Referential Messages: How to Create High-Impact Information that Others Will Want to Share
Successful ideas and messages are shared when people are able to relate to it on their own terms, within their existing worldview. Data will remain cold, inert and impersonal unless it is framed in a concrete way that is relevant to the experiences of the recipient. You don’t want cold data. You want high-impact information that leaves a strong impression on your audience, so they’ll pass it on to others in their network, who’ll then do the same.
One way of doing that is to create a message using references which are not only easily understandable but inextricably entrenched in the day to day experiences of most people. A solid message with strong references lightens the burden of information consumption.
The use of concrete references contextualizes a message immediately: This is what happened, here is what’s going on. And soon enough the audience will complete the next step for you by asking what happens next and what they can do. They’ll seek out more information because they want to adjust to the new perspective they’ve obtained.
I came across a great example of this, in the form of an video creating greater awareness on the costs incurred by the U.S in the Iraq War. This video uses common referentials (cars/houses etc) to make information not only intimate but strikingly memorable:
When creating content or planning your ad or marketing campaign, don’t be afraid to use references to contextualize the information you’re sharing. They will work very well indeed.
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Hmmm…interesting. I wonder if this could pertain to blogs in every niche. Great post BTW!
I was thinking about what distinguishes blog-writing from other forms of journalistic writing. A blog is written by a person. A newspaper journalist has the burden of ‘objectivity’.
People want to talk to someone. Not talk about something.
People seek people.
This should have been titled, “How to lose a reader with a 1 minute video.” The anti-war message is getting a little irratating. Yours, mine, and just about everyone else’s congressman voted for this war. Have you forgot 9/11? I know…it is easy to forget…given the fact that there has not been a successful terrorist attack on US soil since. Have you done any reseach to see how well things are going in Iraq these days?
@TheOzz
This article is not a political statement, far from it. And it truly boggles my mind to think that you would feel that way.
Dosh Dosh has always been about online marketing. This was just a video I saw yesterday, which I thought was a good example of how messages can be made more concrete and memorable.
Sorry to lose you but have fun reading other blogs on the web. There’s a lot of em out there.
So true Maki! Great post as usual and something to remember for next time. Thx!
How great is your timing?
Unfortunately, it has taken me a long time to work this out.
Recently, I was asked to do a presentation for the local school district on how much paper they are wasting, and how we can use the Web to cut wastage down. Without real life, relevant context – that they could relate to – the presentation was bland.
I decided to work out how many sheets of paper were wasted, and realized stacked sheet on sheet, it would create quite a considerable pile. Imagine then, the audience reaction when I told them the amount of paper they wasted would be as tall as the Transamerica Building in San Francisco. Open mouthed audience; presentation no longer bland, and many questions.
This video is a great example Maki, thanks for sharing it.
Also, I came across this post at lifehacker that may be useful to your readers
Convert Measurements to Real-World Objects
Have you read the book “Made To Stick” by Chip & Dan Heath? They present a very useful method for creating messages that will stick in the mind of the person that sees, reads or hears it. I can really recommend that book since it presents their practical method and has loads of examples much like the video in this post.
@TheOzz: The video is an example of an effective piece created for the exact purpose of making people oppose the American troop presence in Iraq. The same techniques could be used for the opposite purpose (not prematurely withdrawning the troops from Iraq), or, using that exact kind of presentation shown in the video, to oppose pretty much any government program.
very cool idea for making literal and easy to use references in your copy to assist your readers in keeping up and staying interested. i also really liked the video, very minimal but still impacting and informative.
glad to get a new dosh dosh post!
Interesting post. Putting things in terms that people can connect with is often ignored but shouldn’t be.
Great post, Maki!
Here’s my question: although you probably have a decent idea of your blog audience, how do you recommend setting up a referential message that will hook as many visitors as possible! One individual’s perspective might be enormously different from another’s, and the more readers you have– from 10 to 100 to 10 000– the more difficult it is to couch the article in a relatable way.
Heck, even with this blog post here you managed to catch 1 reader out of 1,000 that was actually more estranged by the ‘high impact’ nature of the post than drawn in. And if I were to watch Lid’s presentation, I’d be completely confused because I have no idea how tall the Transamerica building is as I’ve never seen it.
I guess the best you can shoot for is trying to engage as much of your audience as possible, without being particularly controversial?
Would love to hear some thoughts on this. Enjoyed the post.
@ Andy – really great comment! I just wanted to add one thing
In this post, Maki says: “…that is relevant to the experiences of the recipient…” and while you may not know the details of the Transamerica building, the people I was presenting to absolutely did – it’s in their backyard
So for me, that’s the point: Give context according to the reader/listener, compare it to something they will recognize. As for controversial – why not? If it is relevant to *them* they’ll take notice
Hey Lid! Hehe, that makes a big difference. I definitely assumed that you were presenting to a California Crowd. I can imagine using that analogy with a SF group in particular would be even more effective!
And that’s true about the controversy; sometimes, hotbed issues attract more attention anyway. Perhaps using emotionally-charged examples packs an even greater punch?
Thanks so much for that Lifehacker link, too. You’ve equipped me with a great new tool to use in my own writing and presentations and also encouraged me to resubscribe to Lifehacker!
@ Andy DeSoto: I think it’s possible to create engaging, even controversial, messages without running any significant risk of alienating visitors, as long as you stay away from anything that has to do with politics, religion, etc. The thing about politics though, in terms of using examples, is that it provides lots of good (or bad, depending on your perspective) examples of how you can go about getting your message across. It is, however, a minefield.
What you should be looking for, as I see it, is topics that will spark attention and hopefully a lively discussion without having any of your visitors leaving the table feeling worse off.
In terms of using examples, as Lid showed, that connect to your audience’s experiences, even when your audience is quite big and diverse, it should still be possible. I mean, while it’s better that everyone in the audience understands your reference, it’s actually not difficult for the audience to just mentally translate something like the “Transamerica Building” to “a really tall building”, which also brings the message across quite nicely.
Thanks Maki for the post. Creating High-Impact messages requires knowledge and experience in each specific area. Your example is only about anti-war aspect. The questions arise then will certainly be “How can I apply in my own professional area?” and “In which way(s)?” It would be better if there is more examples in other areas or media besides video.
It always gets down to the written or spoken word on blogs, websites even in videos. We aren’t taught how to deliver positive, high impact material. It’s a skill set we have to learn. That’s why copywriters do so well and are in demand. Glyphius (http://glyphius.com) is a software that helps create those skills by testing your sentences, speeches, even paragraphs and headlines. It gives a score to positive words and allows you to keep tweaking to make your content more powerful. It helps you develop writing skills. Great source.
Great post Maki !!
I guess this is something I’ve subconsciously been doing for quite some time now. It’s probably from my background as a writer for print media where I picked up the use of references to contextualize the information being delivered. In addition, I must say, what a great place the internet is for writers because we’re not trapped by the printed page and references can be delivered in the form of urls, images and as you’re shown, video.
Great point about ideas needing to resonate with readers on their terms. If you can get people to see how they connect personally to your message it has a much better chance for success. Ideally you’ll be able to tap into their emotional needs and wants. I think this is one of the reasons stories work so well. Stories put things in context and do connect emotionally.
By the way the video doesn’t seem to be working for me. I’m getting a ‘not available’ message when I try to play. Not sure if that’s only me, but wanted to let you know just in case.
The gold standard for this topic is the work of Edward Tufte. Check out his books @ http://www.edwardtufte.com:
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (2nd ed of his original classic)
Visual Explanations
Envisioning Information
Beautiful Evidence
The books are $40 – $52 each, all four for $185. The quality of graphic reproduction is extraordinary.
He also presents a 6-hour lecture. The current schedule shows 9 sites remaining in 2008, all in the West, tho Tufte is a Yale prof, so presumably early 2009 will include sites in the East. Cost is $380 incl copies of the 4 books. I attended an LA seminar & Tufte arrived an hour early & stayed an hr late to answer walk-up questions. If you attend seminars, you’ve paid 2x – 3x and walked away with much less.
If you go to his website, be sure to read the excerpt from Tufte’s critical essay on PowerPoint…and check out his moderated forum, Ask ET.
Ha, I’d argue that the controversial part is just as important. Look how much more discussion it generated. Involvement is key on blogs. Controversy is one way to get more comments… and there will always be people who disagree or misunderstand, but I think impact is a key thing to measure in web 2.0- Like that whole “the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference” thing.
I like that video… it was very informal and the producer found real facts… and also crunched numbers and broke it down to a level where we can comprehend it and use it in our daily conversations
Thanks Maki for showing that. It’s memorable.
@ Lid
Sounds like you did great at the presentation… I can imagine the response!
@ Online Revenue
Yup, I’ve read Made to Stick. It’s a not bad book although I did find it a little too repetitive: some chapters have the exact same recommendations and theories even though they were supposed to be on different topics.
@ heath
Thanks.. Im just getting back into the blogging game after a break
@ Andy DeSoto
How do you hook as many people as possible? Its relatively simple. Some things to get out of the way: you can’t please everyone so aim to create references that matter to your target market (and you should probably know who you are writing for/selling a product for).
If you want your message to resonate with a young college-level crowd, use their heroes and concerns as referentials. So basically you need to do some market research, to understand your audience well. But yes, I do agree that you can’t appeal to everyone at once, primarily because you can never know your audience definitively. It fluctuates as search engines bring you more traffic everyday. But aim for the people you WANT to reach because that’s what matters.
If you are just targeting a large general audience, try using references that are easily familiar with many. Take American politicians for example. When they do a general assembly speech, they’ll usually use the same old references: God/faith, taxes, security, patriotism, education and environment. A good frame can include many general references and make them palatable.
As for controversy…. it depends on what you want to achieve. Good for quick buzz, but might harm sales or reader/customer retention. Controversy can be used as a great tool to develop a very niche audience as well.
@ Odin
Its actually quite simple. Find out what your audience cares about, what constitutes their everyday experience, their interests and use messages which include these points as references. Simplify information and make it understandable, concrete and memorable..
@ Rhianna
Thanks for the tip!
@ Dave
Yes indeed. The web is incredibly conducive for creating and sharing information that is well hyperlinked and loaded with referential data, all of which contextualized and highly relevant for the reader. Extra information is always just one click away..
@ Steven
Hmm the video works for me… maybe it was down for a while.
@ Wil
Indeed, Tufte is an excellent mind. I’ve always enjoyed reading his work.
@ Brian
People are drawn to controversy, if only to soften the existential ennui that is sometimes life….
@ Everyone else
Thanks for all your comments!
Nice! Interesting topic!!! Well done Maki!!!
I think high impact articles are great. I am just about to start bloggin for my website. Since I am new to all of this I have been reading article after article this morning. I have a couple of questions. Does Glyphius software really result in high impact ads writing? What is the best blogging program? Is Word Press good?
“But aim for the people you WANT to reach because that’s what matters. ”
I think that’s GREAT advice. Gonna be something I try to keep in mind every day. Thanks for straightening things out for me!
“Yours, mine, and just about everyone else’s congressman voted for this war.”
Is this evidence that the war was justified? Many countries have been overrun by crooks in the past. The U.S. is nothing new.
“Have you forgot 9/11?”
Are you talking about that “attack” organized by some Arab who lives in a cave? Yes, that was quite some organizational skill displayed.
“I know…it is easy to forget…given the fact that there has not been a successful terrorist attack on US soil since.”
Of course not, considering the U.S. either implicitly allowed or even abetted it.
Sit tight and wait for the next one, which will wipe out even more of your “freedoms,” you pathetic American moron.
@TheOzz: What media are you watching/ reading? If by “things going well in Iraq” you mean more innocent people/ soldiers dying, then yeah, it’s going gangbusters. What a great effing president you’re supporting. You know the one, who was good friends with the Bin Ladens. Part of the same government whose CIA paid and trained OBL to be a terrorist in the first place, to be a thorn in the side of the Russians. You know, the CIA that GWB’s daddy was once the head of.
You’re such an idiot, lapping up the extreme right-wing/neo-conservative media bullshit to the point where you see anti-war in anything people write that doesn’t agree with your limited right-wing conservative view of the world. Why don’t you do yourself a favor and open your effing eyes and stfu. Read a book with actual facts, not the pablum fed to you by right-wing media, owned by friends of the new world order.
hey
U just shared the billion dollar rules in marketing ..
perhaps this can be the only way to make it really look ethical..
The idea behind the article was to demonstrate how relevance can hook people in to the subject. The example video may have had the war as a background but this is not the place to debate the rights and wrongs.
TheOzz = DUMBASS
Great post Maki
great advice. learn a lot from your video! hope that it will help me improve impact more efficiently.
alle article on this website are awsome. this is the best one.
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