Informative Advertising: The Secret To Better Customer Engagement
Have you noticed that some ads make you want to watch them again? And some are just forgotten! Nevertheless, there is a lot of effort going into the making of both these ads. So, what makes them different? What is this secret ingredient that differentiates ad recall and ad oblivion? It is the value that an ad creates. Informative advertising (or informational marketing) is one strategy that aims at creating value for customers.
The meaning of informative advertising is pretty obvious from its name. However, the real challenge comes while executing it. Because you need to present information that engages your audience and not puts them to sleep. And that’s not so straightforward after all, is it?
Wondering how to make it happen? You’re in the right place. We’ll be talking all about informative advertising – its benefits, strategies that help, and some examples to inspire.
How informative advertising differs from the traditional approach
There are two kinds of advertising approaches – one where a brand tries to sell a product and one where the brand presents information about the product to show how it can add value to customers without directly calling to take an action. The latter describes the informative advertising approach.
Another way to describe this would be using ad objectives. When you create ads or any marketing content for that matter, you define goals. These content pieces or ads are meant to:
- Educate the audience
- Entertain them
- Emotionally stimulate them
- Or introduce them to a brand or product
The advertising approach you choose depends on the objective. And in the case of informative advertising, the goal is to educate the audience. You’re not persuading them to buy. You are not convincing them to consider your brand. You’re just presenting information that you think will be valuable to them.
After all, as of 2022, the most important use of the internet happens to be “gathering information”. So, you are aligning your ad intent with an existing trend. Therefore, it is a great way to get people to notice your brand. Of course, when done effectively, conversions follow, sales follow.
Having laid down the facts that separate informative advertising from other advertising strategies, let’s now talk about the benefits of using this approach.
Informative advertising – 3 benefits every brand should know about
1. Establish transparency
When you are regularly sharing information about your brand, your industry, and your products, you are being transparent with your customers. You are telling them what’s happening in front of their eyes and what goes on behind the scenes as well. All the information you provide helps them know your brand better and therefore makes it easier for them to trust your brand.
For example, Whole Foods regularly shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of its various products on its YouTube channel. These videos are informative and they give a peek into the sourcing of the products for the Whole Foods stores.
These videos inform customers about the strengths of the various sources that Whole Foods work with and how these efforts ensure that customers can access clean and healthy ingredients.
2. Boost in lead generation
Generating quality leads is one area that most brands struggle with. And this is a place where informative advertising can make a mound of difference.
When your informative ads reach the relevant audience, you are meeting them at the top of the sales funnel. In other words, you connect with the right prospects in the awareness stage. This can be a valuable step in lead generation. Additionally, this would be the stage where you can win their trust. All of these put together you have a clear advantage over your competitors when your customer progresses to the next stages in the purchase journey.
3. Nurture long-term relationships
Attracting customer attention is the first big challenge for any brand. However, most brands that do this fail in the next step of retaining customer attention.
Put in simple words, some brands successfully make that first sale happen. But they find it difficult to keep customers coming back to the brand for future purchases. How can you tackle that? With the consistent use of informative advertising.
When you incorporate informative advertising into your marketing strategy you are creating value for your customers even when they are not making a purchase. They are more likely to come back to your brand for more information in the respective niche. This way you stay constantly in their minds. And that’s how you nurture long-term relationships.
For example, Colgate is seen as a dental expert not just because of its products but also because of the informational content the brand regularly shares.
People who trust your brand and constantly engage with it are more likely to bring in referrals. Which means that you get more free leads through your existing customers. Additionally, these are quality leads that are very likely to convert. That’s an additional boost to your lead generation process as we discussed in our previous section.
So, now that we have spoken about the basics of informative advertising and the kind of benefits that brands can reap from it, let’s get to the main question – how do brands use the strategy to their advantage?
5 ways in which brands can use informative advertising
1. To announce a change
Change can be tough on brands. Change can be tough on your customers too. For example, when a brand changes its logo, customers are forced to bid adieu to a symbol, a brand identity that they had been connecting to for years. Because customers are used to associating a particular symbol, a particular set of colors with a brand. Naturally, when a brand swaps these elements with new ones, customers find it difficult to reconnect.
In such instances, informative advertising can be of great help. By clearly presenting information, by telling your audience the whole story behind the rebranding process, you are educating them about the need for the change. This way, your customers are not left in the dark when the change actually occurs. They have the background information and so it is easier for them to embrace the change.
Airbnb used informational marketing when it introduced its all-new logo. It created an easy demonstration of what the new logo symbol means and the significance of the symbol to the brand.
The above video does not ask customers “to choose Airbnb”. But rather informs them of the brand’s purpose and how the new logo symbol captures this idea.
Kimp Tip: As you can see in the Airbnb example a simple animated video can explain the idea and strengthen its memorability. You can also use logo animations to this effect. If your logo has a unique symbol that carries the core message, use logo animations to point in this direction and educate your customers about its significance.
2. Show customers the strength of your brand without actually promoting
To explain this idea better, we’ll get straight to the example. The below video shows the “Year In Search” campaign from Google.
Google releases a report at the end of every year capturing the most trending searches of the year. There are many ways to look at this campaign but it’s clearly an example of using information to engage the audience.
At the close of a year, Google’s Year In Search video gives internet users a chance to look back on the year and to know what was trending around the world. As people consume the information presented, there are two more things happening here:
- The campaign shows Google’s dominance in the market
- It also shows people proof of work – the many ways in which other customers use Google.
The video does not talk about the fact that Google is the most visited website in the world. And yet it subtly establishes the idea. This benefits the Google brand a great deal.
That’s one way to use informational advertising to show the strength of your brand and the position of your brand in the industry.
3. To stand for a cause
One of the best applications of informative advertising is standing for a cause. More than 67% of consumers expect brands to take a stand for a cause, to raise awareness about issues that deserve to be discussed.
Informational marketing helps you incorporate this idea in the most effective manner. Here’s an example that shows an ad from Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit working toward protecting and preserving “the world’s oceans, waves and beaches”.
The ad presents an alarming statistic that is enough to push people to think differently. The ad uses information to change perspectives.
Kimp Tip: When you present information, it is sometimes difficult to understand the idea conveyed and sometimes it is difficult to gauge the severity of the issue covered. To tackle both these and to make the ad more engaging, you need the right imagery. In fact, in the above Surfrider Foundation ad, the image is used as the visual hook to draw the audience in.
Similarly, when you use informative advertising and talk about statistics, and historical facts, create visually engaging designs to convey the idea. Infographics and videos make your job simpler and the ad more effective.
Need help designing infographics to boost your informative advertising efforts? Sign up for a Kimp Graphics subscription.
4. Introduce a product
Sometimes, you don’t have to convince people to buy from your brand you just have to convince them to buy a product you sell. Without persuading them to buy the product, you can present all the crucial bits of information that make your product irresistible.
Google uses this concept while introducing new product lines like the below video for the Nest Hub.
In these cases, the product itself is new to the customers. Convincing people to buy something is one thing. But convincing them to buy something they do not even know about – now that’s tricky, right? When you innovate and introduce a new product, the key is to show customers what the product is. And to give customers enough information that tells them why they need that product. That’s what Google does with its ad in the above example.
Kimp Tip: Presenting information about a product does not always have to be in the form of long-form videos with live demonstrations. You can also use quick animated text and catchy product photos to create animated videos that fulfill the purpose.
Here’s an example:
Need help creating short and informative animated videos to introduce your product? Get Kimp!
5. Explain the problems your product or services solves
Sometimes, the problem is there but your customers do not even realize it. In such cases, it takes quite an effort to make them realize what’s wrong and then convince them to take an action. As you can see, the first step is to get them to stop and think about what’s wrong and that’s the step where informative advertising can be of help.
For example, Yes Straws is a brand selling eco-friendly drinking straws. The problem it tackles is the environmental impact caused by disposable drinking straws. The below video from the brand’s Instagram page informs customers of the problem that deserves their attention.
By presenting information that highlights the problem, the solution the brand presents is clear. The brand’s purpose is also clear. That’s the power of informative advertising.
Kimp Tip: To highlight specific problems that your brand solves you need content that tells the story effectively. Videos are great tools for this and so are illustrations. A custom-illustrated social media graphic, for example, can clearly communicate the intended message in a story format.
Implement your informative advertising strategies with designs by Kimp
Convinced that you need to start including more informative advertising strategies in your marketing approach? That’s a great decision. Now all that’s left is the implementation of your ideas. Once you have accurate data to present and the right channels to present them through, all you need is good designs to bring your ideas to life.
After all, information is best shared through visuals. And visuals make the information easier to remember and therefore the brand easier to remember too. How do you get these visuals created for your brand? A Kimp subscription is an easy way to do that!
Sign up now and try Kimp for free for 7 days.