For consumers, a great advertisement can propel a business from mediocrity to stardom. 

Think about your favorite ad. Perhaps it made you cry. Maybe it made you laugh out loud.  Perhaps you saw yourself or a family member in the storyline of the ad. In some way, the advertisement reached you emotionally and you responded to it. You remembered it.

Great marketing is about telling stories. It is about connecting with people in unique and memorable ways. If your marketing content isn’t doing this, it is time to breathe new life into it. Here are four tips for creating ads that spark interest and ignite action.

1. Be authentic. Marketing is the process of educating prospects about the products or services your business offers. Use authenticity in everything you do in marketing. From sharing your organization’s stories to those of your customer, be real and help prospects envision themselves in your ads. 
2. Be original. Trendsetters in marketing set the pace that everyone else follows. Rather than be a marketing follower, think outside the box. Consider the kind of ads you appreciate. How can you incorporate that kind of originality into your organization? While planning what ads will best serve your business, consider your target audience and ensure it will resonate with the majority. 
3. Be passionate. When you meet someone that is passionate about what they do, they are memorable. Their energy is contagious. Find your passion in what you do and share it with the world. You can achieve this by interviewing key leaders in your organization or the people “in the trenches.” Share what makes your organization unique and special. Your organization’s passion can be effectively communicated in print, audio, video, as well as in pictures. 
4. Be fun. A smile can transform someone’s day. We are big proponents of using humor in marketing to connect with people in a more personal way. When you use humor, your organization becomes more human and relatable. Your ads also become more memorable. However, with the wrong type of humor, you can appear unprofessional or offensive. Consider your audience when choosing your voice and A/B test your content to identify what content is most engaging and positively received.

Creating memorable marketing often requires stepping back from your efforts and brainstorming. Include your entire team as some of the best ideas will come from those working directly with your customers. Storyboard your ideas and test them out on people to see how they are received before investing in their development. Need help? Contact a marketing agency for ideas and assistance in creating strategic marketing content that gets noticed.