From Hype to Hope: Transcending Marketing Hype

To start, we consider ourselves spiritually oriented marketers.  And what is that you ask?  Spiritual marketing enlists your heart and spirit to get your message out, prosper and make the world a better place.

For more heart-centered marketing, you must be able to discern.  To know what to avoid, it’s important to recognize hyped-up marketing patterns.  Many marketing messages are infused with exaggeration and aggressive language. Let’s explore some marketing language “land mines.”

We’ll address 3 categories where marketing hype abounds:
1.    Militant style
2.    [“Dirty Little”] Secrets
3.    Dehumanizing: Targeting Warm Bodies

1.  MILITANT STYLE

Marketing is often expressed in masculine, militant language. You are “beating” or “crushing” your competition. You might “smackdown” your competition as well.

You want to “snag” your prospects. Or “hit” them with some message or offer.

Then you can “explode” your business with your “killer” copy and website. All of this, of course, will help you “claw” and “fight” your way to the top.

2. “DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS”

Marketers know that certain words evoke curiosity.  One way to get a person’s interest is by revealing “secrets.” These could be “best-kept secrets,” “money-making secrets,” or just plain old “dirty little secrets.”

You can use the militant approach here too.  You might leverage martial arts with “Ninja Tricks” and secret “Black Hat” marketing.  To entice the reader, provocative questions may be asked, such as whether these “Black Hat” tricks are even legal.

And remember that years ago there was “guerilla marketing.”

3.  DEHUMANIZING: TARGETING “WARM BODIES”

Yes there definitely seems to be a dehumanizing element, too.  Besides all the militant language and revealed secrets, prospects can become like objects.  People are referred to as “numbers,” “warm bodies,” and putting “butts in seats” to fill an audience.

THERE IS HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK

Behind marketing “tactics” lay aspects of human psychology, with all its mystery and depth. It is fascinating that marketing has many profound insights into what motivates people to take action.

As a note, we have no doubt gone over the line ourselves on occasion with our own marketing.  It takes some skills and practice to write good copy.

Marketing language can be amusing at times and annoying at other times. Nonetheless, we view marketing as a way to get your message out. And if some of your marketing language sounds like an army manual or secret ninja code, that is understandable — and maybe even of value at times.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

With the hundreds of marketing messages we receive daily, it can be a bit overwhelming.  So how can we cope?

The answer is awareness. Just by becoming aware of marketing messaging helps us to stay in balance.  Awareness also helps us make decisions about purchases, as well as crafting our own marketing messages.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We have written in a previous post about how people react so much to hyped-up marketing.  It can result in people not getting their messages out, so they die with their music within them.

To understand good marketing find creative and spiritual marketers to model, those who have clear, transparent messages.  There are people you know that share their offerings with integrity.

Then you won’t be as subject to someone’s dirty little ninja black hat trick — even if it’s the best-kept secret in the world and can turn in to instant profits.

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