Power Words: What They Are and How to Exploit Their 'Power'
Power words are used in content marketing strategies for
their power to convert, to intrigue, or to excite depending on the set goal.
But what are they and when are they really effective?
Power words are terms that, wisely used in the content
marketing strategy, arouse an emotional reaction in the reader.
These are persuasive terms that have the power to trigger a
reaction depending on the term used and the structure of the content produced.
Let's see what they are and how to use them to motivate
people to take an action on your site, making them curious or excited.
·
Power words: what are they?
·
What characteristics do powerful words have?
·
Power words: how to use them?
·
Where to use power words?
·
The 3 most powerful power words
·
Other examples of power words
Power words: what are they?
The power of the word has not diminished with the transition
from print to digital and online. On the contrary! Nowadays, the studied use of
words for those involved in copywriting and content marketing is more essential
than ever.
Power words are tangible proof of this: powerful words that
can motivate people to take a specific action on the website, such as reading
an in-depth article on the blog, or subscribing to the promotions newsletter,
or even buying a product. from e-commerce.
Calls-to-action that leverage emotions and that, quickly and
naturally, increase conversion rates based on the set goal.
As proof of their effectiveness, it is worth remembering
that power words are based on the concepts synthesized by Maslow's pyramid that
hierarchizes and classifies the needs of the human being: physiological; safety
and security; of belonging; of esteem and success; of self-realization.
In practice, power words touch one or more strings of the
essential needs of human nature and in this way exercise their persuasive power
to action. An emblematic example is the word “ urgent ” which generates a sense
of priority and which draws the attention of the person who is reading, or
listening to, or watching a video.
What characteristics do powerful words have?
Although power words change in relation to the context and
purpose, it is possible to recognize some common characteristics that refer to
some aspects of the human nature:
Curiosity : the word has the power to stimulate the
desire to go beyond what is seen or known.
Emotion : the word elicits an emotional reaction, a
key aspect of emotional marketing .
Balance : a power word is neither too simple nor too
pretentious and communicates clearly.
With regard to the context, you will have to consider both
the target audience (we'll talk about it in the next chapter), the topic and
the tool used: on social media, terms that refer to the community are
particularly popular, such as " unite " and “ members only ”.
Power words: how to use them?
The production of content for the web is constantly and
exponentially growing, yet the percentage of effective content - in terms of
time dedicated by the user to their use and / or conversion of the CTA ( Call
To Action ) - is very low.
The reason? In truth, they can be many: the reader has not
found what they were looking for, the content is not optimized, the design is
not effective, or words have not been used well. And this applies both when
creating an article on the website , and when interacting with a post on social
networks .
So how to use power words to make them really effective, or
what is the method to apply to increase the conversion rate through them? Here
are some easy tips to put into practice in copywriting at every level:
Know your audience : to use power words well it is
first of all necessary to ask yourself not only what is the goal we want to
achieve, but also to whom we are addressing. The basic emotions, however
transversal, change in relation to the age group, socio-economic conditions and
cultural level of the person.
Do not abuse : the language must be natural and
suited to both the topic and the target, inserting words 'at random' and in
excessive quantities not only cancels their power, but can be
counterproductive.
Use capital letters : especially for Instagram
captions, capital characters immediately draw the reader's visual attention,
then focusing it in the second place on the concept expressed.
Where to use power words?
Knowing how to dose powerful words, measuring them in
quantity and calibrating them to your audience is the most effective trick to
get the most out of them. In addition to this it is also important to position
them appropriately, for example in the following elements of the text:
Titles : use power words in the titles of your blog
articles or even on social media posts, so as to immediately attract the
reader's attention and facilitate the increase in the percentage of clicks.
Subject of the email : in newsletters it is essential
to immediately go to the center of the speech to entice readers and subscribers
to read the content and prevent the email from being prematurely trashed.
CTA : Let your readers know clearly and concisely
what you want them to do by prompting them to take action using the right words
in your CTA (Call To Action).
First and last paragraph : Adding powerful words in
the first and last part of your text is the perfect way to highlight them in
the eyes of users.
The 3 most powerful power words
We have said that power words and copywriting are two
indissoluble concepts, as the former are a working tool for professional
copywriters, for digital marketers and for anyone who wants to make the
contents of their site effective.
Evoking an emotion and arousing curiosity are key steps to
increase the chances of converting goals: users now browse tens, if not
hundreds, of site pages every day and the competition to earn their attention
and trust is very high. .
But what are the most effective power words? On the net
there are lists of hundreds of power words that can be useful if taken with
caution and evaluated according to your target audience and the goal we have to
achieve. That said, it is irrefutable that some words capture more attention
than others, in almost any circumstance.
The podium of the most used power words
Free / Free : Who doesn't love free stuff? It is a natural
instinct that pushes you to desire anything at no cost, as long as it arouses
even a minimum of curiosity or a minimum of interest. Offering a free product /
service will attract more people , therefore, but only in the right context.
This is why it is advisable to use this word only when it really makes sense,
for example to emphasize the free access to guides, courses, support, podcasts
etc. The abuse of the term free, on the other hand, can be counterproductive in
relation to the fact that it will also attract users who are not seriously
interested, but simply attracted to the free and such subjects will hardly turn
into those leads you need to grow your business.
Immediate / Urgent : we have already mentioned the word
" urgent " and its ability to unconsciously attract the focus of
attention. Some neuroscience studies, based on MRI analysis, have shown that
the human brain is activated when it imagines instant rewards . Basically, our
frontal cortex lights up when we hear or read words like " instant ",
" immediate ", or even " fast "". They are power words
that emphasize to customers that they will receive their product very quickly,
or that someone will contact them as soon as possible.
Using these words in persuasive phrases can give customers
the right push to proceed with the purchase, or to send an email, or to leave
the phone number. It's a very reliable tactic in converting leads to customers,
as long as you follow the one golden rule: always keep your promises ! If you
promise more than you can deliver, you will end up compromising your brand
reputation and ruining all your efforts to build your community .
New / Novelty : According to neuroimaging research , our
brains respond more positively to stimuli received from well-known brands for a
natural defense than the idea of drastic change. This premise seems in
contrast with the assertion that " new " and " novelty "
can be power words. Yet this is true, as the neuronal response centers react to
such words that are able to activate the instinct for discovery and natural
curiosity.of human nature.
Your products / services are useful to customers, who expect
new features and improvements from your brand, or simply a new design or
packaging: a response to needs or rather a way to anticipate them, in such a
way as to always keep the attention threshold high. of users about what's going
on in your business.
Other examples of power words
Although the lists for their own sake are, as mentioned,
sterile from the point of view of the effectiveness in the application of the
individual cases, it can still be an interesting starting point to know some
timeless words. Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of the most influential
and long-lasting power words according to advertising guru David Ogilvy:
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Deal
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By announcing
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Wanted
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Compare
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Easy
·
Suddenly
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Incredible
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Magic
·
Improvement
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Miracle
·
Remarkable
·
Offering
·
Now
·
Presentation of
·
Revolutionary
·
Hurry up
·
Sensational
·
Challenge
·
Amazing
·
Fast
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