Advertising Rhetoric 101: How Are You Talking To Consumers?

The way we write our content changes the way consumers perceive our businesses. Something as simple as a change in wording can transform content from abrasive to approachable.

We don’t all actively learn how to use words effectively, though. The basics of marketing tactics see some creators learning about ethos, logos and pathos, but these tactics can’t be used if you don’t know how to create compelling conversation.

Are you looking to increase your engagement and retain more of your consumer audience through advertising rhetoric? Then take a look back at your old content. How are you addressing potential consumers? Is there a way for you to change your language? If you experiment with what you have to say, you may find that your content becomes more accessible

What Content Are You Making?

Before you can start writing your ad copy, you need to know what kind of content you’re working on. Some of the most effective forms of content include:

• Blogs – Be they short-form or long-form, blogs allow you to immediately share content with consumers while also providing them with a revisit-able resource.
• Videos – More common nowadays, video scripts require as much attention as video formatting if you’re going to connect with consumers.
• Infographics – When you break up your text with visual aids, you give consumers’ eyes more to look at while also helping them retain the information you’re sharing.
• Case Studies – Specific scenarios, as relayed through a blog, allow consumers to get to know you and your business better.
• Checklists – How-to lists and listicles are among the most popular forms of content online because of their accessibility.
• Social Media Posts – The popularity of the Big Four social media platforms means that you can share written or visual content with an international consumer audience, as long as you’ve put in the time to make that content internationally accessible.
• Memes – A sillier form of marketing content, memes allow you to content with younger consumers through neo-Dadaism and humor.

Each of these content types uses a different form of advertising Rhetoric to connect with consumers—and you need to watch yours appropriately. Don’t use meme-speak in a blog post, and make sure you’re not ignoring any particular forms of content.

What Language Are You Using?

From here, it’s a matter of choosing what kind of language you want to address your audience with. When choosing the language you want to use, think about your industry and audience. Do you work in a technologically-fluent field and reach out to an equally fluent audience? Then your content may be more jargon-heavy. Comparatively, if you work in the makeup industry and reach out to a younger audience, your language will be more casual.

For example, consider the difference between these two lines of copy:

1. When you use our new line of lipsticks, you’ll be able to eat, drink and play in a colorful way.
2. Our hypo-allergenic, variant lipstick shades reject average makeup standards and make you look unique.

One of these lines is far more appropriate for a casual audience than the other. If you used the second line in an ad, you’d probably get fewer conversions and more confused comments than you would if you used the first.

A/B Test Your Copy

Writing copy requires you to draft and redraft your work. If you want to experiment with your copy variations, use an A/B testing tool. These advertising rhetoric tools share your content variations with different audience ratios so you can understand which will be more effective upon publication.

Don’t try and publish the first draft of your copy. Instead, take the time to carefully tailor your language to suit your audience. As you put more effort into your choice of words and framework, you’ll find that consumers are more willing to engage with your posts.

Image attribution: Jakub Jirsák – stock.adobe.com