People Are Attracted To People Who Look Like Them!

So Use “Real People” In Your Advertising!

It always intrigues me to see advertisements for golf courses, night clubs, car dealers, day spas and real estate agents without “featuring real people!”

No matter what business you own or manage, you should consider using images of “real people” in your advertising, as this immediately “humanises” your sales message and provides a “warmth” that acts as a link between your product or service and your target audience.

In simple terms, an empty golf course is nowhere as inviting to a prospect as one which shows people enjoying themselves.

Likewise, a photograph of an empty vehicle is nowhere near as endearing as one with a happy owner behind the wheel.

And I can assure you that in the case of real estate agents, an empty pool, lounge room or kitchen presents a very cold and somewhat uninviting picture to a prospective buyer.

Indeed, I am quite amazed how 99% of real estate agents fail to feature “real people” in the photographs of the properties they are marketing. After all, owning one’s home is “everybody’s dream.” It just makes sense to feature “real people” enjoying the various facilities that the advertised home has to offer.

Real Estate Agents Sell Ghost Houses! Ever Seen A Realty Ad With “People” In It?

There’s nothing wrong with having some “empty room photographs” on the website gallery, but for my money, the majority of photographs should feature a happy couple or happy family enjoying what the home has to offer.

IMPORTANT: Remember, the people in your photographs must represent your target audience. For example, if you’re a real estate marketing a funky apartment on the 40th floor of a beachside high-rise – and your target audience comprises of 20 and 30 “somethings,” then you would feature Gen Ys and Gen Xs in your advertising.

If you were selling an older home suitable for “third home buyers,” you’d probably feature “over 50s” in your marketing collateral & website.

It’s simply horses for courses.

I’m talking about showing a couple or family enjoying the kitchen, swimming in the pool, relaxing in front of the log fire or having breakfast in bed. The whole idea of using real people in such real estate advertisements is to showcase “the lifestyle benefits” of the property in a memorable way.

(And it’s a lot easier to penetrate someone’s memory bank with a photograph of a loving couple enjoying champagne in their outdoor hot tub than it is to simply display a photo of the empty hot tub, that’s for sure!)

The vast majority of real estate agents seemingly market “ghost-houses”, as they never show anyone actually in the home!

I highlighted this point at a Real Estate Conference on one occasion – and many of the 200 attendees thanked me for the “wake-up call.”

Note the above press ads feature “ghost-houses!” Where’s the people?

The Outdoor Patio companies seem to “get it”, yet real estate agents don’t. If the outdoor patio companies were to follow the same advertising format as real estate agents, we would be seeing images of empty patios on TV and in newspapers all the time.

But we don’t, as the patio companies seem to appreciate the value of demonstrating the benefits of the outdoor home extensions – hence we see people barbecuing or enjoying family get togethers on their new patios.

You’ll see savvy furniture and white goods retailers using “real people” in their advertising all the time. Instead of an empty lounge or dining room suite, the likes of Harvey Norman and Nick Scali will feature couples or families watching TV or enjoying a drink and conversation on their relaxing lounge or dining room table.

(Mind you, I’ve also seen furniture retailers showing empty lounges and dining suites in their advertising!)

Having real people enjoy the product or service simply adds “significant ambience” to your sell message. Imagine a photograph of empty exercise equipment in an ad for a gymnasium!

Imagine a skydiving advertisement without a photograph of skydivers!

Or an advertisement of a Swedish massage centre without a photograph of someone enjoying a relaxing massage!

Well guess what? I have actually seen advertisements for these three industries which commit the cardinal sin of not featuring people!

Indeed, you’ll find many hotels and resorts with websites that simply show empty pools, empty rooms, empty restaurants and empty bars!!

Can you believe it? Fancy a vacation resort NOT showing the benefits of their features and facilities by showcasing happy guests in each environment!!

An empty swimming pool is nowhere near as inviting as one that has guests relaxing in it.

Of course, there are some exceptions to the golden rule of featuring people in one’s advertising, but more times than not, a company’s “sell message” can be boosted significantly by “humanising” their offer and featuring real people in their advertisements. 

I can’t believe that Hello World would waste the opportunity to feature a happy family on the front cover of their sales booklet. Sunlover Holidays got halfway there with this front cover.

However, I would have sacrificed the flowers for another photo or two of a young couple in an idealic, romantic location. Needs to be “Valentines Day meets deserted island!”

Here is a link to a video where l talk about how you MUST show your target audience in your advertising - https://vimeo.com/282793093

To find out how you can WOW your advertising, visit www.wowmanifesto.com

You might even like to visit - www.youtube.com/c/JDTV-IOW

Or contact us at [email protected] if you’d like to add some WOW to your business!