a $1,000 sofa in the process?

Exactly.

Here’s another great example of an effective hook I stumbled upon not too long ago…

It’s an ad for Gold’s Gym that reads:

“IT’S TIME TO FLATTEN THE CURVE.”

This ad was launched during the height of the Coronavirus outbreak where the phrase “flatten the curve” meant to stop the spread of the virus, while the other meaning of the phrase is to lose weight.

Where the hook really shines though is within the double meaning of its image, which sort of acts as an illusion depending on how you look at it.

At first glance, you may see a significantly overweight man with a large stomach, but if you look closely you’ll notice that his stomach also represents the curvature of the Coronavirus chart.

This hook resonated with many at the time because plenty of people were gaining weight due to a sudden lack of exercise.

Everyone was spending the majority of their time sitting at home, and nobody wanted to go to the gym because either:

A) Their gym was shut down

Or…

B) They were afraid of catching the virus

So, as you go about your week I encourage you to be mindful of all the marketing hooks you are exposed to everyday… pay close attention and spot those that really cause you to stop and pay attention or take an action.

As you start to become familiar with what they look like, how they are strategically placed, and all the different shapes and forms they come in, you can then translate that knowledge into your own business to gain further attention from your prospective clients and customers.

Because remember: Human attention is the #1 global currency in modern-day society.

Your business could offer the best product known to mankind, but if nobody knows that it exists… You won’t make any sales.

To your success,?

David?

P.S. Imagine?reaching?your BEST Buyers?using?ONE proven strategy?that has been averaging an?over 30% open rate… WE’VE GOT IT. Comment with “Best Buyer” and we’ll get you details.

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