Start Here for Marketing Laws That Actually Work

Marketing and going viral can seem subjective. The things that end up as trends can be so absolutely random, and you never know whether what you’re doing is going to actually work. It is very similar to just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what might stick. However, we are here to tell you that marketing experts don’t just guess about what we’re doing. There are time-proven strategies that always work, every time. Want to know what they are? Keep reading to learn about the top thirteen marketing laws that actually work and how you can give your brand’s marketing the jumpstart it really needs.

Thompson’s Law

Basically, this law comes down to the less-is-actually-more approach when it comes to going viral and getting your stuff out there. When posts, commercials, videos, and shareable moments go viral, it is rarely due to individuals slowly sharing them.

Rather, it begins with one person with a huge audience sharing it and giving it the boost it needs. From there, it spreads like wildfire. Thompson’s law proves that influencers do work, and simply posting viral-like clips without a plan doesn’t work. Don’t expect your fun TikTok to go viral if you don’t have an influencer backing you up.

Purple Cow Law

The Purple Cow Law can be translated into: You need to stand out! If there is a field full of regular-looking cows with one purple one, where are your eyes and interest going to gravitate to immediately? The purple one, of course!

It can be scary to step outside of the box. However, if you take a look at your top competitors and see that your branding and marketing strategies all kind of look the same, then take it as a huge neon (purple?) sign that it is time to branch out and do something different.

Give yourself the competitive edge by being unique, whether that is through a different service offering, a fun rebrand, or an easier way of doing things compared to your competitors.

Golden Hour Law

After you post something on social media, you have one golden hour to give it the momentum it needs. If you’re posting about something really important, make sure that you have backup. Here is what to do:

• Schedule your important post for a time when you, friends, colleagues, and coworkers can engage with it
• Once the post is up, make sure everyone interacts with it
• Watch as the algorithm recognizes its importance and boosts it up
• Now, this will lose its luster if you do this to every single post you do. While it is important to like and comment on your own stuff, give important posts some extra love when they go out.

How do you do it? Send everyone in your contacts a calendar reminder with a link to your feed to go ahead and interact with your post. Make sure you’re using hashtags in your post (especially if you normally do not), but don’t overuse hashtags—that trend is out. Stick with just a handful.

Anti-Polish Principle

No, we are not talking about “Polish” in the sense of the country. We’re saying “Polish” as in squeaky-clean! Most content that goes viral and is beloved by people is not polished up and perfect. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Spotted a typo on your post? Oh, well. All you have is an iPhone to shoot content? No problem. Be human, be gritty, and be relatable—it’s what people like!

Authenticity outperforms perfection every single time. While it is important to take professional photos and videos of your business and use them on social media every once in a while, use them sparingly and only when appropriate. People want to know that there are humans inside that account, and being overly polished on social media can indicate that you’re actually hiding something rather than seeming trustworthy.

Law of Shitty Clickthroughs

Earmuffs! The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs refers to the fact that everything has an expiration date, including marketing tactics. Are you starting to see, well, shitty clickthroughs? Time to change up what you’re doing rather than hoping it goes back up to where it was!

How to stay ahead it of it, you ask? Once you see your numbers trending down, change things up. It doesn’t even need to be an entirely new strategy; trends can shift in the simplest of ways. Rather than overly designed emails, try some text-only ones. Is your 10% off coupon code losing steam? Bump it up to 15%. Be willing to bend, shift, and change things without looking at it as a failure. Instead, it’s just the Law of Shitty Clickthroughs in action!

Gladwell’s Law

Gladwell’s Law refers to the fact that word-of-mouth doesn’t just happen randomly. There are three different types of people who can make it happen. They include:

• Connectors. These are people with huge networks. They are the ones who get the message to spread, but they aren’t necessarily the person who gets the information first.
• Mavens. These people love sharing knowledge. If they find something great, they want to share it right away.
• Salespeople. Of course, salespeople are successful because they are natural persuaders and are specially trained to convince you to change your mind.

Combine these three, and you’ve got word about your business spreading like wildfire. Is there someone you can name for each of these types? Which one are you most like?

Me-First Law

Wondering why your content isn’t being interacted with? Take a look at how often you talk about yourself. As a brand, this can seem unavoidable. Of course, you are talking about yourself; you need to sell yourself! Well, when it comes to social media and variability, this gets a big thumbs-down.

Ever been in a conversation with someone where all they talk about is themselves? Boring! While you’re writing copy and creating content, stop using the words “we” or “I.” Instead, change it to talk more about them, their pain points, their interests, and their needs.

The Expertise Curse

What is your five-second elevator pitch? How would you explain your brand or business to your grandmother or your five-year-old? The answers to those questions are the key to your success and are what is going to get you out of the Expertise Curse.

The more you know something, the more difficult it is to explain, and the harder it is for your audience to understand. They don’t know your industry-specific jargon. They just want it boiled down to layman’s terms, and whether you like it or not, it’s what’s going to drive your marketing.

Matthew’s Advantage

The bottom line here? Fake it till you make it! The bigger you appear, the more trust you will receive from your audience. Think about it: It is very important for certain professions to make sure they drive nice cars. Realtors and salespeople will always spend the extra money to make sure they have a nice car so that it looks like they are doing really well financially. This “sells it” that they know what they are doing and are successful.

With your brand, use this law to appear bigger than you are by investing in your marketing. Buy that big ad. Do the billboard. It will boost your image and could be what finally gets people to decide you’re their first choice.

The 90-9-1 rule

When it comes to viral posts, there are very few people who actually share things. In the 100% off time it took for something to go viral, 90% of that time is just people sitting back and watching. How much viral content have you shared on your own platform? Probably not that much, but you have sat back and watched plenty of it.

In fact, according to the 90-9-1 rule, only 9% of people actually share viral content. And that last number? Only 1% of people actually create it. The takeaway here is to recognize who your 9% is and incentivize them with deals, exclusive access, and special codes for their followers so that their 90% will follow suit..

Shareability Spectrum Law

Some people love to share and post. Even though they love to do it, the things they post don’t always go viral and they don’t always get tons of followers.

Alternatively, there are plenty of people who absolutely hate posting. They only post because they have to, and overthink every single thing that goes on their feed.

The takeaway? Make content that is shareable for everyone. Rather than posting a blog on your socials and hoping it takes off, frame it as “Top 10” lists, memeable content, or something short and simple.

Post-Purchase Rationalization Law

When someone makes a big purchase that was slightly outside of their comfort zone, they look to justify it by sharing about it. Think about it: When was the last large purchase you made for something for yourself? Whether that was a new couch, a new purse, or a new car, you probably called someone up right away to talk about how much you needed it, wanted to spend the money on quality, or fell in love with the company’s values.

The takeaway here is to capitalize on this. Create a community of people who are willing to spend big money and share it with their friends and family who likely have a similar income.

Reactance Theory

Don’t press the red button.

Don’t do it!

Whatever you do, don’t press it!

Now, how badly do you want to know what happens when you press that red button?

Headlines such as Don’t Click Here significantly outperform Click Here.

The takeaway? Try something different. Lure your customers with some lore, give them something that they absolutely cannot resist. Give them the red button! That’s right, try some negative and slightly unhinged calls-to-action and see what happens. The right customers will find their way through your funnel, while the lookie-loos will naturally find their way out.

Work Your Magic with Navazon Digital

Ready to breeze past these laws and boost your game? We are experts in that.

Navazon helps businesses increase profits through data-driven marketing that expands opportunities and reduces risk. As marketers and entrepreneurs, we understand the value of developing a memorable brand through creativity and consistency. This is accomplished through targeted graphics, videos, and websites that reflect our proven, time-tested methodologies and detailed analytics. It is an approach that’s proven effective for companies of all sizes, from start-ups and medium-sized businesses to large firms with an international presence.

We are content creators who listen to our clients, allowing us to formulate ideas and strategies tailored to your unique goals and philosophies. By thinking through those goals with our analytics-based approach, we study not only your tendencies but also those of your competition and the market as a whole.

Equipped with this knowledge, we develop a powerful plan, test it and then roll it out on a modest scale. Once we arrive at the winning formula, we can scale up rapidly to meet even the most optimistic growth projections.

At Navazon, we do not believe in “one size fits all.” Every part of the marketing plan is customized to address your unique niche and positioning strategy. It’s how we excel. It’s why we succeed.

Schedule a free consultation with us now! Visit us at navazondigital.com for more information.