We live in a bullet-point world. It seems that no one is interested in deep content anymore, they just want the synopsis. There are reasons people have stopped reading and a lot of that has to do with marketing. Marketing has to make a connection with a would-be customer at just a glance. That’s hard to do with a novel’s worth of information, so we have scaled back all of the information a consumer has to know in a couple of words to grab their attention. Blame it on marketing.

Is the best marketing always short? Much of it is, but I would like to say that not all of it should be. It depends upon two factors: what needs to be said for a consumer to make a connection with your brand and what do they want from you? Let’s start with the connection piece of the equation. Marketing is tasked with quickly gaining the attention of consumers and getting them to recognize and try your brand. After that first experience, the task of marketing is to get the new customer to keep buying it. In essence, marketing is trying to get the consumer to be a customer for life. It is kind of like falling in love. How many words does it take for a consumer to fall for your brand? That might depend upon what you are selling. For instance, if I am marketing candy bars, I might come up with a marketing campaign that simply says, "It’s Your Guilty Pleasure” or "Chocolate Lover’s Sweet Dreams” or simply "Love it!” I can keep my marketing words to a minimum because it shouldn’t take much to emotionally stir a chocolate lover to eat a candy bar. That might be different if I am selling computer components. I might have to describe the benefits and advantages of the product to the analytical mind of an engineer before they will take notice of my brand.

The other factor to consider is what your customers want from you. Are they demanding more information about your products and services before they show any interest or do they inquire about your brand with limited marketing? You might be selling in an environment that is highly regulated. Before anyone would consider your brand, they might need to know that you comply with the rules. On the other hand, many consumers would rather buy from you based on a few keywords typed into a search platform.

It is also important to understand what is and what isn’t marketing. Sometimes what passes for marketing is actually news and what passes for news is actually marketing. For instance, I like to stay current on the news. I often pick up a trending story that is devoid of details that I am craving to know. In fact, a lot of news lacks any substance and is nothing more than copied and pasted content that is slanted in one direction. Is the news marketing? No, it is not. So what is the difference? The news is reporting what is happening in the world around us. Marketing is taking a firm position to put a brand in its best light. It is enticing consumers to feel good about a brand and to buy a product or a service. The problem is the lines between the two have been blurred. A lot of news is not reporting, it is marketing – trying to shape a person’s mind for or against a concept. That is called propaganda. Also, what is posted on corporate social media sites is really news if it is not trying to promote the brand. In business, we are all about marketing. The words you use should be written to support the brand.

Should your marketing words be few? They should be just enough to engage the customer with your brand. Anything less will be forgotten and anything more will be ignored.