Apple engages with iPod customers around the love of music; Patagonia engages with customers around their love of the outdoors and environmental concerns.

Both involve two-way communication (between brand and customer, or customer and customer), and I tend to use the shorthand of “connecting with the values and passions of customers” because it seems like the strongest way to bind a customer to a brand.

I don’t know if “what’s in it for me” is as accurate as “why should I buy your product instead of your competitor’s?”

The answer might be as simple as “You buy our stuff (instead of someone else’s similar stuff) because our brand best reflects your attitudes and approach to life, and we invite you to discuss those things while those other slugs can’t do any better than beat you over the head with headlines.”

Simplistic, but effective, especially given the rise of affordable, two-way media channels.

Good point. The way I see it is similar to reading one of those choose your own adventure books. You have to get the reader to take the route you want them to take and if not let them take another road that works for them. But the thing is all the roads lead to the same place, a sale. You’re letting your reader feel in control of where they are going, but ultimately, if done right, they’ll go where you want and the ending is always the same.

The best example of this is writing website copy. The links have to be there for every visitor to go where they want and get the information they need to make a purchase. For example some may want to see testimonials to assure them that your product is reliable. So give them a link to that page and once they get there give them a link to a product page and so on until they’ve got something in their cart and ready to order. But don’t stop there, remember to follow up with personalized confirmations and thank yous to keep them coming back.

Thanks for the insight!
Katie

Vivienne: Apple certainly is connecting with its customer in the spaces “around” their products, but I’m not sure McDonalds qualifies.

My take on their approach is that it’s more Proctor & Gamble than engagement. I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on that one.

Lots of good food for thought here, Tom!

Great article!

I like the word engage so much I used it in the subtitle of my book.

Keep up these types of articles.

Mike

“In fact, the central tenets of copywriting apply to writing for engagement: be clear, be intriguing, be captivating, and be dramatic (no writer bores a reader into submission).”

Indeed.