The basic principle of designing an effective advert hasn’t changed for years: catch people’s attention, highlight what you’re offering and tell them what to do next.
This is encapsulated by the acronym AIDA:
- Attention: attract attention with a strong, intriguing headline
- Interest: highlight the key aspects of your product / service
- Desire: explain why your product / service is good for your customer
- Action: tell your customer what they need to do next
We use AIDA on client's promotional materials and you can use this too, not just for conventional advertising but for your status updates on social media and for your website copy!
AIDA in action!
Consider this (fictitious) scenario: we’ve decided that Yell.com is a potential source of enquiries and we're writing our; Yell.com listing. Both example listings below are factually correct… but one is far more engaging because it uses AIDA:
Listing A (not AIDA) |
Listing B (AIDA) |
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We provide web and graphic design services to various clients. We have great customer service and are experts in HTML, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. We’re based centrally in Derby and publish a quarterly magazine for our clients. |
Do you want more from your marketing budget this year? We can work with you to improve the effectiveness of your online and print marketing, helping you to generate more leads. Call Rubiqa now on 01332 331332 for a free consultation! |
Listing B naturally draws you in as you read it and, as a result, is more likely to produce enquiries than Listing A which, while completely true, is also totally uninspiring!
Listing B captures your attention (Do you want more from your marketing budget this year?), keeps your interest (We can work with you to improve the effectiveness of your online and print marketing), offers you something you desire (helping you to generate more leads) and explains the action you should take next (Call Rubiqa now on 01332 331332).
Where can I use AIDA?
You can use the AIDA principle in many different aspects of your marketing, whether you work for a private business in a competitive market or a public sector organisation needing to communicate more effectively with stakeholders:
- Adverts, flyers, posters etc.
- Promotional status updates on social media
- AdWords adverts
- 60-second speech at networking events
- Summary on LinkedIn profile
- Web page copy
- Proposals and quotes
What you say in a 144-character tweet compared to the copy you write for your website will be quite different - but the underlying principle is the same.
Start using AIDA today and your customer-facing communications will immediately become more punchy and engaging!
